Jean Epstein Collection (14 Films) - 8-DVD Box Set ( The Lion of the Moguls / Double Love / The Adventures of Robert Macaire / End of the Earth / The Song of Armor / The Cradles / The Gold of the Sea / The Sea of Ravens / The Storm-Tamer ) ( The Sea Speaks / Mauprat / The Fall of the House of Usher / The Three-Sided Mirror / 6½ x 11 / Jean Epstein, Young Oceans of Cinema )

Jean Epstein Collection (14 Films) - 8-DVD Box Set (DVD) (*)

$81.99

Original Title: The Lion of the Moguls / Double Love / The Adventures of Robert Macaire / End of the Earth / The Song of Armor / The Cradles / The Gold of the Sea / The Sea of Ravens / The Storm-Tamer
Alternate Title: The Sea Speaks / Mauprat / The Fall of the House of Usher / The Three-Sided Mirror / 6½ x 11 / Jean Epstein, Young Oceans of Cinema
Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Silent ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
945 min + 112 min extras

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Box Set
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Scene Access
Black & White
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1924 - 1948 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Jean Epstein
James Schneider

Written By:
Jean Epstein
Ivan Mozzhukhin
Marie Epstein
Charles Vayre
Jean des Cognets
James Schneider
George Sand
Edgar Allan Poe
Luis Bunuel
Paul Morand

Actors:
Ivan Mozzhukhin ..... le prince Roundghito-Sing
François Viguier ..... Le Grand Khan
Nathalie Lissenko ..... Anna
Alexiane ..... L'esclave Zemgali
Camille Bardou ..... Le banquier Morel
Dorothy Adelphi ..... Le freluquet
Joe Alex ..... La fille qui danse dans le bar
Kiki of Montparnasse ..... Le régisseur
Metchnikoff ..... Le jeune premier
Henry Prestat ..... La jeune fille
Myla Seller ..... Un opérateur
Victor Sviatopolk-Mirsky ..... Le metteur en scène
Maurice Vauthier ..... Le prince enfant
Albert Viguier ..... Kavalas
Franco Zellas
Nathalie Lissenko ..... Laure Maresco
Jean Angelo ..... Jacques Prémont-Solène
Camille Bardou ..... Baron de Curgis
Pierre Batcheff ..... Jacques Maresco
Nino Constantini
Jules de Spoly
René Donnio
Alexis Ghasne
Pierre Hot
Madame Lacroix
Jean Angelo ..... Robert Macaire
Alex Allin ..... Bertrand
Suzanne Bianchetti ..... Louise de Sermèze
Lou Dovoyna ..... Victoire
Jean-Pierre Stock ..... Vicomte de la Ferté
Marquisette Bosky ..... Jeanne - la fille de Robert
François Viguier ..... Baron de Cassignol
Niblia ..... Eugénie Mouffetard
Camille Bardou ..... Verduron
Alexej Bondireff ..... René de Sermèze
Nino Constantini ..... Fiancée de René de Sermèze
Jules de Spoly ..... Marquis de Sermèze
Dulcart ..... La fermière
Gilbert Dulong
Maximilienne
Gibois
Jean-Marie Laot
Malgorn
François Morin
Pierre
Ambroise Rouzic
Yvon Le Mar'hadour ..... Jean-Marie Maudez
Francis Gourvil ..... Le tuteur
François Viguier ..... L'innocent
Georges Prieur ..... Le Fiancé
Marinette Fournis ..... Mademoiselle Maudez
Solange Monchatre ..... Rozen
Jean Epstein ..... (archive footage)
Marie Epstein ..... (archive footage)
Jean-Yves LeGall ..... (archive footage)
Violette Morin
Jean Rouch
Sandra Milovanoff ..... Edmée de Mauprat
Maurice Schutz ..... Tristan de Mauprat / Hubert de Mauprat
Nino Constantini ..... Bernard de Mauprat
René Ferté ..... Monsieur de La Marche
Alex Allin ..... Marcasse
Halma ..... Jean de Mauprat
Alexej Bondireff ..... Monk / Guardsman
Luis Bunuel
Line Doré
Jane Thierry
Jean Debucourt ..... Sir Roderick Usher
Marguerite Gance ..... Madeleine Usher
Charles Lamy ..... Allan, The Guest
Fournez-Goffard ..... The doctor
Luc Dartagnan
Abel Gance
Halma
Pierre Kefer
Jeanne Helbling ..... Lucie
Suzy Pierson ..... Athalia
Olga Day ..... Pearl
Raymond Guérin-Catelain ..... Le Soupirant
Jean Garat ..... L'Homme
René Ferté
Edmond Van Daële ..... Jérome de Ners
Suzy Pierson ..... Marie Mortelle / Mary Winter
Nino Constantini ..... Jean de Ners
René Ferté ..... Harry Gold
Jeanne Helbling

Synopsis:

This DVD set includes 14 films of Jean Epstein, poet, filmmaker, philosopher, most of which have been preserved and restored by the French Cinematheque. List of Films: The Lion of the Moguls / Le lion des Mogols (1924), Double Love / Le double amour (1925), The Adventures of Robert Macaire / Les aventures de Robert Macaire (1925), End of the Earth / Finis terrae (1929), The Song of Armor / Chanson d'Armor (1934), The Cradles / Les berceaux (1931), The Gold of the Sea / L'or des mers (1932), The Sea of Ravens / Mor vran (1931), The Storm-Tamer / Le tempestaire (1947), The Sea Speaks / Les feux de la mer (1948), Mauprat (1926), The Fall of the House of Usher / La chute de la maison Usher (1928), The Three-Sided Mirror / La glace à trois faces (1927), 6½ x 11 / Six et demi onze (1927) & Jean Epstein, Young Oceans of Cinema (2011).

The Lion of the Moguls / Le lion des Mogols (1924)
In the kingdom of the Moguls, Prince Roudghito-Sing, a young officer of the palace, falls in love with Zemgali, a captive princess held prisoner and coveted by the Grand Khan. Fleeing the country, he takes refuge in Paris and his presentability allows him to be hired as an actor by a French film company. The trouble is that Anna, the star of the movie, is attracted to him. Which displeases banker Morel, the producer and Anna's lover...

Double Love / Le double amour (1925)
Maresco love Jacques, but he lost a lot of money by gambling and he is desperate.

The Adventures of Robert Macaire / Les aventures de Robert Macaire (1925)
Following a 19th-century play penned by Benjamin Antier, the figure of Robert Macaire, bandit and rogue, enjoyed popularity in several contexts. One of the most detailed treatments may be found in Epstein's LES AVENTURES DE ROBERT MACAIRE, which he executed in five interrelated episodes.

End of the Earth / Finis terrae (1929)
On the islet Bannec, off the coast of Brittany, four fishermen have set up camp for three months to harvest seaweed. If processed correctly, the ash of the seaweed can be sold for high prices. It is therefore burnt in several large piles on the island.

The Song of Armor / Chanson d'Armor (1934)
Ballad-type drama-documentary spoken in the Breton language and set in a Breton fishing community, telling of the impossible love between a fisherman and the lady of the manor.

The Cradles / Les berceaux (1931)
For this musical short film, set to a poem by Nobel laureate Sully Prudhomme, Epstein returns to his common themes of the harsh life of the Breton sailors, and the peaceful fatalism with which they envisage nature's cruelty. He viewed cinema as blind to eternity but perfectly suited for documenting the shifting nature of things, and 'therefore eminently favorable to the devil's innovative work.' While preoccupied with beauty, softness, and diaphonous formations floating through air, The Cradles is also a succinct exposition of Epstein's cinema of transgression, of rupturing with the old to create new forms.

The Gold of the Sea / L'or des mers (1932)
A landmark for the 'poetic realism' that would gain prominence in France in the 1930s, and very much in line with the likes of Jean Vigo and René Clair, Epstein's initial forays into representing Brittany mainly use non-actors in their real-life surroundings to realize what Brenez refers to as 'ultra-figurativeness.' The coastal peasants, many of them fishermen and seaweed-harvesters, continually hope for the ocean to give back more than its meager stock. An elderly drunk, who is an outcast of the village, finds just that with a sunken trunk washed ashore in a storm. With his new-found wealth, he finally attracts the respect and attention of his neighbors, and may be able to marry off his socially-awkward daughter, Soizic. Like many of Epstein's films in this late, realist phase, the pace of The Gold of the Sea is plodding, and at the same time busy with the hard-bitten details of everyday life - the eternal whistle of wind against the stone houses, the intimate crackle of the hearth, the deeply-creased and uninflected faces of the people.

The Sea of Ravens / Mor vran (1931)
Jean Epstein's short documentary filmed on the Breton island of Sein, which film preservationist and cinephile Henri Langlois called 'one of the most beautiful documentaries in the history of French film, a true poem about Brittany and the sea'.

The Storm-Tamer / Le tempestaire (1947)
The story revolves around a woman who is worried for her fiancé, who is out at sea during a storm. The film makes use of temporal techniques such as time-lapse and slow motion both in images and sound.

The Sea Speaks / Les feux de la mer (1948)
Documentary film shot in Brittany about lighthouses and lighthouse keepers on the island of Ouessant and coast of Finistere.

Mauprat (1926)
Hubert de Mauprat is an ageing French nobleman who leads a quiet life at his castle of Saint Sévère in the company of his daughter Edmée. The latter is engaged to the Viscount de la Marche, who is acting on the king's orders to drive bandits from the region. Whilst out riding in the woods one day Edmée loses her way and ends up being captured by her father's wicked younger brother, Tristan, and his gang of outlaws. Edmée escapes with the help of a member of the gang who introduces himself as her cousin Bernard. In return for saving Edmée's life and honour Bernard extracts from her a promise to marry him. When he is reunited with his daughter Hubert reveals that Bernard was an orphan who was kidnapped in infancy by his younger brother and brought up as an outlaw. To repay the debt he owes his nephew, the old man offers him a place in his castle and attempts to make a gentleman of him. Bernard proves not to be the easiest of men to civilise and his mood worsens when he realises that Edmée has no intention of honouring the promise she made to him. During a fox hunt, Edmée sustains a near-fatal gunshot wound. The uncouth, socially inept Bernard is the obvious culprit and before he knows it he is on trial, charged with trying to murder his benefactor's daughter...

The Fall of the House of Usher / La chute de la maison Usher (1928)
Allan has a hard time finding the Usher's house, which is known to be cursed... But he is a personal friend of Roderick Usher, who lives with his sick wife Madeline and a doctor. Roderick is painting a portrait of Madeline, but every pose exhausts her. Allan worries more and more...

The Three-Sided Mirror / La glace à trois faces (1927)
Psychological narrative avantgarde film about a wealthy young businessman who consecutively falls in love with a classy English woman (Pearl), a Russian sculptress (Athalia), and a naive working-class girl (Lucie). Overpowered by weakness, the coward sidesteps the obligations that love affairs impose: rather than living up to his dates he takes his sports-car from an ultra-modern garage and speeds to the fashionable beaches of Deauville. On his way, he is fatally hit by a descending swallow. The film is divided into three segments each of which consists of events the woman experienced. These sequences are embedded in scenes in which each of the three women is telling and casting her mind back to her own love affair. Thus, present, future and past merge and cannot be distinguished clearly. The intertwinement of several layers of time experience, recollection, telling and showing have been regarded as a source of inspiration of Alain Resnais and this film prefigures his 'L'Année dernière à Mariënbad' to a certain extent.

6½ x 11 / Six et demi onze (1927)
A renowned doctor and his brother live and work together until the brother falls in love with Marie, a singer, and gives up medicine to be with her. After a time however, she misses her old life and goes back on the stage - an act which leads her lover to commit suicide. Later the doctor and Marie also meet, and she becomes his mistress. He finds out about his brother's suicide and goes through his artifacts looking for a clue as to what might have been the cause. He finds a photograph of Marie and realizes the truth, which decimates their relationship.

Jean Epstein, Young Oceans of Cinema (2011)
James Schneider comes back to the Bretagne region on the sites where Jean Epstien shot his films, to offer a poetic meditation on places and time: at the peak of his art in the 1920's, Jean Epstein, chose to leave the film industry, isolate himself and go back to the core of cinema.

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 03 November, 2014.

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