Annette Vadim Movies

Previously filmed in 1932 as Vampyr, Sheridan LeFanu's classic psychological horror tale was given a second go round in 1961 as Blood & Roses (Et Mourir de Plaisir). While Carl Theodor Dreyer concentrated on mood and suspense in Vampyr, Blood & Roses director Roger Vadim goes directly to the jugular, so to speak, with generous doses of eerie eroticism. Annette Vadim plays Carmilla, who upon learning that she had a vampire ancestor becomes obsessed with finding out even more. Soon Carmilla has succumbed to the siren song of vampirism, and cannot quench her insatiable thirst for human blood. The lesbian subtext in the LeFanu original is played out con brio by Vadim-though not in the heavily bowderlized version made available to American audiences in 1962. Blood & Roses was subsequently remade as The Vampire Lovers and The Blood-Spattered Bride. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pierre Ambroise Francois Choderlos de Laclos's 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses was filmed several times. In Roger Vadim's version, Jeanne Moreau coerces her husband Gerard Philippe into ruining the reputation of pious Annette Vadim (the director's wife at the time). Philippe spoils Moreau's nasty little plan by falling in love with his intended victim. While the novel merely humiliated Moreau's character for her misdeeds, Vadim comes up with a far more painful and permanent punishment. Since the release of the 1988 Dangerous Liaisons, Vadim's film has travelled under the title Dangerous Liaisons 1960 (even though it was technically completed in 1959, and released to the U.S. in 1961). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi