Fantômas

One must travel back to the 19-Sixties to appreciate 'Fantomas' to the full.

In those days English James Bond was taking off with his second or third film, creating a hype that is exceptional in film-history right up to this day. According to the customs back then, the French came up with 'Fantomas', providing a counter-weight that made considerable impact. However, in the long run James Bond has lived on while Fantomas is by now clear history.

Watching this film for the first time since 1965 or so, one must conclude that 'Fantomas' makes a comedy, as well as a clever persiflage of the contemporary James Bond (performed by Sean Connery). Shot with the techniques available back then, catching well-acted roles by prominent French actors and actresses of those years.

For those who were not around in 1965, I fear that 'Fantomas' has not much to offer. Knowledge about the mid-Sixties is necessary to understand this film to the full.

I watched this film tonight on TV5 again for the first time in 20+ years and loved it. I had always wanted to see it again because it had left only good memories from when I was a teenager and watched it on German TV where it was very popular in the 70s. The main character is an evil rogue who outwits his pursuers by his skills in disguise and technical resources. The film (and its sequels) is based on a series of 1910s French pulp novels which have only sparsely been released in the U.S. (sadly unavailable in print right now). The novels influenced French surrealist and avant-garde artists/writers because of their fascination with moral transgression and black humor (a term coined by the surrealist Andre Breton in the 1930s). If you like slapstick comedy you will also enjoy Louis de Funes in the role of Inspector Juve. Sure, the film is badly made by today's standards and technically not as brilliant as the 1960s James Bond movies that it mocks--but, hey, at least the bad guy is smarter than the good ones, which is still refreshing to see compared to most oh-so-morally-PC Hollywood flicks today.

Enjoy!

Simplement culte de chez culte. A voir et à revoir

I had always been intrigued by the exploits of this famous criminal mastermind, and especially its initial cinematic adaptation via the Silent Serial of 1913-14 made by Louis Feuillade (whose French 2-DVD Set I purchased, rather costly, and enjoyed a great deal). Another interesting version was the 1932 Paul Fejos film, which recently turned up on late-night Italian TV (in the original language!) - but I missed out on it because at the time I was in Hollywood!!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the Sixties revival but, as it turned out, it's a likable - and stylish - enough triptych, even if it's somewhat unbalanced by the comic relief (which increased with each new entry). Also, since I watched the three films back-to-back, they've become more or less interchangeable in my mind - especially given the fact that they have much the same cast and crew!

It's interesting that Jean Marais has a dual role - as had been the case with Jean Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946), where he was hidden behind an amazing animal make-up for virtually the entire film, as well as playing the rather bland hero - as both Fantomas (his features are still recognizable behind the rather wonderful blank-faced mask) and the intrepid reporter hero (at which he managed to be credible, despite being 50 years old!), with an equally brave partner (the lovely Mylene Demongeot) in tow; while popular comic Louis De Funes appears as Commissioner Juve, forever in pursuit of the elusive and fiendish criminal, abetted - but more often hindered - by a rotund Inspector played by Jacques Dynam.

Unfortunately, the film aspired more to the tongue-in-cheek approach, colorful scenery and the gadget-heavy thrills of the James Bond extravaganzas (featuring even a similar score!) rather than the poetic touch - which went hand in hand with the inherent surrealism of such fare - which Georges Franju gave to a contemporaneous remake/compression of another Feuillade Silent Serial, JUDEX (1963; the original was released in 1916-17). Perhaps the best scene(s) of the film is the extended set-piece at the climax in which Fantomas utilizes five separate means of transportation - train, car, motorbike, boat, submarine - in order to escape the clutches of the Law (successfully).

The Fantomas novels were resurrected in the early 1960's as France's own answer to the James Bond frenzy that swept the Continent and the world. The first one of the trilogy was filmed in 1963-64 and released in 1964. This film was just Brilliant, from the acting, the super funny dialogue and to the incredible action. YES! the film had some really amazing action for its budget, make and year of release.

The opening sequence of the film is already a gas: Fantomas pulls up in a chauffeured driven Rolls Royce Silver Cloud to a fancy jeweler's store next to the Paris Ritz Hotel. His mask identifies him as a British Lord. He pays for the jewelry with a personal check and then drives off with his stunning lady friend, smiling and laughing his distinct laughter. Next, we see the check being held in the hands of the jeweler, when suddenly, the amount and signature written on it disappear (invisible ink!) and the word "FANTOMAS" appear. Pretty high-grade stuff for 1964.

Interesting to note that in all three films, the actor Jean Marais played both the criminal mastermind Fantomas and ladies man Fandor, the journalist.

I also enjoyed looking at the journalist Fandor's hip mansard apartment. Top gimmick is the rubber masks that offer Fantomas anyone's identity at will. The flying Citroen car debuted here and was used on an AMC car that flew with retractable wings 10 years later in a Bond movie.

It would be so nice to be able to get the Fantomas films on DVD here in North America.