Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
Queen of Atlantis (1921) / Crainquebille (1922) / Faces of Children (1925)
2xDVD5 + DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 4:3 | HQ Covers -> 40 Mb | ~ 6 Hrs | Total: 14,30 Gb
Musical Score AC3 2.0 @ 224 Kbps with Intertitles and Subtitles (for details see below)
Genre: Fantasy, Art-house | France | HVE, 2006
Queen of Atlantis (1921) / Crainquebille (1922) / Faces of Children (1925)
2xDVD5 + DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 4:3 | HQ Covers -> 40 Mb | ~ 6 Hrs | Total: 14,30 Gb
Musical Score AC3 2.0 @ 224 Kbps with Intertitles and Subtitles (for details see below)
Genre: Fantasy, Art-house | France | HVE, 2006
Until now, Jacques Feyder has been unjustly reduced almost to a footnote in film history, but these beautifully-restored editions with stunning tints and new orchestral scores reveal him as one of the finest silent film directors in Europe. Following these accomplishments, Feyder was invited to Hollywood in 1929 to direct two outstanding films with Greta Garbo, The Kiss and the German version of Anna Christie, and to London for Marlene Dietrich in Knight without Armour; he is probably best remembered for Carnival in Flanders (La Kermesse heroique, 1935), which, unfortunately, was cut by about one-third for American release.
The films are accompanied by music scores by Eric le Guen and by Antonio Coppola, performed by the Octuor de France.
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L'Atlantide (1921) aka Missing Husbands or Queen of Atlantis
DVD9 | 1,33:1 | French intertitles with English and Spanish subtitles | 02:42:32 | 6,27 Gb
DVD9 | 1,33:1 | French intertitles with English and Spanish subtitles | 02:42:32 | 6,27 Gb
Although this was French filmmaker Jacques Feyder's first truly important film, you wouldn't guess it by reading the trade papers of the day. Because of the storyline – a fantasy tale adapted from the novel by Pierre Benoit -it was considered a novelty. In addition, Film Daily went out of its way to remark on the unattractiveness of star Stacia Napierkowska – her zaftig figure was too hefty for American tastes. The film opens with a discussion between two French officers about the disappearance of Captain Morhange (Jean Angelo). It is suspected that Lieutenant Saint-Avit (Georges Melchior) knows more than he has let on, and finally he tells what happened. While traveling through the desert, Saint-Avit and Morhange were lured to the submerged Atlantis. The ruler, Queen Antinea (Napierkowska), marries men and casts them off until they die of love. She then turns them into gold and places them in the hall of red marble. Saint-Avit fell prey to the Queen's charms and married her. Morhange, however, had taken a vow of celibacy so he resisted her. This infuriated the Queen so she influenced Saint-Avit to kill Morhange. Although Saint-Avit has escaped from Atlantis, he plans to go back, and after telling his tale, he friend decides to go with him.
IMDB
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
The first disc holds Queen of Atlantis (L'Atlantide) (1921). An adaptation of Pierre Benoit's 1919 novel of the same title, Queen proves a daunting viewing experience at 163 minutes, much of it mood-setting material rather than plot and action. Set in the Sahara, it benefits hugely from location filming, providing a veneer of reality it would be hard-pressed to match in the studio. The story is told in flashback by Saint-Avit (Georges Melchoir), found in the desert near death. His comrade Morhange (Jean Angelo) is nowhere to be found, and Saint-Avit's delirious ramblings lead the brass to conclude that Saint-Avit may have killed the man. The truth of the matter is narrated by Saint-Avit to another officer, Ferrieres (Rene Lorsay), as we discover that Saint-Avit and Morhange fell into the clutches of Antinea (Stacia Napierkowska), the queen of the last surviving bit of Atlantis. The queen has an unusual way of dealing with her consorts, and the two men are about to be the latest in line.
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
![Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)]()
Queen suffers most from its length, with too many scenes going nowhere for the amount of plot. Feyder presumably made the questionable decision to cast Napierkowska as the queen, a woman we are supposed to believe can bend men to her will through sheer sexual power and magnetism. Unfortunately, the queen is a chunky, unattractive woman with no personality to speak of, beyond acutely developed homicidal tendencies. A shallow complaint I know, but when a character is supposed to be the sex bomb to top them all, it would help if she's even remotely convincing as such. Morhange, who spurns her, seems the smartest guy in the film. We're supposed to take her power as a given, but you can't accept something that isn't there to begin with. Queen remains compelling enough to keep watching due to its striking set design and photography, though, and the pulpy story is entertaining enough in its own way. The score by Eric le Guen is fine, if sometimes too synthetic sounding.
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
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Crainquebille (1922) aka Bill
DVD5 | 1,33:1 | English intertitles only | 01:16:06 | 3,50 Gb
DVD5 | 1,33:1 | English intertitles only | 01:16:06 | 3,50 Gb
Based on a story by Anatole France, the silent Crainquebille was updated and directed by Jacques Feyder. Heavily influenced by the then-popular school of German symbolism, the film nonetheless bears traces of the French realism that would dominate the Gallic cinema of the 1930s. This 6-reeler stars child actor Jean Forest, whom Feyder would utilize to even better effect in his follow-up films Visage d'Enfants and Gribiche. The film, an essentially adult effort, is told from Forest's point of view, solidifying Feyder's expertise at directing children. Released in France in 1922, Crainquebille made the international rounds the following year.
IMDB
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
Disc 2 has 1922's Crainquebille, a film diametrically opposed to Queen of Atlantis in tone and content. The title character (Maurice de Fèraudy) is an elderly peddler selling vegetables from his cart, which he walks through his Paris neighborhood. While waiting for a customer to pay her bill, police Agent 64 (Fèlix Oudart) mishears the old man, and believing he said "kill the cops," has Crainquebille thrown in jail. After a nightmarish trial demonstrating the full corruption and incompetence of the French legal system, Crainquebille serves a brief two-week sentence, only to find that his customers turn their noses up at him now, believing him to be worthless riff-raff. Crainquebille sinks into booze and despair before his salvation arrives.
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
![Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)]()
As an attack on the French legal system, Crainquebille is hardly subtle; everyone in the system is corrupt or incompetent or both, with little interest in carrying out the law as it should be. The real interest is in watching Fèraudy’s performance as Crainquebille, all befuddlement and good-natured confusion as he enjoys the relative comforts of prison and tries to understand his trial. Feyder uses his camera to its best advantage here, with several beautiful shots, even throwing in some quality effects work in showing Crainquebille's perspective during the trial and a concerned doctor's (Renè Worms) nightmare. In the wrong hands, the finale could have been grotesque and over-sentimental, but Feyder judged it rightly and it has as much impact as a clichéd ending could have.
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
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Visages d'enfants (1925) aka Faces of Children
DVD5 | 1,33:1 | English intertitles with Spanish subtitles | 01:56:46 | 4,50 Gb
DVD5 | 1,33:1 | English intertitles with Spanish subtitles | 01:56:46 | 4,50 Gb
In 1988, the Belgian Film Archive released a restored print of the 1925 film Visages d'enfants by the renowned Belgian director Jacques Feyder (1885-1948), who had a considerable influence on European filmmaking. His films were noteworthy for their introduction of the style of "poetic realism," which eventually became a cinematic movement. This films concerns Jean Amsler (Jean Forest), a young lad whose mother has recently died. When his father Pierre (Victor Vina) marries Jeanne Dutois ($achel Devirys), a woman with a child of her own, he feels betrayed, and not only rejects his stepmother but torments her daughter Arlette (Arlette Peyran). Eventually, he puts the little girl in mortal peril. Overwhelmed with remorse for the evil of his actions even though the girl was saved, he throws himself into a river but is saved by his now-vigilant stepmother. As he regains consciousness in her arms, at long last he calls her "mamma."
IMDB
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
Finally, we come to the masterpiece of the set, 1923's Faces of Children (aka Visages d'enfants). Jean (Jean Forest) is a boy whose mother has died. Crushed by this event, his life is thrown into more confusion when his father (Victor Vina) marries a widow with a daughter of her own. Jean's difficult relationship with the girl, Arlette (Arlette Peyran) finally reaches the breaking point and tragedy looms.
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
![Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)]()
Forest turns in a remarkably sensitive performance as the confused Jean, and the script doesn’t pander to clichés, painting everyone in shades of gray rather than simple good or evil. Jean's struggle to come to terms with his mother's death thus takes on greater poignancy as he is the real obstacle to accepting his new family. Like Queen of Atlantis, Faces benefits from its gorgeous backdrop, a Swiss mountain village. One could almost view the film as a early mountain film, given the emphasis on natural surroundings, and the way a rescue plays into the final sequences. The cruelty of the surroundings emphasizes the reliance the citizens must place on each other, especially families, and how shocking Jean's final act toward Arlette is. Again, Feyder provides some dazzling sequences, like Jean's walk to the graveyard at the beginning, a rapid succession of POV shots illustrating his scattered mental state beautifully. It’s more sophisticated filmmaking than many would expect from the era.
Rediscover Jacques Feyder, French Film Master (1921-1925)
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All three films have been lovingly restored by no less than 4 film archives and are presented by Lobster Films of Paris. They are color tinted and feature ideal new scores from Antonio Coppola and Eric le Guen. The only down side is that there are no extras whatsoever which considering the rediscovery angle is incomprehensible but that doesn't stop this from being a 5 star offering all the way.
Many Thanks to alonquijano.
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