Customer Reviews

The Fall of the House of Usher (Full Screen)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an absolutely fantastic spooky film which draws you in. The DVD presentation is very good, with an excellent print and excellent picture quality. The only drawback is that this is a French film and some stupid guy guy has to read all the titles and lines, and you can barely understand what he's saying through his strong French accent. The other thing about the soundtrack is the music. It's a cross between Irish folk music and church music. When I started this DVD I tried to turn off the sound, but then realized that there were no subtitles, so I was forced to listen to the bad music and that old French wretch throughout the film, but it's not TOO distracting. The audio is the only reason I didn't give this DVD 5 stars, and though I do prefer the 1949 version of this title this one has mesmerising cinematography and is really good for a silent film.

A beautiful film with talented actors. Dreamy. Hypnotic. Highly surrealistic, artistic, and arresting.

I immediately recognised that this must have influenced Dario Argento's surreal <i>Suspiria</i>, and, after some research, found out that in fact, it did (to think that this film inspired Argento is something that I really enjoyed finding out!)

(The soundtrack to this film is also very appropriate, very unearthly, ethereal.)

looked like some people got together after drinking all weekend and decided to 'make a movie'. it just looks [poorly made], and the music just doesn't do anything to conjure any mood other than dry boredom.

This silent film by French avant-guarde film director Jean Epstein is a unique, and dark take on the classic Poe tale of premature burial and internal decay of the soul. Combining the story "The Oval Portrait" with the Usher story, Epstein and his actors create a solid narrative. The camera work is very powerful, helping to convey the nightmare within the story. If you enjoy silent films and Poe's work, I would highly recommend this one.

.....this artwork will freeze your heart!

It has a Medusa touch, you're slowly drawn into this grotesque, balletic interpretation of E.A. Poe's study of decay, delusion and eventual death? Well, maybe.

The music by Rolande De Cande aptly punctuates the mood. [Excellent in "surround"].

Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamay and [shudder!] the bespectacled/dome headed doctor Fournez-Gouffard as well as the servant Luc Dartagnan convey volumes with just a look ---- in the right direction. {You don't want to stay too long in their company, there might just be an unfortunate "occurrence"}.

A primer lesson for any film student. This neglected work, lovingly restored to almost pristine youth well deserves to be visited, frequently! An inspiration to later works like "Suspiria"; "The Haunting" [original black and white version]and especially "The Innocents".

Trivia: Poe may or may not have written this work "Under the Influence" - he favored the mix of laudanum {tincture of opium} and alcohol, Enough ! - According to Poe, he drank and partook of drugs to keep himself from going insane!

With Luis Bunuel as assistant director, Jean Epstein directed THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER in 1928. It's one of these movies always quoted in encyclopaedia or dictionaries but almost impossible to see if you don't live in Paris, London or Los Angeles. At last, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER makes a discreet appearance in the DVD market. Except for a scene access, you won't find here any bonus features and the 66 minutes copy has obviously known better times. Don't expect a Criterion treatment and appreciate a portion of Movie History lost between black and white spots.

Edgar Allan Poe's novelette gives its name to the movie but Jean Epstein has freely adapted it by borrowing several themes from other works of the great american writer. One can also say that the arrival of Roderick Usher's friend is an homage to Friedrich Wilhelm's Murnau's NOSFERATU. But THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER has a poetic appeal of its own created by innovative camera movements, hypnotical actors and a labyrinthic castle. If you have the inner courage to rent or buy a silent movie, you too will be hypnotized by this forgotten masterpiece.

A DVD zone reference.

This silent film has retained it's French title cards and has the interpetation spoken by a narrative voice. At first I was slightly distracted by the voice, but after a couple title card readings, I felt it complimented this unusual and vivid presentation nicely. Although the description of this film as "Gothic eye-candy" is accurate because of the classic sets and shadowy lighting, it is the intense characterizations by the actors that make the viewer feel he's watching the story unfold through Poe's eyes. Impressionist influence is noticable, but the avant-garde aspect is equally prevalant with clever and innovative camera movement and effects. The malody of Roderick Usher is chilling here and its hard to imagine a better telling of The Fall of the House of Usher.

I knew very little about this story when I saw the movie, but it turned out to be an excellent horror movie. Not a modern slasher film, but something slow and creepy that gets under your skin. It's frightening, but for no apparent reason. Unfortunately not a movie that would get made today.