Book Review: FASCINATION: THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN by David Hinds

 

FASCINATION:  THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN

Written by:  David Hinds

Published by:  Headpress Books

  If you are a fan of sleazy cinema, especially Vampire films, you probably know the name Jean Rollin.  This European director made his first short film in 1958 at the age of 20 years old, and directed films up until his death in 2010, with his 52nd and final film, Le Masque de la Meduse (The Mask Of Medusa).  I have seen quite a few of his films, but I had no idea he directed so many!   I probably won't have a chance to watch them all, but I can at least read about Rollin and all his films in this awesome reference book from Headpress Books.   

 FASCINATION:  THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN by David Hinds in a remarkably in-depth look into the career of Jean Rollin.  Here is a description of the book from the Headpress website:

  May 1968. Paris is awash with violence and public unrest. In a small cinema, where a surreal film is showing, another riot is taking place. Here, the enraged audience smashes up the auditorium, tear out the seats, and chase the film’s director onto the street. This is the premiere of Jean Rollin’s feature debut, The Rape of the Vampire.

An outsider of French cinema, Rollin’s films are unique and dreamlike. They offer tales of mystery and nostalgia, obsolescence and seductive female vampires with a thirst for blood and sex. It is a cinema at once strange, evocative and deeply personal.

Funding his own projects, Rollin defiantly made the films he wanted to make and in so doing created a fantastique genre unlike any other. The Nude Vampire, The Living Dead Girl and The Grapes of Death are among those films now celebrated as the work of an auteur, one who confounds preconceived notions of ‘Eurotrash’ cinema.
This book is devoted to the director and all his work, across all genres, including a nascent French hardcore pornographic film industry. Written with full co-operation from Jean Rollin, shortly before his death in 2010, it contains exclusive interviews and archive material.

 This book is one of my new favorites to add to my film book collection.  It starts off as a biography, including events that shaped his visions for his films, before changing over to a reference book and providing essays and descriptions about each of Rollin's films.    Nothing is left uncovered in this book.  It discusses all his more well known films, along with his lesser known ones, and films he directed under a couple of different names!  It also covers his foray into hardcore pornography films in the mid to late 70's, and then finishes up with info on his short films and some unfinished projects he had in the works.   The book also contains an in-depth interview the author did with Rollin at his Paris apartment back in 2005, as well as a bibliography (I didn't even know Rollins was an author himself until reading this book), and a filmography of all his films. 

 The real meat of this book is the essay section of each of his most well known films.   These are 6-7 page essays and descriptions of each film, full of great information and behind the scenes info on anything from funding issues to trouble with some of the actors and actresses.   Hinds really leaves nothing to the imagination and gives you more info than you probably ever thought you needed on these films.   

  A couple more things I have to mention is the actual book design itself.   It's not an oversized book like a lot of film books are.  It's just a tad bigger than a trade paperback, so it travels well.   It would be great for a plane or bus ride, although you might get some funny looks due to the awesome cover art!    The book also contains hundreds of pictures throughout the book from all of Rollin's films.  All the pics of the film scenes and poster art are very interesting. 

 If you are a fan of European horror cinema, and especially of Jean Rollin, this is a must have book to add to your collection!

CLICK HERE to purchase the book from Headpress Books