LOUIS FEUILLADE: THE COMPLETE CRIME SERIALS (1913-1918) (Masters of Cinema

LOUIS FEUILLADE: THE COMPLETE CRIME SERIALS (1913-1918) (Masters of Cinema) Ten-disc

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, Judexand 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.

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET CONTENTS*:

Limited Edition boxed set includes all four serials across 10 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, including scores by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and Patrick Laviosa | Brand new audio commentaries on select serial chapters | Brand new interviews with film critics and historians | Archival interviews and featurettes | PLUS: A book featuring new and archival writing on Louis Feuillade and the serials included in this set

* More TBC, extras subject to change

PRESS

“exciting, elegant and funny as well as surreal and dreamlike [FANTÔMAS]”– The Guardian

“a towering and radical work of narrative fiction, remarkably attuned to the morality of the time [LES VAMPIRES]”– Slant Magazine

“An absolute page-turner of a film… you are likely to be gripped right through to the end [JUDEX]” – frenchfilms.org

“one of the greatest, most defining works of all cinema… mind bendingly beautiful [TIH MINH]” – Film Alert 101