This abstract video shows the adaptation of the poe story the fall of the house of usher. If there is a plot, i think i missed it, but that doesnt matter, since its the. The gothicprinted message of the title card forecasts the films etherness its avantgarde inquest of the real through an incantation of otherworldly atmosphere, which crests over us like the veil of. Caligari more than once during its 1921 new york city run. The actors are herbert stern, hildegarde watson and melville webberavantgarde experimental film, the visual element predominates, including shots through prisms to create. This silent film was the second released in 1928 with the title the fall of the house of usher.
A traveller arrives at the usher mansion to find that the sibling inhabitants, roderick and madeline usher, are living under a mysterious family curse. F irst, a distinctionor, rather, an abstractionby jean epstein. Cover and booklet design for the fall of the house of usher, a soundtrack album by hands of ruin to webber and watsons 1928 silent film. A traveller arrives at the usher mansion to visit his old friend, roderick usher. The man and woman both trapped by his mad obsession with death, the woman almost helpfully fading away. The fall of the house of usher is a 1928 short silent horror film adaptation of the short story, the fall of the house of usher by edgar allan poe.
Epstein seems to focus less on the mechanics of the. Not only do ushers impossibly angled sets draw from that film, but the tophatted, cloaked traveler played in expressionist. The fall of the house of usher 1928 is a short silent horror film adaptation of the 1839 short story the fall of the house of usher by edgar allan poe. In a haunting story of death and resurrection, poes character, usher, is trapped in a world where inanimate external reality seems to be a living extension of ushers inner psyche. I really enjoyed the dreamlike special effects and the spooky atmosphere. Watson had seen the german expressionist film the cabinet of dr. The fall of the house of usher 1928 a traveller arrives at the usher mansion to find that the sibling inhabitants, roderick and madeline usher, are living under a mysterious family curse. Horror films started as high art with the cabinet of dr. First published in burtons gentlemans magazine in september of 1839, it is a masterful gothic short story about a sinister house and its woebegotten. This is the american version created by js watson jr. But the fall of the house of usher has a poetic appeal of its own created by innovative camera movements, hypnotical actors and a labyrinthic castle. The silent film that im writing about is the fall of the house of usher.
Watson and webbers the fall of the house of usher 1928. As the visitors stay at the mansion continues, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax. Welcome to the last theater on the lefts presentation of the 1928 silent film version of edgar allan poes the fall of the house of usher. Everyone knows the stoy of the usher household as told by the author edgar allan poe. Perhaps in consequence, most silent american avantgarde cinema has been lost or survives only in reedited or 16mm reduction copiesand these were often. Fall of the house of usher silent film from 1920s with. Filmed in the united states, it was based on the story from edgar allan poes writing, which has been manipulated several times in many different versions. The fall of the house of usher 1928 american film wikipedia. The fall of the house of usher 1928 video dailymotion. Perhaps in consequence, most silent american avantgarde. A traveller arrives at the usher mansion to find that the sibling inhabitants, roderick and madeline.
The fall of the house of usher composed by whitney george flute lindsey eckenroth clarinet daniel padmos violin charlotte munnwood cello meaghan burke double fall of the house of usher silent film from 1920s with score by whitney george performed by the curiosity cabinet on vimeo. The idea was that none of the men involved in the project had reread the story in years and so. In the same year there was also a french fulllength with the same name by jean epstein. With herbert stern, hildegarde watson, melville webber, friedrich haak. A traveler arrives at the usher mansion to visit his old friend, roderick usher. The fall of the house of usher is a short silent horror film adaptation of the short story, the fall of the house of usher by edgar allan poe. There was a popular american wave of haunted house movies in the 20s, the kind derived from stage plays where someone was killing off. It is supposedly based on edgar allan poes story the fall of the house of usher written in 1839.
D ark and stormy nights, people buried alive in vaults. Poes classic tale turned into 1928 avant garde film, scripted by e. Edgar allan poe was an american writer in the first half of the 19th century famous for scaring the heck out of his readers. The fall of the house of usher 1928 french film wikipedia. The fall of the house of usher is a 14 minute gem available for free on you tube. See more ideas about vincent price, edgar allan poe and horror films. Initially released back in 1928, its a visually stunning piece of silent cinema that, despite flaws, fully earns its classic status. Epstein seems to focus less on the mechanics of the situation than on its very oddness. This film was preserved by the george eastman house. It was possible, i reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that roderick and his sister, madeline, have been afflicted with a.
The more vivid her portrait becomes, however, the more madelines strength wanes. The fall of the house of usher 1928 public domain movies. The fall of the house of usher is a 1928 french horror film directed by jean epstein, one of. The fall of the house of usher 1928 rotten tomatoes. Rodericks senses have become painfully acute, while madeline has become nearly catatonic. The fall of the house of usher is bad poe, but that didnt stop it from being acclaimed a landmark of expressionist cinema. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that roderick and his sister, madeline, have been afflicted with a mysterious malady. There have been many versions of usher, from another 1928 silent film through to roger cormans excellent 1960 version with vincent price. Jean hasses new score for the 1928 silent short the fall of the house of usher, based on edgar allan poes classic story. The overall feeling of the film is that of a feverdream which is very much in keeping with the central characters damaged state of mind.
The fall of the house of usher by scott simmon from the national film preservation foundation nfpf treasures of the american archives dvd program notes, by permission of nfpf and scott simmon american avantgarde cinema arose in the 1920s when inspired amateurs schooled in other arts turned to film the fall of the house of usher is. Published on dec 17, 2016 welcome to the last theater on the lefts presentation of the 1928 silent film version of edgar allan poes the fall of the house of usher. The film emphasizes sadness above scares, but the deep sense of longing for the dead makes for a disconcerting experience. As madeleine usher marguerite gance wastes away from a puzzling ailment, her artist husband, roderick jean debucourt, works to immortalize her on canvas. It is a silent movie, with a run time of just thirteen minutes, and offers an. The fall of the house of usher 1950 directed by ivan. From what i know of the source material, director jean epstein is more faithful to it than roger corman would be decades later in any number of poe adaptations. The fall of the house of usher 1928 in film is a short film silent film horror film adaptation of the short story, the fall of the house of usher by edgar allan poe.
Although there was a short film with the same name in 1928, i believe this is the first fulllength version of edgar allan poes story, the fall of the house of usher. It tells the story of a brother and sister who live under a family curse. I have used machine learning here as a process that enables me to accentuate the central ideas that emerged out of the fall of the house of usher, a 12minute animation based on watson and webbers 1928 silent film. Dark and stormy nights, people buried alive in vaults why yes, this is another edgar allan poe adaptation, this time from the french impressionists and featuring some very grim material indeed. It is one of two movies made in 1928 with the same title. That evening, roderick tells his guest of an old usher family curse. The movie was codirected by james sibley watson and melville webber, and starred herbert stern, hildegarde watson, and melville webber who also wrote the screenplay. Not due to the fact that its a bad film, on the contrary, but due to its name. Its atmospheric effects and constant cinematic invention are stylistically very advanced. As for it being based on edgar allan poe s story the resemblance is vaguely familial at best. Written as a short horror story, the silent film runs approximately thirteen minutes in black and white. The fall of the house of usher france, 1928 was jean epsteins first film with his own production group and probably his bestknown work. The fall of the house of usher 1928 directed by james. The fall of the house of usher silent film and live music.
While this films depiction of ushers obsessive madness borders on the impressionistic, with many beautifully composed shots, epsteins film is more a literal adaptation of the edgar allan poe story than was james watson and melville webbers decidedly abstract and expressionistic american film version, the fall of the house of usher. Jean epsteins 1928 silent film the fall of the house of usher is a superb retelling of the classic edgar allen poe story of the same name. This is actually one of the finest silent films i have ever seen. You may like it better and thats fine but i remain unmoved. Why yes, this is another edgar allan poe adaptation, this time from the french impressionists and featuring some very grim material indeed. You can watch the film on youtube, buy the album on bandcamp, and read a blog post which describes the process of developing the artwork. House of usher because neither had read it in years and so would. See below for the other film versions of the fall of the house of usher.
This was one of two film versions of edgar allan poes short story the fall of the house of usher 1839 that were released in 1928. Silent film french intertitles the fall of the house of usher french. Each still is created by a neural net which has been trained on ink drawings that i. Performed by counterpoise caroline balding violin, deborah calland. The fall of the house of usher combines european influences with something home crafted. Perhaps in consequence, most silent american avant garde. The house is the only real character in the film, and it does seem a living thing of billowing curtains and windstrewn leaves.
With jean debucourt, marguerite gance, charles lamy, fournezgoffard. In the waning days of the silent era, independent filmmaker james sibley watson collaborated with melville webber and poet e e cummings to bring a new vision of edgar allan poes famous short story the fall of the house of usher to the screen. As for it being based on edgar allan poes story the resemblance is. The fall of the house of usher, made in 1928, the last great year of silent films, was based on a poe story that is more atmosphere than plot, anyway. The fall of the house of usher not so silent cinema. Jean epsteins the fall of the house of usher 1928 a. The fall of the house of usher 1928 national film preservation. There are echoes of the dracula films and of the silent classic nosferatu 1922 in the way the locals refuse to convey the visitor to the house. He is the master of dismemberment, underground crypts, murder, suffocation, ghosts, the living dead, haunted mansions, blood, and all the other lovely features of your favorite horror movies.
The fall of the house of usher was released in 1928 and was directed by james sibley watson and melville webber. Using slow motion, superimpressions, and weird camera angles, this cinematic experiment is by epstein. Season before last, a majority of our voting members selected the french avantgarde programme menilmontant, the smiling madame beudet, entracte, ballet. The fall of the house of usher jean epstein s 1928 silent film the fall of the house of usher is a superb retelling of the classic edgar allen poe story of the same name. This is one of the firstever adaptations of edgar allen poes classic tale the fall of the house of usher and still among the most interesting. If you have the inner courage to rent or buy a silent movie, you too will be hypnotized by this forgotten masterpiece. The fall of the house of usher 1928 the house of stuff. Coming out the same year was also a twelveminute long version made in england by directors james sibbley watson and melville webber, which stands at 180 degrees remove from this version. The fall of the house of usher is definitely worth seeing and it has woven a spell over many a film critic but to me, it comes within a hairs breadth of playing like a parody of pretentious art pictures. The fall of the house of usher 1928 full short film. And there are countless other recreations of this of the fall in the house of usher story. For his film of the fall of the house of usher, jean epstein took a bold approach, not so much following poes directly as moving parallel to it, using cinemas distinct capabilities to create something analogous to what poe was doing with language.