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Though we’re barely into a new calendar year, Kino Lorber has released one of the year’s most notable Blu-ray restorations, a superb presentation of Louis Feuillade’s famous silent serial Fantômas with a five title set ranging from 1913 to 1914. Surprisingly violent and full of cunning twists (based on the pulp novellas of Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre), the criminal overlord was an early template for genre cinema staples, including Feuillade’s later iconic characters such as Irma Vep or the crime fighter Judex (each in turn inspiring an innumerable amount of other auteurs, from Fritz Lang to Georges Franju to Olivier Assayas). But this was Feuillade’s first master of disguise, a cold hearted criminal intent on rending all the jewelry and other worldly goods from Belle Epoch Parisian women he could get his greedy fingers on.

Feuillade remains one of the most prolific auteurs of all time,...

The French filmmaker's landmark crime serial, "Fantômas" (1913-1914), is coming to Blu-ray (Kino Lorber, $49.95) in what promises to be one of the most exciting releases of 2016. The 4K restoration, produced by Gaumont and the Centre National du Cinéma, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Française, to celebrate the films' 100th anniversary, will be available Jan. 5.  Based on the French pulp novellas by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, "Fantômas" stars René Nacarre as the titular "assassin in black," pursued over the course of five features by the indefatigable Inspector Juve (Edmund Bréon) and his friend, journalist Jérôme Fandor (Georges Melchior). Feuillade, whose serials "Les Vampires" (1915) and "Judex" (1916) confirmed him as a master of the form, deserves consideration alongside Fritz Lang ("Dr. Mabuse") as a pioneer in the...

René Navarre as Fantômas Fantômas (1913-1914) Fantômas in the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913), Juve vs. Fantômas (1913), The Murderous Corpse (1913), Fantômas vs. Fantômas (1914), The False Magistrate (1914) Direction: Louis Feuillade Screenplay: Louis Feuillade; from Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain's novels Cast: René Navarre, Edmond Bréon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl, Jane Faber True cinephiles know what to say when asked to explain the relative aggregate crumminess of the films they've bothered to see in 2010: "Too many lousy genre movies … everything's based on some pre-sold franchise property … one sequel after another…" Well, bully for true cinephiles – they can go waste their time at whatever dour, sexless movie Clint Eastwood's directing this week. The rest of us will be left to enjoy Kino's recent boxed set of Louis Feuillade's Fantômas films which, in addition to committing each of the above-enumerated crimes, is one of the best archival releases [...]...

Rarely do I run full press releases for new home video titles, but this is a special exception. Kino International, in association with Gaumont Films in France, has announced the release of a 3-dvd box set of all five of Louis Feuillade's Fantômas films. The box set's street date is September 21, 2010. None of these films have never been legitimately available on DVD in North America so this really is a cause for celebration. See the press release below for full details.

Kino International Releases A 3-dvd Box Set With Five Feature Films Starring The French Character FANTÔMAS

New York, NY - August 4, 2010 - Kino International, in a special arrangement with Gaumont Films in France, is proud to release for the first time in the United States a 3-dvd box set with a total of seven previously unreleased films featuring the French character FANTÔMAS, created by Marcel Allain (1885-1969) and...