La chute de la maison Usher (1928)

Director:

Jean Epstein

Writers:

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

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 | Funeral | Goth

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

Directed by
Jean Epstein

Writing credits
Edgar Allan Poe		(story)
Luis Buñuel		adaptation
Jean Epstein		writer

Produced by
Jean Epstein	....	producer

Cinematography by
Georges Lucas
Jean Lucas

Art Direction by
Pierre Kefer

Costume Design by
Oclise

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Luis Buñuel	....	assistant director

Production Companies

• Films Jean Epstein

Distributors

• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Magnus Opus (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Sinister Cinema (????) (USA) (VHS)

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)

Memorable Adaptation With Impressive Visuals & Atmosphere

This memorable adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is particularly impressive in its use of visuals and in the macabre, disorienting atmosphere that it creates, which fits in well with the story. Jean Epstein made some rather significant changes to the story, but as a movie it all works very well.

The story changes the central relationship between Roderick and Madeline, and in so doing discards some of Poe's themes, but adds some new ones of its own. Likewise there are other differences as the story unfolds, but Epstein had his own consistent conception of the possibilities in the story, so that it's neither better nor worse than Poe's idea, just different - they are both creative and fascinating conceptions in their own way.

The settings and visual effects are very effective in establishing the atmosphere, and in setting off some of the themes of the story. Some of them, such as the enormous array of flickering candles by which Roderick works, are used as recurring images, with surprisingly haunting results. The pace with which the images come at the viewer is also used as part of the effect. It's quite a distinctive accomplishment, and it's a movie that you won't forget for a while.