Louis Feuillade
Encyclopedia
Louis Feuillade was a prolific and prominent French
film director
from the silent era
. Between 1906 and 1924 he directed over 630 films.
He is primarily known for the serials Fantômas
, Les Vampires
and Judex.
(Hérault
) to Barthelemy Feuillade, a modest wine merchant, and Marie Avesque. Just beyond adolescence, he showed a deep interest in literature and created numerous drama and vaudeville
projects. His excessively academic poems were occasionally published in local newspapers, and he acquired a reputation for his articles devoted to bullfighting
. At twelve he was sent by his parents to a Catholic seminary in Carcassonne
, which has been attributed to his gothic stylization in his later career. His biographer Francis Lacssin has suggested that "the strange, surrealist flashes of anarchy which spark through the work of this pillar of society can only be explained as some sort of unconscious revolt to which he gave rein in his dreams- that is to say, in his films." He then began his compulsory military service in 1891 until 1895, when he married Jeanne-Leontine Jaujou on 31 October 1895. After the deaths of his parents, he went to Paris in 1902 seeking literary success, but would suffer miserably for several years.
At the beginning of 1905, he started to submit screenplays to Gaumont
, and Gaumont's artistic director Alice Guy-Blaché
both bought his scripts and invited Feuillade to direct them himself. Concerned about his financial difficulties and family to support, Feuillade declined the directing job in order to continue working as a journalist. At his suggestion Guy-Blaché hired Étienne Arnaud to direct Feuillade's early screenplays at Gaumont. But by 1906 he had gained enough confidence to start directing his own scripts, which were mostly comedies. In 1907 Guy-Blaché moved to the United States and upon her suggestion Feuillade was made Artistic Director of Gaumont. He would work for Gaumont until 1918, while at the same time producing his own films, so that by 1925, the year of his death, he estimated that he had made around 800 films. (At the time he started in cinema, a film rarely lasted more than ten minutes). He made films of all types: trick films at the beginning, modeled on those of the great Méliès
, comedies, bourgeois dramas, historical or biblical dramas, mysteries and exotic adventures … But he showed his genius most clearly in his unforgettable serial films.
serial in 1913 was his first masterpiece, the result of a long apprenticeship—during which the series with realistic ambitions, Life as it is, played a major role. It is also the first masterpiece in what the modern critic, from both a literary and a cinematographic point of view, would later call "the fantastic realism" or the "social fantastic".
He is credited with developing many of the thriller techniques used famously by Fritz Lang
, Alfred Hitchcock
, and others.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
from the silent era
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. Between 1906 and 1924 he directed over 630 films.
He is primarily known for the serials Fantômas
Fantômas (1913 serial)
Fantômas is a French silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, based on the novel of the same name. The five episodes were released in 1913 – 1914....
, Les Vampires
Les Vampires
Les Vampires is a 1915/1916 ten-part silent film serial. It was written and directed by Louis Feuillade and stars Musidora as "Irma Vep" a femme fatale whose name is a suspicious anagram of "vampire." The serial is set in Paris and follows the exploits of a gang of master criminals who call...
and Judex.
Early life and career
Louis Feuillade was born in LunelLunel
Lunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
(Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
) to Barthelemy Feuillade, a modest wine merchant, and Marie Avesque. Just beyond adolescence, he showed a deep interest in literature and created numerous drama and vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
projects. His excessively academic poems were occasionally published in local newspapers, and he acquired a reputation for his articles devoted to bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
. At twelve he was sent by his parents to a Catholic seminary in Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
, which has been attributed to his gothic stylization in his later career. His biographer Francis Lacssin has suggested that "the strange, surrealist flashes of anarchy which spark through the work of this pillar of society can only be explained as some sort of unconscious revolt to which he gave rein in his dreams- that is to say, in his films." He then began his compulsory military service in 1891 until 1895, when he married Jeanne-Leontine Jaujou on 31 October 1895. After the deaths of his parents, he went to Paris in 1902 seeking literary success, but would suffer miserably for several years.
At the beginning of 1905, he started to submit screenplays to Gaumont
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
, and Gaumont's artistic director Alice Guy-Blaché
Alice Guy-Blaché
Alice Guy-Blaché was a French pioneer filmmaker who was the first female director in the motion picture industry and is considered to be one of the first directors of a fiction film.-Early years:...
both bought his scripts and invited Feuillade to direct them himself. Concerned about his financial difficulties and family to support, Feuillade declined the directing job in order to continue working as a journalist. At his suggestion Guy-Blaché hired Étienne Arnaud to direct Feuillade's early screenplays at Gaumont. But by 1906 he had gained enough confidence to start directing his own scripts, which were mostly comedies. In 1907 Guy-Blaché moved to the United States and upon her suggestion Feuillade was made Artistic Director of Gaumont. He would work for Gaumont until 1918, while at the same time producing his own films, so that by 1925, the year of his death, he estimated that he had made around 800 films. (At the time he started in cinema, a film rarely lasted more than ten minutes). He made films of all types: trick films at the beginning, modeled on those of the great Méliès
Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects...
, comedies, bourgeois dramas, historical or biblical dramas, mysteries and exotic adventures … But he showed his genius most clearly in his unforgettable serial films.
Serial films and fame
The FantômasFantômas (1913 serial)
Fantômas is a French silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, based on the novel of the same name. The five episodes were released in 1913 – 1914....
serial in 1913 was his first masterpiece, the result of a long apprenticeship—during which the series with realistic ambitions, Life as it is, played a major role. It is also the first masterpiece in what the modern critic, from both a literary and a cinematographic point of view, would later call "the fantastic realism" or the "social fantastic".
He is credited with developing many of the thriller techniques used famously by Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, and others.
Partial filmography
- 1907: Tea at the Porter's House (Le Thé chez la concierge) (the oldest of his films that survives)
- 1908: The Legend of the Spinner (La Légende de la fileuse) (film with tricks, Méliès style)
- 1910-13: "Baby" serial: Baby Apache (Bébé Apache) - 1911 (Series of comedies performed by a 4-year-old child, the little Clément Mary, later René Dary - around 90 short films).
- 1911: Heliogabale (ancient drama)
- 1911-12: Serial Life as it is: The Defect (La vie telle qu'elle est: la Tare) - 1911 (dramas and realistic comedies - 14 films)
- 1913-14: Series of FantômasFantômas (1913 serial)Fantômas is a French silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, based on the novel of the same name. The five episodes were released in 1913 – 1914....
(Mystery drama - 5 films) - 1913-14: Series of Bout de Zan: Bout de Zan steals an elephant (Bout de Zan vole un éléphant) - 1913 (This serial, performed by the little René Poyen, replaces the Bébé serial - 62 short films)
- 1913-14: Series The funny Life: The Jocond (La vie drôle: le Jocond) (vaudevilles - 5 films)
- 1915: The VampiresLes VampiresLes Vampires is a 1915/1916 ten-part silent film serial. It was written and directed by Louis Feuillade and stars Musidora as "Irma Vep" a femme fatale whose name is a suspicious anagram of "vampire." The serial is set in Paris and follows the exploits of a gang of master criminals who call...
(Les Vampires) (10 episodes) - 1916: Judex (12 episodes)
- 1918: Vendemiaire (Rural drama during the First-World-War - in 2 parts)
- 1918: Tih MinhTih MinhTih Minh is a 1918 French film serial directed by Louis Feuillade.-Cast:* Mary Harald - Tih Minh* René Cresté - Jacques d'Athys* Georges Biscot - Placido* Édouard Mathé - Sir Francis Grey* Louis Leubas - Kistna* Gaston Michel - Dr. Gilson...
(12 episodes) - 1919: BarrabasBarrabas (film)Barrabas is a 1920 French silent crime thriller film directed and written by Louis Feuillade.-Plot:Rudolph Strelitz, known as ‘Barrabas’, is the brutal leader of an underground gang who causes mayhem and destruction to the lives of civilized people...
(12 episodes) - 1921-22: Good Mood: Seraphin or the Naked Legs (Belle Humeur: Seraphin ou les jambes nues) - 1921 (vaudevilles - 5 films)
- 1922: ParisetteParisetteParisette is a 1921 French drama film serial directed by Louis Feuillade.-Cast:* Sandra Milovanoff ... Parisette* Georges Biscot - Cogolin* Fernand Herrmann - Le banquier Stephan* Édouard Mathé - Pedro Alvarez* René Clair - Jean Vernier...
(12 episodes) - 1923: Vindicta (5 stages)
External links
- Louis Feuillade – Detailing the impossible - An article by Vicki Callahan in Sight and Sound magazine.