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14 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Medieval Gloom, 8 November 2005 Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas
Predictably morbid and grim, this early cinematic tribute to Poe offers some interesting images and beautifully haunting music. I liked the sequence showing the lace-draped coffin, as it was carried out of that cavernous room.More stylistic than substantive, the overall effect of the film is to engender a sense of suffocating gloom, rather than to tell an interesting story. It's very much like what one would expect in a nightmare. Space seems strung-out. People are not quite real. Pacing is so slow as to render time suspended between two swings of the clock pendulum.I don't recall a film that conveyed such an overwhelming sense of introverted bleakness, oppression, and ubiquitous death. Even the trees were dead.A lot of viewers will find this film lifeless ... so to speak. But for those interested in the antiquity of the occult, or Poe in particular, this film will excite like no other.
12 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Dazzling Convulsive Beauty & Phantasmagoria!, 26 April 2003 Author: Musidora from Chicago
I've read the Poe source for this film more times than I can remember, and Epstein's film captures that story's sense of decay and degeneracy the best by far. Corman's version can't hold a candle to this film; in fact, I feel as if I'm doing a grave disservice to Epstein's work by mentioning Corman's film in the same sentence with it. Let it pass.Although I'd read about Epstein's USHER for many years and pondered the stills, particularly of the Lady Madeline in her billowing, winding sheet, I was not at all prepared for the terrifying beauty and hypnotic delirium of this motion picture.It's certainly not for all tastes, and, for those not particularly well-read in outre or occult literature, it will be inscrutable. But for those with an open mind and an appreciation of convulsive beauty, it's hard to find a more exquisite film.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Eerie and chilly, 13 June 2000 Author: (sn.toysoldier@ntlworld.com) from Cambridge, England
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?).
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Magically mesmerizing! 10/10!, 10 September 2006 Author: rivethead808 from Session 9 (US)
Wow! Words cannot describe how absolutely magical this film is, but I will try. Its not often that a film will truly captivate me from moment one as this one has, especially in the world of silent film. Its been a long time since I've been glued to the screen in complete rapture. Granted, I like the silent medium and of course I respect it, but usually I watch them as a piece of film history; I see them for what they are and judge them only amongst their peers: other silent films. But this silent film is like no other! There were many times when I felt as though if Guy Maddin were to make a actual serious film this would be it. Anyone who has seen 'Cowards Bend The Knee' or 'Saddest Music In The World' will know what I'm referring to. Throughout the film I kept thinking that it looked "new" and was made to look old. Some of the special effects such as the swirling fog were just mesmerizing so much so that I found myself wondering why in our modern day we haven't done something so simple yet effective (at least as compared to the films I've experienced).Even the score that they created for it was incredible. There were some scenes in the beginning of the film, especially ones where Allan was approaching the house, that I didn't think quite fit, but for the rest of the 95% of the film it went along with the action of the film perfectly.While everything in the film is as close to perfect as film gets, I must point out the acting was so well done as to almost bring me to tears. I cant quite explain how that is possible, but it is. Each tiny emotion shows through so remarkably well. I really would love to commend the actor who played Roderick Usher for his wonderful display. I even feel right in comparing his acting to the likes of the female lead in 'The Passion Of Joan Of Arc' -- and thats hard to beat!Oh, and the cinematography! Its absolutely impeccable! And I'm not just saying that due to the fact that "its the best they could do back then". It really could rival any modern day film in that regard. It makes me miss shots of a large looming building from down below instead of the aerial helicopter shots most films use now; so macabre and eerily inviting. This film was definitely ahead of its time thats for sure. I'm not sure how much a screenplay translates to a silent film, but whatever/however Bunuel contributed, it definitely worked. Even though there weren't any overtly surrealistic things going on, you could definitely smell the Bunuel in it. The film is like a dream that you don't want to wake up from even though at its heart it is a nightmare.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: see it for everything except plot and you'll be fine, 8 July 2008 Author: MisterWhiplash from United States
The Fall of the House of Usher is about... well, I suppose it's about someone, Allan, visiting the house of Usher, run by Roderick, who lives with his sick wife Madeline and spends most of his time painting and trying to find a cure for whatever her supernatural-esquire disease is. The rest of what happens I cannot really say. Maybe because I'm still not totally sure myself. While I've yet to read the original Poe story, or see the later, more well known Roger Corman production with Vincent Price, I would probably advise on what little I know in comparing both films for the 1960 version if you're most concerned about sticking straight to the story.Apparently, by the way, Luis Bunuel, who was director Jean Epstein's chief collaborator, quit after creative clashes over this issue. For whatever reason it was, I'd be hard-pressed to figure on how much influence he did or didn't leave on the picture. As it stands, and probably sticking to a certain aesthetic that was familiar for those in love with Poe, the silent version of Fall of the House of Usher is chock full of atmosphere in every kind of delicious, creepy, wonderful kind of connotation. The production design is sometimes full of a smoke, or a smoke-filled tint from the camera, and the outside of the mansion is covered in dirty fields and dead trees. The inside of the house, the interiors of the walls, the mirrors, the paints of Roderick's, and the placement of the camera in some strange angles (i.e. guitar) all build up to something unexpected.Would I call it surrealism just because of Bunuel's involvement? Yes and no. Yes in that, of course, there are some striking moments that could only come out of a dream &/or a desire to just completely tool around with the audience's head just for the hell of it. And no because it's really Epstein's movie through it all, and he crafts this mostly as a somber, quietly intense picture where he experiments not in as a surrealist but as a director of contemplative Gothic horror. I can't even totally understand what absorbed me, but everything in the 'plastic', technical sense of the word did, not to mention the performances by Debucourt, Lamy, and especially Gance who all seem to be drifting in and out of the fantastical consciousness that seems to be living in this place, where life and death merge or go un-hinged, and (as another reviewer noted) is like a slow-poisoning prison.Just, as I said, don't watch it to be wrapped up in 'what happens next in the "plot"', as it's more about what may happen in the next twist with a setting or a mood, or if a character should suddenly have a look that changes everything. It's not the greatest of the near-end silent period, but it's close.
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Impressive Gothic Silent Movie, 18 December 2005 Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A stranger called Allan (Charles Lamy) goes to an inn and requests transportation to the House of Usher. The locals remain reluctant, but he gets a coach to transport him to the place. He is the sole friend of Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), who leaves in the eerie house with his sick wife Madeleine Usher (Marguerite Gance) and her doctor (Fournez-Goffard). Madeleine is the beloved muse and model and is being painted by Roderick. When she dies, Roderick does not accept her death, and in a dark night, Madeleine returns.For those like me that have not read the story of Edgar Allan Poe, the conclusion of "La Chute de la Maison Usher" is quite confused. However, the Gothic cinematography is very impressive, recalling the German Expressionism. It is amazing how Jean Epstein was able to produce such atmosphere, considering the primitive technology of 1928, with difficulties in lighting, sensibility of films, edition table and portability of cameras. However, the shadows and lights are really amazing in this black and white film. This movie was the first work of Luis Buñuel in the cinema industry, working as assistant of Jean Epstein. Just as a curiosity, the resemblance of Charles Lamy with Carlos Alberto Parreira, the coach of the Brazilian soccer team, is incredible. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): "A Queda da Casa de Usher" ("The Fall of the House of Usher")
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Memorable Adaptation With Impressive Visuals & Atmosphere, 23 August 2005 Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio
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.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: surrealistic nightmare, 16 November 2008 Author: didi-5 from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
From the eerie opening where a stranger comes in from the mist and mud to ask for safe passage to the house of Usher, to the fiery ending where said house comes crashing down, this film is a strange piece of surrealism - using animals, pictures, and extreme close-ups to drive the story along.'The Fall of the House of Usher' has just three characters taking the main roles in the film - the stranger, who has been asked to visit his friend and the friend's dying wife - the friend, Sir Roderick Usher, a wild-eyed loner struck with the passion to paint, and his wife, Madeleine, who has a slow death with every brush stroke inflicted by her husband, while the painting of her lives and breathes.When Madeleine finally dies she's buried in her veil and dress in a coffin, but after a lot of tension (shown by bells and clocks counting time) we find she's not really dead but just walking wounded in spirit. By the time we reach the blazing close of this short film (only an hour) it has done Poe's story proud - a silent classic of Surrealism.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Good Version, 29 February 2008 Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY
Fall of the House of Usher, The (1928) *** (out of 4) One of two versions of the classic Poe tale released in 1928. The other one was an American version, which I enjoyed earlier this year. This version, directed by Jean Epstein and written by Luis Bunuel, comes from France but employs various techniques that we saw in early German horror films. The story is basically the same as Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt) is haunted by the ghost of his wife. The screenplay takes a few liberties with the story but the story here really isn't important. The main thing going for the film is its surreal nature, which includes some brilliant camera-work as well as some wonderful eerie atmosphere. The visual look of this film is very impressive but I think that also lends to its shortcoming. I think a little more detail to the story would have helped but in all this is another wonderful gem of the silent era. I've also got the 1948 British version sitting here to watch before the month is over.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Gothic love and longing, 7.5/10, 10 September 2004 Author: kilorilee from Canada
**minor spoilers**In my room right now is a paperback collection of Poe's stories, which contains the Fall of the House of Usher. From that, and the summaries I've read, the text is more darker and more sinister than this movie, which says a lot.The movie does a good job of capturing the mood of the text with scant words, translating an entire short story into little more than twenty or so inter-title screens. Surprisingly eerie shots of Roderick's face, billowing curtains, a haunting soundtrack and Madeline's degenerating form create a sense of dread and macabre. Certain scenes involving cats and toads highlight the dread and unnatural nature of the Usher state in a comical way. And what can only be described as a weird cross between a getting' crunk hip hop video and a Satanic ritual works surprisingly well to highlight the plodding nature of time and arduous task at hand, as well as being unique for the sake of being unique. However, besides the Usher's creepiness and the amicability of the narrator/Allan (a true friend till the end), I didn't know what to think or make of the characters until the end.The slightly more optimistic twist of the original story brings everything together and creates sympathy for the weird characters by demonizing the house even more. It's a prison driving them mad, not the Usher's parasitic relationship. See this if you want a relatively happy variation of Poe's stories that works well. I think this film is incredibly accessible, a lot more than the text anyway.Goods: the dread and spookiness, close up shots of the objects in the house, a positive spin on things, "hip-hop" coffin Bads: the first third... and the general direction less aim of the characters may put you off a bit at first, but the movie is only an hour long
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