La chute de la maison Usher (1928)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Jean Epstein

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story) and
Luis Buñuel (adaptation)

Release Date:

5 October 1928 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Plot:

Allan has a hard time finding the Usher's house, which is known to be cursed... But he is a personal friend of Roderick Usher...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Painting | Portrait | Loss Of Wife | Gothic

Cast

Jean Debucourt	...	Sir Roderick Usher
Marguerite Gance	...	Madeleine Usher
Charles Lamy	...	Allan, The Guest
Fournez-Goffard	...	The doctor
Luc Dartagnan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Abel Gance
Halma
Pierre Hot
Pierre Kefer

Also Known As:

The Fall of the House of Usher (International: English title)
A Queda da Casa de Usher (Brazil) [pt]
Der Untergang des Hauses Usher (Germany) [de]
La caduta della casa Usher (Italy) [it]
Upadek domu Usherów (Poland) [pl]
Usherin talon häviö (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Films Jean Epstein

Trivia:

Luis Buñuel, who was Assistant Director, quit the picture after clashing with producer/director Jean Epstein over Epstein's decision to basically ignore Edgar Allan Poe's story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Corpse Bride (2005)

Eerie and chilly

I had the chance to see this film about 20 years ago and it's still quite fresh in my mind (if you knew me you'd find this very unusual). I still remember how I was wrapping myself up during the course of the film as I was feeling colder and colder - it was a summer night, mind you.

The plot sticks tightly to the original story and it shows France's affinity with Edgar Allan Poe since it was the great Charles Beaudelaire himself who translated Poe's work into French.

The film manages to create an unusual sense of discomfort unlike most classic horror films where the settings etc. result more in a feeling of (uneasy) cosiness. The insanity in Roderick Usher's face is utterly believable as well as the parts of the other characters. What tops it all up is the constant draught in the mansion. Wall hangings are steadily moving and bits of paper and dust are blowing through the corridors. Hence the above mentioned feeling of physical coldness.

All I can say is I need to see this film again and I would be grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction (Quelq'un en France, peut-etre?).