French Impressionistic Films

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#1 Post by **Matt** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:05 am

Okay, don't laugh at me. I'm pretty sure that none of these films is available on legitimate VHS or DVD, but I thought I'd send out a plea just in case. Anyone know where I can find legitimate copies (Grapevine Video-type releases are legitimate enough) of these films:

Abel Gance - La Roue
Louis Delluc - Fievre
Marcel L'Herbier - L'Inhumaine
and Viktor Sjostrom - The Phantom Chariot

Some faculty at my college are under the impression that just because a film once existed that I can just order it on DVD from Amazon.

HerrSchreck · #2 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 3:49 am

HAh! Also Shangri La, Fountain of Youth, UFO's, and Lupu Pick.

Welcome to my private hell. It's called silent film.

Your best clearing house for available "ways to see these at home" is Facets. Most are probably vhs like the Sjostrom.[/url]

Numéro 2 · #3 Post by **Numéro 2** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:10 am

The Phantom Chariot was recently restored in Sweden - and the new beutifully tinted copy has been shown at the Cinematheque here in Denmark - as well as on tv. You might be able to find somebody who recorded it.
As for the other titles, I've always wanted to see Delluc's films - having read what he wrote at the time - but sadly I've had no luck so far.

Knappen · #4 Post by **Knappen** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:05 am

The version of L'Inhumaine is almost certainly a tvrip of the one supplied by the Arte/Le Muet du Mois series, and is thus related to Maldone and other silent films. I think Lobster is responsible for many of these restorations as they are for the Jacques Feyder box.

truefaux · #5 Post by **truefaux** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:23 pm

Matt wrote:Okay, don't laugh at me. I'm pretty sure that none of these films is available on legitimate VHS or DVD, but I thought I'd send out a plea just in case. Anyone know where I can find legitimate copies (Grapevine Video-type releases are legitimate enough) of these films:

Abel Gance - La Roue
Louis Delluc - Fievre
Marcel L'Herbier - L'Inhumaine
and Viktor Sjostrom - The Phantom Chariot

Some faculty at my college are under the impression that just because a film once existed that I can just order it on DVD from Amazon.

wait 'the phantom chariot' out since it played at nyff's janus retrospective.

Knappen · #6 Post by **Knappen** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:02 pm

I thought it suitable to post this here. Completely by surprise I got my hands on a quality recording of this thing.

NOGENT, ELDORADO DU DIMANCHE (Marcel CarnÃ© 1929).

This is without doubt a film that fits into the category of impressionistic filmmaking : a poetic documentary on the popular trips to the french countryside and its "guinguettes" of the 1920s and 30s. CarnÃ© was a film critic at the time and decided to bring a camera along to produce this delightful 15-minute gem about ordinary people enjoying the weekend, the sea, the sun, music and the other sex.

Abulafia · #7 Post by **Abulafia** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:19 am

Sorry I've scanned through his thread, but hardly read it post for post so I may be mentioning what others already have. French Impressionism, in short, is commonly associated with names like Louis Delluc, a (highly influential) film critic turned filmmaker in the 20s, Germaine Dulluc, Marcel L'Herbier, Abel Gance, RÃ©ne Clair and, a little later, the younger Jean Epstein.

David Bordwell's thesis focuses on the topic of French Impressism and there is, from memory anyway, some good info in Richard Abel's French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929 and Georges Sadoul's French Film.

Scharphedin2 · #8 Post by **Scharphedin2** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:36 am

Knappen, thanks for posting those wonderful stills... Where and how did you manage to get the film? I presume it is a silent picture, so not a big deal if it is not "English-friendly."

Knappen · #9 Post by **Knappen** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:59 am

As is often the case with films like this one, the copy came to me from a "friend"...

Yes, the film is silent but with a wonderful accordeon score. The only text in the whole feature is the one added for the restoration to tell some facts about the film: that it was considered lost, that CarnÃ© gave away the only existing copy that he had stored for himself etc.