JUDEX: A Serial in Twelve Episodes

JUDEX is the remarkably inventive and dreamlike French serial by the great Louis Feuillade. Now available on DVD for the first time, the film represents a highlight of a French cinematic tradition that has inspired generations of filmmakers (including Georges Franju, Alain Resnais, Jacques Rivette, and Olivier Assayas) since its first release by Gaumont in 1917.

One of cinema’s first "superheroes," the mysterious Judex (Rene Cresté) is torn between an oath of justice against the wealthy banker Favraux (Louis Leubas), who had earlier wronged his family, and his secret love of Favraux’s daughter, Jacqueline (Yvette Andréyor). This framework is the basis of a series of extraordinary and engaging incidents involving Judex’s brother (Edouard Mathé), the evil Diana Monti (Musidora) and her accomplices, the detective Cocatin (Marcel Lévesque), and the charming Licorice Kid (Bout-de-Zan), all of them regular players in Feuillade’s grand tapestries.

Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart in CHICAGO (1927)

This Deluxe 2-DVD set features:

  • The most complete version of the film currently available, presented in its entirety in a newly-tinted film transfer.
  • New English language translation.
  • Digitally recorded orchestral score by the renowned silent film composer Robert Israel.
  • New booklet essay by noted film historian Jan Christopher Horak.
  • The Music of Judex – A featurette profiling composer Robert Israel and his creative process.

“ONE OF THE BEST DVDs OF 2004”

– Premiere Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CBS Radio Networks

 

 
 
 

  Contents

Format: DVD-NTSC / Region 1

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JUDEX
(France, 1917)

Director: Louis Feuillade
Screenplay: Arthur Bernède & Louis Feuillade
Cinematography: André Glatti & Léon Klausse
Production Design: Robert-Jules Garnier
Originally Releasing: Gaumont Co., Ltd
Cast: René Cresté, Edouard Mathé, Musidora, Yvette Andréyor, Marcel Lévesque, Louis Leubas, Jean Devalde, René Poyen, Gaston Michel, Yvonne Dario, Olinda Mano & Georges Flateau

• 315 minutes 
• B&W, Tinted

     _________________________________________

 Bonus Material

THE MUSIC OF JUDEX

• 18 minutes
• Color

     _________________________________________
     _________________________________________

Total Running Time: 05:33:00 (2 Discs)

Language: English intertitles

Musical Score: Performed & arranged by Robert Israel

Booklet Text: Jan Christopher Horak

Published By: Flicker Alley

Institutional Price: $300 (plus shipping)

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.