Louis Feuillade : The Complete Crime Serials (1913-1918)(Limited Edition Set)

SYNOPSIS

An early cinematic pioneer with an undeniably pervasive influence, Louis Feuillade made hundreds of films in a short career spanning only a few decades. Today, he is best remembered for his landmark serials Fantômas, Les Vampires, Judex and Tih Minh, four crime epics that have had an immeasurable impact on popular culture around the globe. The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present these silent masterworks on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from astonishing 4K restorations.

Adapted from a series of popular novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantômas stars René Navarre as the eponymous criminal mastermind. Across the serial’s five episodes, Fantômas is pursued by Inspector Juve (Edmund Breon) and newspaper reporter Jérôme Fandor (Georges Melchior) as he carries out his nefarious schemes. In Les Vampires, journalist Philippe Guérande (Édouard Mathé) attempts to investigate an enigmatic criminal gang operating in the Parisian underworld – a group known only as the Vampires. In Judex, a mysterious vigilante (René Cresté) sets out to bring down a corrupt banker named Favraux (Louis Leubas). Finally, in Tih Minh, a young man (Cresté) returning from an expedition in Indochina becomes embroiled in a game of espionage and thievery with a gang of mysterious jewel thieves.

Feuillade’s crime serials had an enormous impact on some of the greatest filmmakers of the twentieth century, chiefly Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock. They also played an important role in the development of the criminal mastermind and masked vigilante characters that would proliferate in pulp magazines, film, television, radio and comic books over the next few decades, including Dr Mabuse, The Shadow and Diabolik. Feuillade’s celebrated serials are collected here in their entirety alongside a wealth of special features.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Edition Hardcase Box Set [2000 copies]
Set includes all four serials across 9 Blu-ray Discs, all presented in 1080p HD from stunning 4K restorations courtesy of Gaumont Film Company
Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 audio on all serials
Fantômas – Audio commentaries on In the Shadow of the Guillotine and Juve vs Fantômas by film historian and author David Kalat
Les Vampires – Brand new audio commentaries on The Red Cipher and The Spectre by film historian and author David Kalat
Judex – Brand new audio commentaries on the prologue, The Mysterious Shadow, Atonement, The Water Sprite and The Forgiveness of Love by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas
Tih-Minh – Brand new audio commentaries on The Potion of Forgetfulness, The Mysteries of Circé Villa and Justice by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas
Casting a Long Shadow – Brand new interview with critic and author Kim Newman
Pamela Hutchinson on Musidora – Brand new interview with critic, film historian and silent cinema expert Pamela Hutchinson on the star of Les Vampires and Judex
The Spectre of War in Les Vampires – Brand new video essay by film scholar Elizabeth Ezra, editor of European Cinema and France in Focus: Film and National Identity
Feuillade in Context – Brand new interview with writer, composer and silent film accompanist Neil Brand
A Closer Look at Feuillade – Brand new interview with critic, writer and film commentator Tony Rayns
Fold-out poster
A limited edition 100-page collector’s book featuring new writing by Louis Feuillade experts Jonathan Rosenbaum, Calum Baker, Annette Förster, Wendy Haslem, Robin Walz and Leon Hunt on the filmmaker and his crime serials alongside select archival imagery

Louis Feuillade : The Complete Crime Serials (1913-1918)(Limited Edition Set) (Blu-ray)

£78.99

TECHNICAL DETAILS

TECHNICAL DETAILS

SYNOPSIS

SPECIAL FEATURES

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