Louis Feuillade : The Complete Crime Serials (1913-1918) (Masters of Cinema)

[ochsfan]

I was just able to score a copy of this set from Orbit DVD. They seem to have at least one copy left (they note their copies have "a small indentation" on the box). Dependable firm.

https://www.orbitdvd.com/products/lo...43916114100268

[RestlessEye]

Orbit says to see photos of the "indentation" but they haven't posted any photos.

I already have the set from Diabolik. They shipped it double boxed. Apparently Eureka shipped it to them in a box and Diabolik placed that in another box.

Orbit has the photos on their site now. Doesn't really look like damage. Maybe just the cellophane wrap is too tight.

[ravenus]

A couple days ago, I finished my way through Fantomas.

Like in the first Mabuse film, Fantomas is a master criminal who dons a number of personalities to rob and dupe people of their wealth. His only serious enemy is Inspector Juve of the Surete, who is often supported by the intrepid journalist Fandor. Across the series, we see Fantomas executing a series of diabolical schemes while narrowly escaping the clutches of the law.

The plotting is more entertaining than plausible. Some of the leaps of logic are eye-rolling, like when Juve decides that the best way to apprehend Fantomas is to break him out of the Belgian prison where he is already incarcerated, and tempt him to come to France and commit crimes for which he can then be caught (!). One of Fantomas' cliffhanger escapes occurs when he is being walked by 2 captors each holding an arm - they fall into conveniently placed pits and our man is at large again.

But by God, what a villain Fantomas is, evil to the core, a man that would strangle a baby to steal its rattle, and then sell it back to the bereaved mother as a keepsake. A memorable death scene is when he leaves an accomplice hanging from a tower bell to fall to his death. Juve is no Sherlock Holmes - apart from occasional disguises, he relies more on sheer doggedness to get his man. There is the occasional Femme Fatale, but this is mainly a macho show.

Style-wise, Feuillade shows solid form. Inter-titles are kept to a minimum, with information often doled out in letters / notices seen by the characters. There are some striking visuals, and the editing carries tension.

Eureka's transfer looks pretty good to me. I know that people have pointed out issues with it, but I guess I am not that observant, for nothing struck me as distracting, especially taking into account that this is a 100+ years old. I have seen sound films that look like crap in comparison. The included score is conventional in terms of conveying the same tone as the scene, but it works well. Extras include multiple commentaries on the installments. I saw the Kim Newman video essay, which takes an overall look at Feuillade's serials. Newman suggests that Feuillade's work had an influence on future franchises including James Bond and the MCU. There are potential spoilers from other series, but the clips used are pretty short.

So yeah, my first dip into the Feuillade box has been a good one. After a short detour I will dive back in for Les Vampires.

[DarkRyder]

Sorry to be obnoxious, but I was late in finding out this was released. Is there any place that may still have copies?

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Sorry to be obnoxious, but I was late in finding out this was released. Is there any place that may still have copies?

It happens to me frequently. By the time I find out about a LE, it is already sold out. I am not aware of where to get the LE at this point, but Eureka did recently release these films separately.

[AlexJRascal]

For the David Kalat commentary on Fantomas "In the Shadow of the Guillotine", has anyone else noticed a regular volume drop /slight muffling of Kalat's voice?


I haven't timed it but it seems to be every minute or two.

I've got it on 2 different players connected to 2 different TVs.
Admittedly it seems worse on one setup (Panasonic player/LG TV) than the other (Sony 4k player/Philips TV).

It's not _awful_ but it's enough to be irritating and distracting and I've had to give up on listening to it for a while.

Haven't tried any of the other commentary tracks in the set.

[KamomeShokudo]

Yes, it's an old commentary and it's been edited to soften the popping and peaking of the track. I don't know if Eureka made this alteration or it was done at the time for a previous release. His commentaries on Les Vampires were newly recorded. I soldiered through but it's definitely not ideal.