HVE: Rediscover Jacques Feyder

[HerrSchreck]

Thanks for a well-reasoned & selfless reply. I think one of the things which makes Feyder a bit unusual, especially in his use of subjective POV in interludes, is that the employ of these devices are so brief yet so virtuoso: these moments in VISAGES & BILL are so astonishingly rendered, both in terms of technique and effect-- one would think he'd been pushing out Epstein-Gance-Kirsanoff-Gremillion style avant garde masterpieces bursting with the Impressionist ethic all his life, and utilized in his features from a-to-z. It's very unusual to see such a mastery of subjective visual poetry merely dabbled with for a moment or two in a couple films, as casually as if he were cutting his nails while thinking about something else... as though he'd been doing it all his life, ramped his way up to such tour de forces with earlier, searing pure visual experiments, and eventually learning the Murnauesque discipline to hold back with complete confidence to eventually arrive at a means of melodrama embellished in zones with incredible moments of hightened punctuation with this kind of cinematic beauty.

But no-- Feyder was never purely experimental or 'avant'... his interest remained in the zone of conventionally structured & (generally) paced melodrama, and chose to apply these mind-bending moments of overt subjectivity like a chef throwing down the minutest sprig of kickass mouthwatering garnish. They taste so fucking good when he chucks him in there it has the effect for the devoted Expressionist and Impressionist-leaning cineaste to seem to tilt the composition all out of whack due to the lack of these moments being spangled evenly throughout the films. They appear suddenly and vanish for the rest of the narrative, creating a yearning for their reaapearance, which alas is never satisfied.

It's an unusual restraint, and, owing to their complete and total developmental mastery (especially in VISAGES) despite their limited employ , unbelievably impressive. It causes me to dream what a MALDONE/CHUTE USHER/ROUE/BRUMES DE AUTOMNE piece of pure visual melancholic poetry would look like coming from him.

[Wombatz]

Have just watched Faces of Children. Utterly genius, the film never goes for the obvious or blatant, except, well, the ending. Guy says "Mama" and it's another Hollywood well of course it needs a natural catastrophe and an attempted suicide minimum for one family to grow together but with that we're fine, thank you.

Still a very powerful movie, can't wait to watch the other two.

[perkizitore]

Does anyone own this French release and care to comment about the quality?

[Tommaso]

Looks like it's a re-packaging of the older Lobster releases of these films. If so, quality is fine and from nicely restored prints.