[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

'Louis Feuillade: The Complete Crime Serials' (1913 / 1918) - Limited Edition Blu-Ray box set pre-order available Eureka Entertainment direct - UK$78:99

Release date: September 30

"An early cinematic pioneer with an undeniably pervasive influence, Louis Feuillade made hundreds of films in a short career spanning only a few decades. Today, he is best remembered for his landmark serials Fantomas, Les Vampires, Judex and Tih Minh, four crime epics that have had an immeasurable impact on popular culture around the globe. The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present these silent masterworks on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from astonishing 4K restorations.

Adapted from a series of popular novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantomas stars Rene Navarre as the eponymous criminal mastermind. Across the serial's five episodes, Fantomas is pursued by Inspector Juve (Edmund Breon) and newspaper reporter Jerome Fandor (Georges Melchior) as he carries out his nefarious schemes. In Les Vampires, journalist Philippe Guerande (Edouard Mathe) attempts to investigate an enigmatic criminal gang operating in the Parisian underworld - a group known only as the Vampires. In Judex, a mysterious vigilante (Rene Creste) sets out to bring down a corrupt banker named Favraux (Louis Leubas). Finally, in Tih Minh, a young man (Creste) returning from an expedition in Indochina becomes embroiled in a game of espionage and thievery with a gang of mysterious jewel thieves.

Feuillade's crime serials had an enormous impact on some of the greatest filmmakers of the twentieth century, chiefly Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock. They also played an important role in the development of the criminal mastermind and masked vigilante characters that would proliferate in pulp magazines, film, television, radio and comic books over the next few decades, including Dr Mabuse, The Shadow and Diabolik. Feuillade's celebrated serials are collected here in their entirety alongside a wealth of special features."

Special Features:

• Limited Edition Hardcase Box Set [2000 copies]
• Set includes all four serials across 10 Blu-ray Discs, all presented in 1080p HD from stunning 4K restorations courtesy of Gaumont Film Company
• Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 audio on all serials, including scores by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and Patrick Laviosa
• Brand new audio commentaries on select serial chapters
• Brand new interviews with film critics and historians
• A collector?s booklet featuring new and archival writing on Louis Feuillade and the serials included in this set
• More TBC

All extras subject to change

Full extra features:

• Limited Edition Hardcase Box Set [2000 copies]
• Set includes all four serials across 9 Blu-ray Discs, all presented in 1080p HD from stunning 4K restorations courtesy of Gaumont Film Company
• Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 audio on all serials
• Fantomas - Audio commentaries on In the Shadow of the Guillotine and Juve vs Fantomas by film historian and author David Kalat
• Les Vampires - Brand new audio commentaries on The Red Cipher and The Spectre by film historian and author David Kalat
• Judex - Brand new audio commentaries on the prologue, The Mysterious Shadow, Atonement, The Water Sprite and The Forgiveness of Love by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas
• Tih-Minh - Brand new audio commentaries on The Potion of Forgetfulness, The Mysteries of Circe Villa and Justice by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas
• Casting a Long Shadow - Brand new interview with critic and author Kim Newman
• Pamela Hutchinson on Musidora - Brand new interview with critic, film historian and silent cinema expert Pamela Hutchinson on the star of Les Vampires and Judex
• The Spectre of War in Les Vampires - Brand new video essay by film scholar Elizabeth Ezra, editor of European Cinema and France in Focus: Film and National Identity
• Feuillade in Context - Brand new interview with writer, composer and silent film accompanist Neil Brand
• A Closer Look at Feuillade - Brand new interview with critic, writer and film commentator Tony Rayns
• Fold-out poster
• A limited edition 100-page collector's book featuring new writing by Louis Feuillade experts Jonathan Rosenbaum, Calum Baker, Annette F?rster, Wendy Haslem, Robin Walz and Leon Hunt on the filmmaker and his crime serials alongside select archival imagery