...et mourir de plaisir (Le Sang et la Rose)

A school chum and I saw this film only one time - when it was first released in 1960. During a recent reunion we realized that neither of us has ever forgotten the spellbinding qualities of the movie as a whole! I very clearly remember the impression of having walked into a renaissance-era painting accompanied by a musical score that along with the visuals, created an almost hypnotic state. Elsa Martinelli was a familiar face at that time, but the mysteriously beautiful other actress was not. I now realize she has to have been Annette Vadim. I clearly remember the undercurrent she portrayed with such seemingly effortless skill that it almost felt like watching two separate characters. The other actors and characters seemed to be almost like props in comparison to these two players in the story. I do hope I can see it again.

I recently had the opportunity to see the French version of this film ("And Die of Pleasure")and propose two things of note: firstly, the controversy over the omission of the dream sequence- regarding the official running time of 84 minutes, I believe it was actually included in the French version but this print was either damaged or censored, the cutting is way too abrupt and the scene rendered senseless. If the scene was included in the French version then the running time would match official sources. Excellent source materials such as Silver & Ursini's The Vampire Film seem to back this up. The other point of interest that no one has noted so far is perhaps even more controversial. Although there is a brief nude scene included in the dream sequence, there is one nude scene in the French version clipped out of the American prints- before Annette Vadim breaks the mirror she tears her dress away and reveals her blood smeared breast. Yes, we DO see it! This ten years before Yutte Stensgaard's bloody topless resurrection in Lust for a Vampire!

An art house horror movie. Probably missed by horror fans, the film depicts a vampiress as romantic. The music by Jean Prodromidès and the cinematography by Claude Renoir certainly add to the romantic feeling throughout. A Harlequin horror film? Even the long shots in this film have a grace seldom seen. It often looks as if one is viewing and Impressionistic painting.

Carmilla (Annette Vadim) visits an abbey where the vampiress is buried and we see an immediate change in her mood. Was she possessed? It isn't clear.

Don't look for blood and guts or lesbian scenes. Everything happens off screen, even in the original version. But, it was a beautiful love story.

This film has three outstanding features: The spectacular location, Hadrian's Villa, Claude Renoir's ravishing color and b&w cinematography, and an exquisite score featuring the rarely-used Irish harp. Vadim's direction fails to make the most of these elements, or the story, alas, but Annette Stroyberg and Elsa Martinelli are both interesting. It's above average for Vadim.

I don't know where the other poster got the idea that Stroyberg's first name was Carmilla. She did sometimes go by her married name, Vadim.

I'm a fan of director Roger Vadim's movie. They have vividness that's uniquely his. This movie is no exception. The details are superb, and eroticism shown can only be put on screen by a genius who's born with talent. The thought provoking plot is built into the picture itself. The mood , the camera angle, all tells a story while heightening the mood. It's an art that I wish more Hollywood directors would learn how to do.

Anette Vadim is beautiful in this movie. Obviously Roger Vadim knows how to pick his women.

The movie has lavishness, and esprit that more modern movies can't emulate.

The movie is low on technical sophistication, or overt gore of vampirism, but you need to see it to appreciate how interesting, and beautiful this movie is.