Film historians note of all the genres the silent movie format excelled, top of the list was the horror film. When "talkies" arrived, scary movies continued to retain much of silent films' visual traits, where less words were for the better. Film critic Roger Ebert noticed "in a classic horror film, almost anything you can say will be superfluous or ridiculous. Notice how carefully the Draculas of talkies have to choose their words to avoid bad laughs."
One of the last silent horror movies before cinema passed the torch to audible was Frances Jean Epstein's October 1928 "The Fall of the House of Usher." The film was was the first full-length version of the Edgar Allan Poe tale brought to the screen. Epstein, whose capable assistant, Spain's Luis Bunuel, worked alongside him in the script and production department, delivered both French Impressionistic as well as German Expressionistic elements into his movie. The Usher house, spacious with very few pieces of furniture, possesses a haunted past handed down from generations of the family. Meanwhile, the smoke and volcanic flames, especially seen towards the end, are a reflection of the home owner's psyche as he deals with the trauma of losing his young wife.
Epstein's lighting, with the high contrast of dark and light, a stunning chiaroscuro illumination, portrays an atmosphere of near insanity as the movie's main character, Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), struggles to make sense of his wife's death. A friend is invited to see her portrait, Madeline Usher (Marguerite Gance, French director Abel Gance's wife in real life. Abel appears in an earlier tavern scene.). The painting appears real, especially when the friend thinks he sees her eyes blinking.
The innovative touch of Bunuel's hand is evident in several segments of "The Fall of the House of Usher." The young Spaniard soon emerged as one of cinema's most famous surrealists. Before he had a falling out with Epstein over this film, Bunuel had been a star student in the director's private film school and had displayed an artistic eye while assisting in a number of his films. The two wrote the screenplay on Poe's short story together. But they had a huge disagreement over Poe's original story. Epstein insisted on changing the Usher relationship from the tale's brother/sister twins to a husband/wife pairing. Bunuel felt the alteration would completely change the meaning of the Usher complexities. Also, Bunuel refused to help Epstein's friend and mentor Abel Gance during the production of his 1927 epic "Napoleon." Epstein noticed his student's film avant garde nature and said, "You seem rather surrealist. Beware of surrealists, they are crazy people."
Epstein's work has drawn praise from today's critics. Troy Howarth sees "The Fall of the House of Usher" as one of the most renown of experimental silent feature films, noting "The rapid cutting, fetishistic closeups and generally dreamy ambience bring the movie closer to the realm of filmic poetry than anything else." Entertainment monthly Paste Magazine sees the film as one of the 13 Best Edgar Allen Poe Adaptations. And Ebert has placed it on his selected list of Great Movies.
One of the last silent horror movies before cinema passed the torch to audible was Frances Jean Epstein's October 1928 "The Fall of the House of Usher." The film was was the first full-length version of the Edgar Allan Poe tale brought to the screen. Epstein, whose capable assistant, Spain's Luis Bunuel, worked alongside him in the script and production department, delivered both French Impressionistic as well as German Expressionistic elements into his movie. The Usher house, spacious with very few pieces of furniture, possesses a haunted past handed down from generations of the family. Meanwhile, the smoke and volcanic flames, especially seen towards the end, are a reflection of the home owner's psyche as he deals with the trauma of losing his young wife.
Epstein's lighting, with the high contrast of dark and light, a stunning chiaroscuro illumination, portrays an atmosphere of near insanity as the movie's main character, Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), struggles to make sense of his wife's death. A friend is invited to see her portrait, Madeline Usher (Marguerite Gance, French director Abel Gance's wife in real life. Abel appears in an earlier tavern scene.). The painting appears real, especially when the friend thinks he sees her eyes blinking.
The innovative touch of Bunuel's hand is evident in several segments of "The Fall of the House of Usher." The young Spaniard soon emerged as one of cinema's most famous surrealists. Before he had a falling out with Epstein over this film, Bunuel had been a star student in the director's private film school and had displayed an artistic eye while assisting in a number of his films. The two wrote the screenplay on Poe's short story together. But they had a huge disagreement over Poe's original story. Epstein insisted on changing the Usher relationship from the tale's brother/sister twins to a husband/wife pairing. Bunuel felt the alteration would completely change the meaning of the Usher complexities. Also, Bunuel refused to help Epstein's friend and mentor Abel Gance during the production of his 1927 epic "Napoleon." Epstein noticed his student's film avant garde nature and said, "You seem rather surrealist. Beware of surrealists, they are crazy people."
Epstein's work has drawn praise from today's critics. Troy Howarth sees "The Fall of the House of Usher" as one of the most renown of experimental silent feature films, noting "The rapid cutting, fetishistic closeups and generally dreamy ambience bring the movie closer to the realm of filmic poetry than anything else." Entertainment monthly Paste Magazine sees the film as one of the 13 Best Edgar Allen Poe Adaptations. And Ebert has placed it on his selected list of Great Movies.