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Editorial Reviews
Review
Ultimately The Iron Rose is a first rate horror film which drowns its viewers in its baroque and at times surreal visuals. --10K Bullets
Product Description
A pair of lovers have a tryst in a vacant tomb, but then find themselves unable to escape form the graves and crypts of the massive cemetery. One of cult director Jean Rollin's most unconventional film, THE IRON ROSE vividly depicts the young couple's steady descent into madness.
BONUS FEATURES: Introduction by Jean Rollin (5 min), 2 French Theatrical Trailers, 2 English Theatrical Trailers, Trailers for Fascination, Lips of Blood, Shiver of the Vampires & The Nude Vampire. Interview with Natalie Perrey (9 min), Interview with Francoise Pascal (15 min) and more! Languages include English Dubbed + French with optional English Subtitles.
BONUS FEATURES: Introduction by Jean Rollin (5 min), 2 French Theatrical Trailers, 2 English Theatrical Trailers, Trailers for Fascination, Lips of Blood, Shiver of the Vampires & The Nude Vampire. Interview with Natalie Perrey (9 min), Interview with Francoise Pascal (15 min) and more! Languages include English Dubbed + French with optional English Subtitles.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
While out riding bicycles in the country, a young couple on their first date stop to picnic in a vast cemetery. They soon find themselves in the throes of passion in one of the crypts below ground. When they emerge, the already uneasy lovers discover night has fallen, and they are now lost amongst the graves. As the night progresses, the seemingly endless cemetery takes on a more ominous tone as the lovers panic and turn on each other as they try in vain to find a way out. Before the break of dawn the girl becomes consumed by her surroundings, rejects the outside world, and wishes to remain with the dead. By contrast her companion becomes more hostile as he searches in vain for a way out.
There's more to THE IRON ROSE than that, but not much more in terms of plot. It literally is a night in the cemetery. Director, Rollin does an admirable job of infusing the surroundings with a somber dread as we share what feels like a real-time descent into dusk and the overwhelming spell cast by the iron crosses, crumbling statues, and overgrown maze of tombs in which the lovers are trapped. Indeed, to enjoy this film you pretty much have to share Rollin's fascination for the morbid aesthetics of the authentic cemetery in which he filmed.
I'm not a huge Rollin fan but I liked THE IRON ROSE quite a bit. It would be more than fair to say it's not for everyone. It's certainly not "horror" in the conventional sense. Rather, it's an artsy, grim bit of romantic poetry that chooses death over love as its inspiration. Sound pretentious? Well, it is, but it also just kind of worked for me.
This new HD transfer is a great improvement over the previous DVD. The image is more nuanced than before, and gives the film a more natural looking nighttime appearance.
There's more to THE IRON ROSE than that, but not much more in terms of plot. It literally is a night in the cemetery. Director, Rollin does an admirable job of infusing the surroundings with a somber dread as we share what feels like a real-time descent into dusk and the overwhelming spell cast by the iron crosses, crumbling statues, and overgrown maze of tombs in which the lovers are trapped. Indeed, to enjoy this film you pretty much have to share Rollin's fascination for the morbid aesthetics of the authentic cemetery in which he filmed.
I'm not a huge Rollin fan but I liked THE IRON ROSE quite a bit. It would be more than fair to say it's not for everyone. It's certainly not "horror" in the conventional sense. Rather, it's an artsy, grim bit of romantic poetry that chooses death over love as its inspiration. Sound pretentious? Well, it is, but it also just kind of worked for me.
This new HD transfer is a great improvement over the previous DVD. The image is more nuanced than before, and gives the film a more natural looking nighttime appearance.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A tip of the hat to Redemption for releasing this rare Rollin film to his fans and to people who like their horrors simplistic and passionate. This is an interesting nightmare involving two lovers locked overnight in a cemetary and having their imaginations, senses, and friendships dissolving around them. Shadows reveal terror, gothic statuary reveals monsters, iron gates become invisible claws, I could go on and on but experience it for yourself preferably after midnight.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
For the uninitiated, the films of Jean Rollin can be hard to explain (and sometimes, even harder to defend). The Iron Rose was the 3rd in a series of borderline horror/erotica films the director made in the 70's. For those looking for cheap thrills, this probably isn't the Rollin film you want. Unlike the "lesbian vampire" sub-genre Rollin help to perpetuate with films like Shiver of the Vampires [Blu-ray] and Lips of Blood [Blu-ray], The Iron Rose is actually fairly restrained.
It's a fairly simple story of a young couple who get locked in a cemetary at night, and the rapid disintegration of their relationship and sanity. The girl (neither character is given a name in the film) is affected the most, as she begins to embrace the death and decay surrounding them, to the point of even talking to corpses beneath their feet. In the wrong hands, such scenes might have decended into camp, but Rollin gets a bravura performance out of Francoise Pascal. She takes the girl from kittenish flirt to screaming lunatic in a matter of minutes.
As with most any foreign "art" film, one can look for something beneath the surface if one enjoys that type of celluloid psychoanalysis. The girl, for example, may be taking on her shocking new hobby out of disappointment in her would-be lover (who unfortunately resembles the French love child of Rob Lowe and Eric McCormack). If that sounds far-fetched, consider this exchange early in the film: As the pair settle in for a picnic beside a tombstone, the boy accidentally knocks over an iron cross marker. As he's replacing it, the girl comments "Is doesn't seem very hard." "Hang on, I'll stick it back in," he replies. Hello...paging Dr. Freud!
Even putting aside the search for meaning in a 40 year-old French exploitation film, it's not hard to appreciate the gorgeous cinematography. This was my first time viewing the film, so I can't compare the transfer to any prior release, but the colors are quite vivid. Even the numerous nighttime scenes--often a place where HD transfers falter--are clear enough without seeming articially lit. Shots are composed for maximum beauty, such as the famous beach scene, where the girl imagines covorting nude with the titular iron rose in-hand. Like other auteurs such as Hitchcock or Argento, Jean Rollin seems to believe in the power of what Hitch called "pure cinema." The plot and actors are never as important as what the camera's eye actually sees at any given moment.
As for the Blu-ray, the extras include interviews with Rollin himself, Pascal, and a frequent collaborator of the director. There are great, unedited trailers for this and four additional Rollin films. As mentioned above, the transfer is rich in color and detail. While it's not quite up to today's HD standards, it's perfectly fine for a film of this vintage. There's a handy little booklet written by Tim Lucas which covers all of Jean Rollin's films (for those who have bought other Rollin titles from Redemption, this is the same book that comes with those).
If you've heard about Rollin and wanted to give him a try. . .I'd actually suggest you start with Shiver of the Vampires or his most popular film Fascination. But if you like atmosphere and suggestive horror, The Iron Rose is a good choice as well.
It's a fairly simple story of a young couple who get locked in a cemetary at night, and the rapid disintegration of their relationship and sanity. The girl (neither character is given a name in the film) is affected the most, as she begins to embrace the death and decay surrounding them, to the point of even talking to corpses beneath their feet. In the wrong hands, such scenes might have decended into camp, but Rollin gets a bravura performance out of Francoise Pascal. She takes the girl from kittenish flirt to screaming lunatic in a matter of minutes.
As with most any foreign "art" film, one can look for something beneath the surface if one enjoys that type of celluloid psychoanalysis. The girl, for example, may be taking on her shocking new hobby out of disappointment in her would-be lover (who unfortunately resembles the French love child of Rob Lowe and Eric McCormack). If that sounds far-fetched, consider this exchange early in the film: As the pair settle in for a picnic beside a tombstone, the boy accidentally knocks over an iron cross marker. As he's replacing it, the girl comments "Is doesn't seem very hard." "Hang on, I'll stick it back in," he replies. Hello...paging Dr. Freud!
Even putting aside the search for meaning in a 40 year-old French exploitation film, it's not hard to appreciate the gorgeous cinematography. This was my first time viewing the film, so I can't compare the transfer to any prior release, but the colors are quite vivid. Even the numerous nighttime scenes--often a place where HD transfers falter--are clear enough without seeming articially lit. Shots are composed for maximum beauty, such as the famous beach scene, where the girl imagines covorting nude with the titular iron rose in-hand. Like other auteurs such as Hitchcock or Argento, Jean Rollin seems to believe in the power of what Hitch called "pure cinema." The plot and actors are never as important as what the camera's eye actually sees at any given moment.
As for the Blu-ray, the extras include interviews with Rollin himself, Pascal, and a frequent collaborator of the director. There are great, unedited trailers for this and four additional Rollin films. As mentioned above, the transfer is rich in color and detail. While it's not quite up to today's HD standards, it's perfectly fine for a film of this vintage. There's a handy little booklet written by Tim Lucas which covers all of Jean Rollin's films (for those who have bought other Rollin titles from Redemption, this is the same book that comes with those).
If you've heard about Rollin and wanted to give him a try. . .I'd actually suggest you start with Shiver of the Vampires or his most popular film Fascination. But if you like atmosphere and suggestive horror, The Iron Rose is a good choice as well.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't like it
Confusing and weak plot. No ghosts just 2 people lost in a spooky graveyard. Atmosphere was good but overall a waste of time
Published 1 month ago by Kemosabe
3.0 out of 5 stars
creepy romantic
This movie has possibilities but it was slow moving and poorly executed... Ideas and possibilities are left hanging .. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Vincel
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hardly a classic!
Jean Rollin made some classic films, but this is not one of them. A vapid and narcissistic guy leads the female lead through a series of bad experiences, to (I suppose) understand... Read more
Published 3 months ago by George Patrick Mcgill
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful
What a dud. I'm afraid I have to disagree with the other reviewers here, all of whom so far gave this film three-, four-, and five-star reviews. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Harry O
4.0 out of 5 stars
Elegiac tone poem...
"The Iron Rose"(1972) is directed by Jean Rollin. Most of the film takes place in a cemetery where a boy and girl spend the night. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Edmonson
3.0 out of 5 stars
ok late nite fare
saw this on tcm awhile ago.if you like to think about your horror movie then this is for you. ok,but not much graphic footage. more creepy than scary. Read more
Published 13 months ago by big guy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Horror fans and European art snobs find common ground!
Simplicity is the bff of suspense, in modern cinema there seems to be a need to over complicate things to such a point that most suspense is lost in thrillers and horror films,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Shawn Gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Move Over Fulci, Rollin Does It So Much Better
I've always had trouble getting into 70s Italian horror (e.g. Argento, Fulci), but I didn't realize until "The Iron Rose" that 70s French horror works so much better. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ryan Hanson
