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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Lips of Blood" or "Lèvres de sang" )
directed by Jean Rollin
France 1975
The 4K UHD of Rollin's Lips of Blood is reviewed/compared HERE
While
at a party to promote a new perfume, Frederic (co-writer
Jean-Loup Philippe,
RAPE OF THE VAMPIRE ) recognizes the setting of
one of the ad campaign photographs from a vague
childhood memory involving a mysterious woman (Anne
Brilland). His mother (Natalie Perry) tries to
discourage his delving into the past but he is
eventually lead by the ageless apparition of this woman
to a crypt where he accidentally unleashes a quartet of
vampire women from their tombs. As Frederic continues to
pursue the mystery woman, his mother dispatches henchmen
to deal with the vampire epidemic and goes to
extraordinary lengths to keep the past a secret. |
Theatrical Release: 18 May 1975
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Encore Entertainment - Region 0 - PAL vs. Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the Screen Caps!
Coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Indicator in October 2023: |
Redemption USA Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Distribution |
Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC |
Encore Entertainment Region 0 - PAL |
Redemption USA Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:26:48 | 1:23:15 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:27:15.803 |
Video |
1.65:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 30,138,301,647 bytes Feature: 23,761,316,160 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Image Entertainment
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Bitrate:
Encore Entertainment
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Bitrate:
Redemption Blu-ray
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Audio | French (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono) |
French (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono) |
LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bi |
Subtitles | English, none | English, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, none | English, none |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 14 |
Release Information: Studio: Encore Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: 30
November 2005 Chapters 8 |
Release Information: Studio: Redemption Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 30,138,301,647 bytes Feature: 23,761,316,160 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Introduction by Jean Rollin (2:40 in 1080P)
• Natalie Perrey
Interview (9:45 in 1080P)
• 20-page booklet 'The Cinema of
Jean Rollin's
Blu-ray
Release Date:
January 24th, 2012 Chapters 10 |
Comments |
The 4K UHD of Rollin's Lips of Blood is reviewed / compared HERE
NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
ADDITION: Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray (January 12'): The Blu-ray version of Lips of Blood (Lèvres de sang) seems to look a bit weak beside the DVDs. It may be marginally superior in terms of image quality but doesn't rise to the heights of the format. There is a softness that may be inherent in the production but the Encore DVD appears to have overcome that. It may come down to the source and with the redemption being the inferior print. The Redemption Blu-ray does not show the 'title' anywhere that I could find on the transfer, plus there are different speckles and marks. the dual-layered, 1080P visuals are darker but warmer skin tones. It has less artifacts than either of the DVD - although still exhibits noise. The overall improvement would be considered quite modest.
There is a linear PCM tracks in French with optional English subtitles. The audio is imperfect, but is clear enough to ascertain with no significant dropouts or pops. The disc is region FREE playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
We get a couple of extras on the Blu-ray - all in 1080P - starting with a 3-minute introduction by Jean Rollin, followed by an interview with Natalie Perrey as well as French Theatrical Trailers for 5 Rollin films and this package includes a 20-page booklet 'The Cinema of Jean Rollin' with essay (Tim Lucas) and other information.
O bviously I am not overwhelmed by the image quality but admit that my presentation was a reasonably positive experience. The more Rollin films I view - the more I can appreciate his filmmaking style. I'm no expert on the genre but this seemed keeping in-line with the director's other films - showcasing a fractured, heavily artistic bent. His fans might only wish to consider if they can obtain this Blu-ray at a reasonable price.*** ON THE DVDs: While the wealth of extras (including the standard incredibly informative 64 page booklet) is worth the price, Encore's transfer is problematic in a few areas. Firstly, it has been cropped from 1.66:1 to 1.78:1 (Encore's RAPE OF THE VAMPIRE - was stretched from 1.66:1 to 1.78:1 while their THE LIVING DEAD GIRL's 1.78:1 transfer revealed more peripheral information than the 1.66:1 transfer from Image) which often crops off the top of heads (especially the taller Philippe). Secondly, while the action under the credits is present on the transfer the title overlays are missing (they were present on the Image transfer from which the title cap is sourced). Thirdly, the end credits on both transfers are extensively damaged. It should be noted that the selected scenes commentary on the third disc appear over the earlier 1.66:1 transfer containing the credits missing from the feature on the first disc. While other releases in the Encore series have included alternate and deleted scenes, LEVRES DE SANG's extras do not include the alternate hardcore footage (mostly involving the models at the photographer's studio) for the X-rated re-edit SUCE-MOI VAMPIRE released in France to recoup the money lost on the original film (Encore's release of NIGHT OF THE HUNTED includes hardcore inserts for that film as Easter Eggs in addition to other alternate footage). Some of the day for night exteriors have also been tinted blue with varying degrees of success (see capture 6 which is actually a more arresting image without the tint).
The second DVD features interviews with Philippe, Perry, the
director's son Serge (who plays Frederic in the flashbacks),
and Cathy Tricot (THE NUDE VAMPIRE - link) and the
featurette "The Beach that Follows Me" about Rollin's
favorite Dieppe shooting location. The short film "Les
Amours Jaunes" is featured on the third disc (it is also an
extra on the US DVD of
THE NUDE VAMPIRE) along with
trailers for the feature (absent from the Image DVD),
DEMONIAQUES, and
REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE along with
an extensive 64 page booklet. |
Menus
(Image Entertainment - Region 0 -
NTSC - LEFT vs. Encore Entertainment - Region 0 - PAL -
RIGHT)
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Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP2) Encore Entertainment - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
Subtitle sample
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1) Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP2) Encore Entertainment - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE3) Redemption - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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