Blood and Roses (1960)

Too much of everything

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

....Et Mourir De Plaisir.The first of the two fantasy and horror movies Roger Vadim made and without any doubt ,his best ;actually,it's arguably his very best movie ever,probably his best screenplay,a story which does not fall apart after the second reel;inspired by André Gide's diary in which the writer wondered why a vampire was always ugly :why couldn't it take the shape of a beautiful woman?The title may have been taken from Camille's lines in Corneille 's Horace (1640)after her lover's death caused by her brother (after all,the heroine is called Carmilla and the action takes place in Italy).Claude Renoir's cinematography is a feast for the eye ;it 's really a work of art ,when he depicts the splendid Roman landscapes or when he lovingly films the two actresses ,with subtle lesbian overtones.Till the end ,the director succeeds in sustaining ambiguity -we will never know whether there's a vampire curse or whether it all happens in Carmilla's troubled mind.At a time when unexpected ends often come at the most awkward moment,when they are almost De Rigueur,the last picture is a model of the genre ,a stroke of inspiration which should make today's directors drool.Although set in modern times,the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe wanders in these mysterious settings .One can wonder why Vadim totally failed when he adapted the American writer's "Metzengernstein" in his "spirits of the dead " (aka "Histoires Extraordinaires" ) segment.If you should see only one Vadim movie ,it is definitely the one to choose .

In a way this movie is in the vein of an earlier film 'Dracula's Daughter (1936)' with what maybe the first hint at vampire's lesbianism and bi-sexuality captured on film. But the story of 'Blood and Roses' is loosely based on the novella Carmilla (1872).It's about a woman, Carmilla, that has revealed her family's past concerning vampirism. There is a costume party with large fireworks in the family's cemetery which opens up the vampire into a new world that is different from the old world she is used to. The spirit of the vampire over takes Carmilla or has Camilla been overtaken by the stories of her family's past? Interesting film, it's not as good as I was anticipating but it's certainly not a bad watch. It starts out great, hits a lull about midway then picks back up for an interesting ending.7.5/10

An adaptation of Sheridan le Fanu's "Carmilla", which was most famously adapted as Vampyr by Carl Dreyer. It's been a few years since I last saw Vampyr, but I don't recognize much of the story in this one, except for maybe a little bit of vampire lesbianism. This film is gorgeous, however. Vadim is famous for marrying hot women and then making movies with them. This one stars his least famous wife, Annette Vadim, to whom he was married between Bardot and Jane Fonda for about two years between 1959 and 1960. She's beautiful, every bit as beautiful as Brigitte Bardot. She stars as Carmilla, a woman secretly in love with her cousin (Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn's husband at the time), who is about to be married to Elsa Martinelli. After visiting the grave of a vampire woman, Carmilla becomes a bloodsucker who sets her eyes on her rival. This is super sexy. Unfortunately Netflix only has the English language version, which is about fifteen minutes shorter and cropped, but I still quite loved it. Highly recommended.

In a world where films such as "Twilight" are considered great vampire flicks, a little unknown gem like "Blood and Roses" comes as a extremely pleasant surprise as it is one of those films that you expect nothing from and turn out to be real cinematic works of art. Unfairly underrated director Roger Vadim creates a dark, tragic love story, filled with beautiful landscapes, terrifying Gothic atmosphere, surrealistic feel, a lovely soundtrack and a suspenseful build up to a shocking and heartbreaking finale. Vadim adapts Sheridan La Fanu's "Carmilla" with a modern twist, whilst keeping the poetry and the eroticism that so many other, more "faithful" adaptations lack. Making "Carmilla" a much more human character was a clever choice and makes you feel sympathy for her character, so therefore you actually feel bad for both the victims and the killer, which is something that usually lacks in horror films, at least in such an intelligent way. Annette Vadim helps bringing the character to life, and is here in one of her best performances. Mel Ferrer and Elsa Martinelli have a wonderful chemistry together and are perfect choices for the supporting roles. Another of the film's highlights is the cinematography, that unfortunately doesn't show it's full Technicolor glory in the film's bad VHS print. Hopefully, one day Paramount will release this masterpiece in DVD or Blu-Ray with it's gorgeous visuals as Vadim intended. 10/10 - a masterpiece. One of the best vampire movies ever made.