The Iron Rose – Indicator Series (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1973
Director: Jean Rollin
Writers: Tristan Corbière, Maurice Lemaître, Jean Rollin
Cast: Françoise Pascal, Hugues Quester, Natalie Perrey, Mireille Dargent, Michel Delesalle, Jean Rollin

Release Date: May 26th, 2025 (UK), May 27th, 2025 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 80 Minutes 14 Seconds (Both Versions)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French (La rose de fer), DTS-HD Mono English (The Crystal Rose)
Subtitles: English (La rose de fer), English SDH (The Crystal Rose)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

"When a couple – played by Françoise Pascal (Burke and Hare) and Hugues Quester (Je t’aime moi non plus) – stumble across an old cemetery, they begin to explore its gravestones and crypts. But, as night falls, they find that they are unable to leave..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Both Versions)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The Iron Rose was scanned, restored and color corrected in 4k HDR at Renasci Films, using the original 35mm negative. The Yellow Loves was scanned, restored and color corrected in 4k HDR at Film finity, using the original 35mm negative. Many thousands of instances of dirt, eliminate scratches and other imperfections, as well as repair damaged frames. No grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way.”

The Iron Rose comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.5 GB

Feature: 56.9 GB

This release uses seamless branching for the two versions. The source used for this transfer looks exceptional. Image clarity, depth, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated and at times vivid, and grain remains intact; the image always looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono French, DTS-HD Mono English)

La Rose de fer comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles.

The Crystal Rose comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH.

Both audio tracks are in great shape. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include image galleries: original promotional material (39 images), behind the scenes (47 images), dialogue continuity script (7 images) and ‘Les Nuits du cimetiere’ prose treatment (5 images), French theatrical trailer #1 (3 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), French theatrical trailer #2 (3 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), International theatrical trailer #1 (3 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), International theatrical trailer #2 (3 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an archival extra titled Jean Rollin Introduces ‘The Iron Rose’ (1 minute 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Jean Rollin titled Cemetery Gates (3 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an in-depth documentary on the making of The Iron Rose titled Les Nuits du cimetiere, featuring interviews with key Rollin associates Jean-Noël Delamarre, Natalie Perrey, and Alain Petit (15 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Françoise Pascal (22 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a newly edited interview with Françoise Pascal titled Woman is Free (23 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a featurette with Françoise Pascal signing autographs and meeting fans titled Kiss from a Rose (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a critical appreciation by author and film historian Stephen Thrower titled Children of the Grave (30 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with film historian Tim Lucas for The Iron Rose, a short film directed by Jean Rollin titled The Yellow Loves (10 minutes 38 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Tim Lucas for The Yellow Loves, and an 80-page book with cast & crew information for The Iron Rose, an essay titled Meet me at the Cemetery Gates written by Nick Pinkerton, an archival introduction by Jean Rollin, a reprint of Jean Rollin’s original 1972 scenario titled The Night of the Cemetery, an archival interview with Françoise Pascal conducted by Joe Young, cast & crew information for The Yellow Loves, an archival writing titled Jean Rollin on The Yellow Loves, an introduction to the poetry of Tristan Corbière written by Katherine Lunn-Rockliffe, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

There are some directors, like Jess Franco, that it takes a few of their films before you start to warm up to them, or in the worst case scenario, you just give up on them. I've seen a handful of Jean Rollin films like The Grapes of Death, The Shiver of the Vampires, The Nude Vampire, and Zombie Lake. I was not that impressed with the films of Jean Rollin. Then there is always that one film that finally opens your eyes to where you see what the fuss is about. And in this case, that film for me was The Iron Rose.

The Iron Rose opens with dream-like images that at times slightly remind me of Jess Franco’s The Female Vampire. The first words are not spoken until nearly six minutes into the film. Also, the scenes which lead up to the two lovers going to the graveyard are very mundane in their content and structure. The Iron Rose hits its stride once inside the graveyard, which is a character unto itself, very much like the Overlook Hotel is a character in The Shining. The story and its characters are so simple that they almost get lost in Jean Rollin’s visual tapestry of nightmare imagery.

The best horror films rely more on what you don’t ever get to see and less on what they show you. The Iron Rose keeps the horror just out of the viewers' peripheral vision and lets the actors convey the terror through their actions, words, and facial expressions. The Iron Rose’s strongest asset is Françoise Pascal, whose beauty and nativity pull us in for this dark, sinister journey in which two people let their fears separate them from the one common goal they once shared. Ultimately, The Iron Rose is a first-rate horror film which drowns its viewers in its baroque and, at times, surreal visuals.

The Iron Rose makes its way to 4K UHD via a definitive release from Powerhouse Films, highly recommended.

Note: This release is a limited edition of 10,000 numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer