Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil was a French film director, actor, and novelist best known for his work in the fantastique genre such as the vampire film Le Viol du Vampire and the first French gore film Les Raisins de la Mort. His films are noted for their exquisite, if mostly static, cinematography, off-kilter plot progression and poetic dialogue, their playful surrealism and recurrent use of well-constructed female lead characters. Outlandish denouments and abstruse visual symbols were trademarks throughout his 'dark fantasy' career. He was the first French director to recognise the acting capabilities of former porn actress Brigitte Lahaie, who took important roles in a number of his movies after appearing in Les Raisins de la Mort. Remarkably, in spite of their seeming high production values and precise craftsmanship, his films were made with very little money, and often under crushing deadlines. With Les Paum�es du Petit Matin, for example, he was contracted to make the film within a month. 

November 3rd, 1938 in Neuilly-sur-Seine  /  Died:   Dec 15th, 2010