Dir/Wri: Jean Epstein | Cast: Luc Dartagnan, Charles Lamy, Halma Fournez-Goffarn, Marguerite Abel Gance, Pierre Hot, Jean Debucourt | France,
Edgar Allan Poe and Jean Epstein were clearly made to collaborate despite nearly a hundred year’s separation: Poe was born in 1809, Epstein 1897, ably assisted by a young Luis Buñuel, work perfectly together in this 1928 version of the horror classic
Epstein’s ethereal Poe adaptation is arguably one of the most stunning silent films of the early 20th century (alongside Cocteau’s La belle et la bête).
Epstein’s stock in trade was his impressionistic approach to narrative and for the almost surreal
gothic lyricism of its images, and his 1928 silent adaptation makes for an imaginative and entrancing tale of horror, like a ghostly dream it floats across the silver screen the characters drift around in their elegant 19th apparel as if lost in a strange reverie, their faces pallid against the grey and charcoal settings. Only the pure white of the Madeleine’s magnificent mourning robe stands out adrift in a sea of charcoal and black .
The House also brings to mind Dreyer’s terrifying 1932 outing The Vampr. Here the cast features a black cat and two mating frogs along with the perfectly matched couple Jean Debucourt and his bride Marguerite Gance. @MeredithTaylor
JEAN EPSTEIN RETROSPECTIVE | VIENNALE 2025