Here is the French Trailer for Rollin's first feature film, Le Viol Du Vampire (The Rape of the Vampire).
THE MOON IN THE GUTTER ARCHIVES
Showing posts with label The Rape of the Vampire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Rape of the Vampire. Show all posts
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Jean Rollin Posters: Le Viol Du Vampire (The Rape of the Vampire)
The stunning original posters for The Rape of the Vampire designed by Phillipe Druillet.
Jean Rollin: The Collaborators (Ariane Sapriel)
I was hoping to do a full post on the incredibly lovely Ariane Sapriel, a beguiling French actress who makes a big impression in Rollin's first feature The Rape of the Vampire. Unfortunately I have been able to find out next to nothing about this lovely and very striking woman with incredibly hypnotic eyes.
She has only two films listed to her credit at IMDB (this one and Alain Robbe Grillet's legendary Trans Europe Express) and this magazine cover advertising Rollin's film is the only image I could find of her online (courtesy of Germany's eBay).
A huge thank you to the fabulous blog Zines for the better scan of this cover!
Otherwise I can't find anything. Rollin mentions on the essential commentary on Encore's set of Le Viol Du Vampire that he remembers her as quite "charming" but as a bit of an "outsider". He also recalls how Ursulle Pauly delighted in hitting her for real in one of the film's most vicious moments, a story that probably says a lot as to why Sapriel never worked for Rollin again (and apparently never shot another film period).
Still, I find her quite captivating and regret that I can't find any more information on her. Surrounded by quite an extraordinary cast of characters in Rape of the Vampire, she really stands out and gives an extremely brave and effective performance.
Jean Rollin: The Collaborators (Ursule Pauly)
(One of several images of Pauly that appears in the supplemental material on Encore's essential Le Viol Du Vampire set).
Outside of a couple of little tidbits on Encore's audio commentary for The Rape of the Vampire, Jean Rollin has very little to say about actress Ursule Pauly even though she would work again with him on his second feature, La Vampire Nue.
Pauly is a very captivating figure in Rollin's debut film and she would be one of the only members of the cast who would have several other further credits on her resume after wrapping the production.
Pauly, who I have been unable to find any real background information on, made her debut in a very small role in the 1968 biker flick The Wild Racers, a hard to come by film starring Fabien and the always splendid Mimsy Farmer. Rollin's film marks Pauly's second production and she's very memorable in a fairly large role. One of the first great beauties Rollin would shoot in his career, Pauly has a refreshingly natural quality about her and the camera absolutely loves her.
After shooting La Vampire Nue for Rollin in 1970, Pauly became a fairly in demand actress in French exploitation and shot several memorable productions in the next year. First up is Claude d'Anna's La Morte Trouble (Death Disturbs), which reportedly features one of Pauly's largest roles although I can't verify this as I haven't seen it. Next up is perhaps Pauly's most famous work outside of the Rollin films, Bruno Gantillon's very Rollin like Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fey (a film which also features Rape of the Vampire's Solange Pradel). Pauly's role isn't all that substantial in this production but she again proves very memorable and the film, currently available on a splendid special edition DVD from Mondo Macabre, is well worth tracking down.
Seemingly poised on what looked to be a successful career, Pauly apparently only shot two more productions before falling out of view. These are Jacques Scandelari's striking La Philosophie dans le boudoir (Beyond Love and Evil), which I saw years ago and wish I had a copy of, and Jean-Francoise Davy's La Débauche ou les amours buissonières (Dirty Lovers), a film which features Jess Franco regular Alice Arno.
No other credits are listed for Pauly and Rollin doesn't mention her in any of the materials I have. Any other information on what happened to this beguiling actress would be much appreciated.
Notes on the Theatrical Screenings of Le Viol Du Vampire
(One of several images of the initial theatrical showings of Le Viol Du Vampire available on the supplements of Encores beautiful box set).
To say that the initial theatrical showing of The Rape of the Vampire caused a scandal in France is a major understatement. Released in 1968, one of the most turbulent years in the countries history, at the height of the most ferocious student riots and around the time of the infamous closing of Henri Langlois' famed Cinematheque Francaise, Le Viol Du Vampire was either looked upon as an ultimate act of revolution or a total disgrace. I thought gathering a few key quotes on these initial engagements from some essential Rollin sources would help put the film in perspective.
"We organized a premire in the film theater of the Musee de l'homme. A big crowd gathered and more than a hundred persons had to stay outside. The screening enduced nothing but bursts of of laughter from the audience."
-Jean Rollin, Le Viol du Vampire Encore Booklet-
"The lights go down and the opening credits roll. Le Viol du Vampire...someone in the cinema laughs out loud. Someone tells them to shut up. More voices. More comments."
-Cathal Tohill, Pete Tombs, Immoral Tales-
"Hidden in the projection room, I was suffering in silence and feeling very hurt."
-Jean Rollin, Le Viol du Vampire Encore Booklet-
"There was a huge scandal, which hasn't been forgotten...After that film came out I was stunned by the hostile, even aggressive response, which followed me for years no matter what I did."
-Jean Rollin, Virgins and Vampires-
"Suddenly the door to the auditorium flies open. Lights flood in, drowning the black and white images on the screen. There's a whiff of something acrid. Tear gas."
-Cathal Tohill, Pete Tombs, Immoral Tales-
"Because it was May 1968, a time of free spirits and audacity, I believed that something this crazy would be seen in a favorable light...the reverse happened."
-Jean Rollin, Virgins and Vampires-
"Then the noise of Police sirens and the clatter of stones deflected off shields...Le Viol du Vampire was one of only two new films that opened that week in Paris. Audiences flocked to see it. The spirit of insurrection was in the air. People were looking for something new and startling...they certainly found it."
-Cathal Tohill, Pete Tombs, Immoral Tales-
"The film was released in four cinemas...it was a huge scandal...people were hissing, roaring that they had been made a fool of."
-Jean Rollin, Le Viol du Vampire Encore Booklet-
"Not sure whether to laugh, scream, or ask for their money back, the crowd howled out their disapproval. And it wasn't just vocal: shoes, fruit and empty cans all found their way towards the screen...and before three weeks were out, more than forty five thousand people had been to join the riot."
-Cathal Tohill, Pete Tombs, Immoral Tales-
"Some members of the audience waited for me the whole evening just to give me a hammering. I was astounded by such reactions."
-Jean Rollin, Le Viol du Vampire Encore Booklet-
"All the newspapers sent reviewers to see the film. They all hated it. The effects on Rollin's subsequent career were long lasting...the events of May 68 cast a long shadow, and it was many years before sympathetic viewers began to latch on to what Rollin was really trying to do."
-Cathal Tohill, Pete Tombs, Immoral Tales-
"Honestly I don't care (about the stereotyping as a director of erotic vampire films). Some people Say I'm a genius, other consider me the greatest moron who ever stepped behind a camera."
-Jean Rollin to Peter Blumenstock in Video Watchdog #31 and Virgins and Vampires-
Jean Rollin: The Collaborators (Francois Tusques)
Easily one of the most unforgettable aspects of Jean Rollin’s first feature film Le Viol Du Vampire (The Rape of the Vampire) is its extraordinary score courtesy of famed Parisian Jazz Musician Francois Tusques. Swirling free-jazz, bits of classical romanticism and more than a trace of Avant-garde minimalism fill Tusques’ score, and it is indeed an unforgettable work that matches Rollin’s iconic imagery from beginning to end.
Born in Paris in 1938, Tusques began to make waves on the French music scene in the early to mid sixties as one of the key practitioners of the Free Jazz movement. Working with such famed and acclaimed French musicians like Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérin, Michel Portal, and François Jeanneau, Tusques quickly became known as one of the key French players of the day, and his albums Free Jazz and Le Nouveau Jazz are widely considered two of the most important French Jazz albums of the sixties.
Writing on his important collaboration with American drummer Sunny Murray in 1968 at the height of the student protests, TransAtlantic Magazine States that Tusque’s “infectiously repetitious pianism” blended in “perfectly with Murray’s pulsing washes of sound” and the two helped form a potent and haunting soundtrack to that most turbulent year in France.
Tusques was an ideal choice to compose the music for Rollin’s wild first feature, a work that very much resembles one of the unrestrained improvised pieces Tusque might have been playing in the period. Interviewed on Encore’s box set of Le Viol Du Vampire, Tusque recalls very little of the making of the film but he seems to have good feelings concerning both it and Rollin…he also seems quite thrilled with his cameo with his band that comes late in the film.
“The Apex of his ‘Out’ Recordings” (TransAtlantic) Intercommunal Music landed in 1971 and is widely considered his key work…an exhilarating suite broken up into several pieces that solidified his position as one of the great modern French players…a role that he continues to play to this day.
Unfortunately Tusque has recorded very little for the screen, with Le Viol Du Vampire marking his only notable soundtrack. He scored a short Bernadette Lafont film in 1968 and has since only worked sporadically in documentary work, a fact that makes his remarkable soundtrack for Le Viol Du Vampire one of the great cinematic one hit wonders.
Tusque’s soundtrack album for Le Viol Du Vampire has been released on CD according to Encore’s DVD set but I have been unable to track it down. Pity as I am sure it would reflect what TransAtlantic summed up about the remarkable Francois Tusque’s career…that it is indeed “a joyous revolution”.
Born in Paris in 1938, Tusques began to make waves on the French music scene in the early to mid sixties as one of the key practitioners of the Free Jazz movement. Working with such famed and acclaimed French musicians like Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérin, Michel Portal, and François Jeanneau, Tusques quickly became known as one of the key French players of the day, and his albums Free Jazz and Le Nouveau Jazz are widely considered two of the most important French Jazz albums of the sixties.
Writing on his important collaboration with American drummer Sunny Murray in 1968 at the height of the student protests, TransAtlantic Magazine States that Tusque’s “infectiously repetitious pianism” blended in “perfectly with Murray’s pulsing washes of sound” and the two helped form a potent and haunting soundtrack to that most turbulent year in France.
Tusques was an ideal choice to compose the music for Rollin’s wild first feature, a work that very much resembles one of the unrestrained improvised pieces Tusque might have been playing in the period. Interviewed on Encore’s box set of Le Viol Du Vampire, Tusque recalls very little of the making of the film but he seems to have good feelings concerning both it and Rollin…he also seems quite thrilled with his cameo with his band that comes late in the film.
“The Apex of his ‘Out’ Recordings” (TransAtlantic) Intercommunal Music landed in 1971 and is widely considered his key work…an exhilarating suite broken up into several pieces that solidified his position as one of the great modern French players…a role that he continues to play to this day.
Unfortunately Tusque has recorded very little for the screen, with Le Viol Du Vampire marking his only notable soundtrack. He scored a short Bernadette Lafont film in 1968 and has since only worked sporadically in documentary work, a fact that makes his remarkable soundtrack for Le Viol Du Vampire one of the great cinematic one hit wonders.
Tusque’s soundtrack album for Le Viol Du Vampire has been released on CD according to Encore’s DVD set but I have been unable to track it down. Pity as I am sure it would reflect what TransAtlantic summed up about the remarkable Francois Tusque’s career…that it is indeed “a joyous revolution”.
Jean Rollin Screenshots: The Rape of The Vampire
***In the early days of this blog I used the photo service Zooomr to store all of its photos. While I will still use the excellent Zooomr to hold all my photos as a backup, I have decided to repost these screenshots directly to blogspot. While this might seem a bit repetitive, I hope that it will make the photos easier to access for folks who want to download the full size versions. I also hope it might bring a few more fans here who might be using Google Image search.***
Jean Rollin Home Video Designs: The Rape of the Vampire
A very kind reader from France recently alerted me to this wonderful database he is involved with dedicated to preserving rare VHS box art from around the world. They have a huge Jean Rollin selection here and this reader has offered to supply me with some large scans to share with fellow Rollin fans. This is the next batch featuring some various scans.
Jean Rollin: Various Behind the Scenes on The Rape of the Vampire, Requiem for a Vampire and Killing Car
***More shots taken from that German Grapes of Death DVD***
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