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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "La Rose de Fer" or "The Crystal Rose" or "Night of the Cemetery" or " Friedhof der Toten Seelen" )

 

directed by Jean Rollin
France 1973

 

The plot is simple. A boy and a girl who share similar morbid romantic interests in music and poetry picnic at a labyrinthine cemetery and make love in a tomb. Night falls and they find themselves locked in and running in circles as their alternating fears and fascinations with death and decay overtake them and lead to an ending that can either be seen as tragic or romantic.

Many of Rollin's horror films have a surrealist influence and strike a balance between the director's love of pulp novels, silent adventure/crime serials and a morbid romantic poetic sense. LA ROSE DE FER eschews the pulp elements in favor of morbid romance (though there are a few surrealist touches throughout). LA ROSE DE FER (along with LEVRES DE SANG) is one of Rollin's most personal works and the result was unsuccessful with audiences but the film's real weak point is the bland performance of male lead Hughes Questor who mutters most of his dialogue and looks down away from camera (in the midst of a loud wedding party, he announces that he wishes to recite a poem but its hard to believe anyone heard him yet they quiet down). In contrast, Francoise Pascal lets the camera capture her. Rollin's regular cinematographer Jean-Jacques Renon beautifully render the foggy woods and mossy decay of the cemetery and Rollin regular Nathalie Perrey contributes both in front of and behind the camera (she has served as both cast member and various crew positions from REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE up to his most recent film LA NUIT TRANSFIGUREE). The film's eerie score was the last of three collaborations between Rollin and composer Pierre Raph.

Eric Cotenas

Poster

Theatrical Release: 12 April 1973

Reviews            More Reviews          DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Redemption (Redemption USA) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL vs. Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the Screen Caps!

1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

 

Box Covers

 

Distribution

Redemption

Region 0 - NTSC

X-Rated Kult DVD
Region 2 - PAL

Redemption USA

Region FREE - Blu-ray

Runtime 1:16:42 (4% PAL speedup) 1:16:54 (4% PAL speedup) 1:20:26.853
Video

1.62:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.2 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.62:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.28 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 32,930,937,252 bytes

Feature: 19,489,976,448 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.33 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

 

Redemption (Redemption USA)

 

Bitrate:

 

X-Rated Kult DVD

 

Bitrate:

 

Redemption

Blu-ray

 

Audio French (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)

French (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono); German (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles English, none English, German, none English, none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Redemption

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.62:1

Edition Details:
• Les Pays Loins short film (15:39)
• Les Pays Loins still gallery
• Still gallery
• Other Redemption trailers
• Blood & Dishonour book teaser

DVD Release Date: 25 September 2007
Amaray

Chapters 6

Release Information:
Studio: X-Rated Kult DVD

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.62:1

Edition Details:
• French trailer (with English title)
• German trailer
• Still gallery (23:39)
 

DVD Release Date: 20 January 2005
Oversized Clamshell

Chapters 12

Release Information:
Studio: Redemption

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 32,930,937,252 bytes

Feature: 19,489,976,448 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.33 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Introduction by Jean Rollin (1:16 in 1080P)

• Françoise Pascal Interview (22:01 in 1080P)

• Natalie Perrey Interview (8:40 in 1080P)
• Original Theatrical Trailers for 5 Rollin films in 1080P
• English Opening Title Sequence (2:21 in 1080P)

• 20-page booklet 'The Cinema of Jean Rollin's
 

Blu-ray Release Date: January 24th, 2012
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

Comments:

NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

 

ADDITION: Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray (January 12'): While this is not flawless it is interesting to investigate the differences between the DVDs and the new Blu-ray. The 1080P has a darker cast over the images and this occasionally obscures detail - overall though, colors are significantly bolder and the image is richer. There is some noise on the Blu-ray. I think the intense, darker look suits the film more and I suspect is probably closer to the original intent.

 

There are linear PCM tracks in the option of French or English and optional English subtitles. The audio isn't strong but is probably more a function of the original production roots - but there are no notable flaws. The disc is region FREE playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

Supplement-wise we get another short introduction by Jean Rollin, a revealing Françoise Pascal interview lasting 22-minutes. There is also input from Natalie Perrey during a 9-minute interview, original Theatrical Trailers for 5 Rollin films in 1080P and the English Opening Title Sequence (2:21 in 1080P). Included in the package is a 20-page booklet 'The Cinema of Jean Rollin' with essays (Tim Lucas) and more information.

 

This is more of Rollin's 'creepy' intriguing film collection. I kinda liked this - it held my attention well and is definitely 'haunting'. Fans should indulge to take advantage of the superior a/v and bonus extras - it's quite a difference that will reflect positively in the presentation. 

Gary W. Tooze

***

ON THE DVDs: Image quality is a draw between these two releases. Redemption USA’s transfer is, of course, an interlaced PAL-NTSC conversion; however, X-Rated’s progressive, single-layer, anamorphic transfer is sometimes plagued by artifacting. Colors are slightly richer on the Redemption disc, but the difference is minimal. The subtitles on the X-Rated disc are a bit more literate but the Redemption subtitles are more than adequate and better displayed. Mono audio on both are fine with the creepy music sounding enveloping.

The Redemption disc includes the short film "Les Pays Loins" in anamorphic widescreen and an accompanying still gallery. Note that the short was also included as a supplement on the Dutch 3-disc set of Jean Rollin's LES DEMONIAQUES. The short film was also presented in anamorphic widescreen on that release and had an accompanying audio commentary by Rollin not present on the Redemption disc. The twelve second time difference between the Redemption and X-Rated DVD transfers is the result of the opening licensor logo on the German disc.

The German disc has beautiful motion menus scored with Pierre Raph's music and a still gallery. The UK disc (not reviewed here) has an interview with the director.

 - Eric Cotenas

 


DVD Menus
(
Redemption (Redemption USA) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)


 

 

Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 


 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

Subtitle sample

 


1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Redemption USA - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) X-Rated Kult DVD - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


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Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Redemption / Blu-ray
 

Box Covers

 

Distribution

Redemption

Region 0 - NTSC

X-Rated Kult DVD
Region 2 - PAL

Redemption USA

Region FREE - Blu-ray




 

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Gary Tooze

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