Fantomas: 1960s Collection Blu-ray - Apr 30, 2019

[RoboDan]

FANTOMAS: 1960's COLLECTION Blu-Ray

Pierre Souvestre’s Fantômas was originally adapted for the screen by legendary filmmaker Louis Feuillade (Les vampires) in 1913. André Hunebelle (OSS 117: Mission for a Killer) introduced a revamped and modernized version of Fantômas to the 1960s OSS 117 and 007 audience. All three films starred the great Jean Marais (Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast) as Fantômas, a criminal mastermind and man of a thousand faces. The three films co-starred Louis de Funès as Le commissaire Juve, Mylène Demongeot as Hélène, Jacques Dynam as L’inspecteur Bertrand and Robert Dalban as Le directeur du journal. The first film, Fantomas (Fantômas), was released in 1964, followed by Fantomas Unleashed (Fantômas se déchaîne) in 1965 and Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard (Fantômas contre Scotland Yard) in 1967. All three films were beautifully shot in ’Scope, the first two in Eastmancolor and the finale in Technicolor.

https://www.kinolorber.com/product/f...d-yard-blu-ray

[Booze Movies]

These films are a lot of fun. Here’s my review of the Kino Lorber set: https://bottomshelfmovies.com/fantom...ion-1964-1967/

[RoboDan]

Great review! Haven't had a chance to sit down and watch these yet. Looking forward to it in the next week or so!

[John_Drake]

These films are indeed quite fun.

I bought all three when they were released in France a couple years ago. Kino's version doesn't have the extras on those discs but adds a commentary by Tim Lucas.

Here's Beaver's review.

[Mose Harper]

Was pretty disappointed in the OSS:117 films, so I was planning to skip this set

...until I saw that Mylene Demongeot was in them.

All of a sudden the set is at the top of my to buy list.

[BluBonnet]

Finally watched all 3 of these, couldn't believe how funny they are!!

For some reason, I'd not heard much about these (even though I watch a lot of French cinema) and was expecting movies that were more serious or melodramatic, so it was rather a welcome surprise to see that these are actually just goofy comedies. And the two leads are in just great form, too.

Also should add the transfers looked pretty good for French movies from the 60s that aren't part of the New Wave.

[sea2000]

Wish I could agree with the positive reviews. This series ticked off a lot of my boxes (Bond-inspired eurospy, 1960s design, de Funes) so my hopes were high. De Funes was never popular in the States, but I've always found him quite funny.

All that said, the Fantomas series is surprisingly weak and only mildly entertaining. Much of it is juvenile and slapdash, with hardly any plot or script at all. The special effects (with lots of bluescreen use and obvious doubles) are pretty terrible. The direction is barely adequate. The cinematography is inconsistent. The music is often intrusive and inappropriate. Only the smaller-scale Bondian sets are noteworthy.

In general, a big disappointment, so I recommend not making this a blind buy. Give the movies a watch before purchasing them.