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Wassim Beji, the French producer of “Boite noire,” and Snd have acquired the adaptation rights to iconic French detective novels “Fantomas” and are planning a film and a series based on the franchise.

A ruthless and multi-faceted thief and assassin, Fantomas “was the first occidental super-villain featured in a serialized format, first through comic strips and later in a radio series,” said Beji, adding that “Fantomas” has also been a source of inspiration for some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including the surrealist poet Guillaume Apollinaire.

Created in 1911 by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantomas is one of France’s most popular fictional characters, along with Arsene Lupin. Fantomas was first adapted for the big screen by into a silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade for Gaumont in 1913. The property was later adapted into a crime comedy trilogy starring Jean Marais and Louis de Fines...

“France’S Answer To Bond”

By Raymond Benson

Way back in 1911, French writers Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre created a super-villain who became a worldwide phenomenon in literature, comics, and film—Fantômas, a master of disguise, thief, killer, and head of his own network of criminals. The two authors wrote 32 books featuring the character, and then Allain alone continued with 11 more. There was a serial of silent films made in France beginning with Fantômas. Over the last century, more films, comics, books, and television series were produced, leading up to the hugely popular reboot of the character in the 1960s.

After the success of the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962), the French studio Gaumont quickly got into the act of making their own answer to what was becoming a phenomenon. Once From Russia with Love (1963) proved that 007 wasn’t a one-shot wonder, director André Hunebelle and writers Jean Halain...

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...

Warner Brothers

To say that the comic book movie is here to stay may seem like a glib understatement. In 2014 alone there are no less than five massive scale mainstream blockbuster movies being released based on Marvel Comics properties alone (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Big Hero 6). Yet it was barely a decade ago that film critics, audiences and analysts perceived the raft of contemporary big screen comic book adaptations as a passing fad, a bubble that would soon burst.

Of course films based on comic books (or comic strips) are nothing new, but just how did we get from a time when movies and TV were strictly y’know for kids, cheap and throwaway, to the current dominance of comic adaptations as the blockbuster form? Just as paper comics have their own ages, from...

It's been a quarter of a century since Thomas Harris's cultured cannibal exploded on the thriller scene, winning fictional killers a place in our hearts for ever

Can it really be a whole quarter of a century since Hannibal Lecter took up residence in our cultural landscape with the immortal line, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti"?

Well, actually, no. It is indeed 25 years since Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs was first published, but that famous quote is from Jonathan Demme's highly rated 1991 movie adaptation of the book; Harris's original line did indeed have the sociopathic psychiatrist chowing down on the offal of a census taker who "tried to quantify me once", but in the original text the cannibalistic serial killer's wine of choice is "a big Amarone". Perhaps chianti was the preferred plonk of Anthony Hopkins, who portrayed...

Actor Vincent Cassel ("Mesrine: Part 1 - Killer Instinct") has been cast to play the 'Joker-like' villain 'Fantômas', in the upcoming feature adaptation, from director Christophe Gans ("The Brotherhood Of The Wolf").

"Fantômas", created by writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914) in 1911, is one of the most popular characters in French crime fiction, appearing in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain after Souvestre's death.

The character has also been the basis of numerous film, television, and comic book adaptations, typified as a ruthless bastard, loyal to no one, while maintaining abilities as a master of disguise, usually appearing under an assumed identity.

With a budget set at $70 million, Gans will also write the screenplay for the "Fantômas" 'detective fantasy' feature, with David Martinez, from an original story by Thomas Langmann.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Fantomas...

"Fantômas."

"What did you say?"

"I said: Fantômas."

"And what does that mean?"

"Nothing. . . . Everything!"

"But what is it?"

"Nobody. . . . And yet, yes, it is somebody!"

"And what does the somebody do?"

"Spreads terror!"

This extract from the opening of Marcel Allain & Pierre Souvestre's original Fantômas novel crystallizes the character's sinister appeal. Louis Feuillade's first 1913 serial capitalizes on the same abstraction and threat. The title figure is a function, rather than a character. It's fruitless to think in terms of motivation. His actions are all that matters. Despite the period decor, the immediacy of Feuillade's street locations gives his work a modern edge, like a gaslight melodrama gatecrashing a newsreel, and so does his antagonist: the shadowy, violent, incomprehensible force of destruction and terror.

 "Criminals who operate in the grand manner have all sorts of things at their disposal nowadays. Science has done much for modern progress, but...

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 [...]...

Actor Vincent Cassel ("Mesrine: Part 1 - Killer Instinct") has been cast to play the 'Joker-like' villain 'Fantômas', in a new feature adaptation from director Christophe Gans ("The Brotherhood Of The Wolf").

"Fantômas", created by writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914) in 1911, is one of the most popular characters in French crime fiction, appearing in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain after Souvestre's death.

The character has also been the basis of numerous film, television, and comic book adaptations, typified as a ruthless bastard, loyal to no one, while maintaining abilities as a master of disguise, usually appearing under an assumed identity.

With a budget set at $70 million, Gans will also write the screenplay for the "Fantômas" 'detective fantasy' feature, with David Martinez, from an original story by Thomas Langmann.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Fantomas...

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...

French director Christophe Gans is back! Gans will be in charge for writing and directing a big-screen adaptation of Fantomas, based on the series of the popular French crime fiction novels about “an ingenious but amoral master of disguise and sadistic killer.”

And guess what! There are rumors that already include Vincent Cassel and Jean Reno! Perfect cast or what?

Of course, we had a chance to hear that Fantomas is going to be 3D spectacle, shot in English and French.

If you’re not familiar with the story, here’s how it goes: “Written by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, and first published in 1911, the 43 “Fantomas” novels follow Fantomas, an ingenious but amoral master of disguise and sadistic killer. He is totally ruthless, gives no mercy, and is loyal to none, not even his own children.

He is a master of disguise, always appearing under an assumed identity, often...

Not sure how this one escaped my radar, but it did. French filmmaker Christophe Gans has tired of trying to get his videogame Onimusha off the ground and turned his attention to Fantomas – a 21st century re-imagining of a figure made most famous by Louis Feuillade.

Fantomas is based on the novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre and they were a massive pop culture hit in France all the way to the 1960s. Back in the 1910s, Fantomas was an even bigger hit with the Surrealists, what with him being a master of disguise and totally amoral.

Gans is looking at Vincent Cassel to star along with Jean Reno and according to Worst Previews, it’s going to be a 3D extravaganza and shot in English and French. A teaser poster has been released to get everybody mildly excited. Might be one for genre fans only, but with Gans’ penchant for action and horror,...

Established 1974! Our news column has been remade on the web.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld (left), the man behind Men In Black, will next tackle Tom Swift. By the way, that’s Oscar-winning makeup wizard Rick Baker at right.

The Remake Game

It isn’t really a remake since past attempts to film Tom Swift didn’t ever succeed. However, Variety reports that director Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family & Men In Black movies) is now on board a new Swift film project at Columbia Pictures. Tom Swift, of course, was the third most popular of the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s multiple series of teen mystery/adventure novels (behind the better-known Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys). Edward Stratemeyer created the boy scientist who invented atomic submarines and flying cars and engaged in various Sf-styled exploits (actually penned by a small army of ghost writers under the Victor Appleton pseudonym over the decades). Swift...

I don’t dabble much in French cinema, except for the occasional action movie like “The Nest”, “The Empire of the Wolves”, etc, but this certainly sounds like something that could break big: Christophe Gans, of “Silent Hill” and “Crying Freeman” fame, will be writing and directing a big-screen adaptation of “Fantomas”, based on the series of popular French novels. The film, says the movie’s producer, will be heavily influenced by Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”. So what’s it all about? I haven’t an idea, but luckily Variety has done all the legwork: Written by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, and first published in 1911, the 43 “Fantomas” novels follow Fantomas, an ingenious but amoral master of disguise and sadistic killer. The literary franchise is also a Gallic national crime fiction treasure, having yielded multiple big- and smallscreen and comic-book adaptations. Influenced by “The Dark Knight,” Langmann said,...