Fantômas II: Juve contre Fantômas

This film is the second part of Louis Feuillade's brilliant 'Fantomas' series. Although I liked the first part better this is also very good film. It is remarkably well done for 1913; the special effects are convincing (for example the train crash) and there is plenty of action and good characters.

This film will thrill you for the whole hour and leave you wondering after the fabulous cliffhanger ending. Quite amazing for a film over 90 years old. I recommend this film for film students (who should see the whole series, mind you) and especially for those interested in Pre 1920s french cinema.

While I found part one to be a great film, part two seems to be when things really start to get interesting! Part one certainly has its amazing moments, but this continuation seems to be nothing BUT amazing moments! In fact, I was shocked at how entertained I was during all of "Juve Against Fantomas".

At the beginning of the film, there's this huge sequence on a train, and the amount of tension, suspense, and sheer epic quality of that sequence actually gave me goosebumps. This film is so amazingly awesome that it will give you goosebumps. How often do you think a film over 100 years old will do that? Not very often.

"Juve Against Fantomas" proves that bias against such old films is absolutely unnecessary, since quite a few films made in the 1910's still seem great and thrilling as ever!

Based on the second novel of Souvestre and Allain ,this one is the weakest link.All the first part is incoherent ,whereas "Fantomas:A l'Ombre De La Guillotine" ,in spite of its numerous unlikelihoods ,-also present in the novel of course-,had a plot which made sense ,so to speak..Although I had read it,I found it hard to catch up with the plot.

Things go better in the second half :the basement creates an atmosphere of mystery as Fantomas sends his "mute executor" -an idea Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain borrowed from Conan Doyle ,one of Sherlock Holmes's cases-to get rid of Juve.This okay part paved a reliable way for the next,far superior episode.

This is the second in the series of detective stories. It is interesting and at times exciting. One feature is the uncoupling of the car from the express and the close-up views of the interior. The collision of the car with the approaching express is very well done. It is studio work, but to many the idea will not occur. The struggle between the great snake and the detective is thrilling. A novel twist is given to the escape of the crook from the detective following the arrest just outside the restaurant. The use of the two false arms will stir any theater. The scenes in the haunted house are finely handled, especially the escape of the crook through his submersion in the tank and the use of the hollow bottle for a breathing tube. As a detective story the picture is of unusual strength. - The Moving Picture World, October 25, 1913

Much like part one, I have to say how impressed I am for what they were able to accomplish in 1913. The picture is crisp, the story is well-done, there is plenty of action. We even have some rather basic special effects.

The focus shifts in this second part to be more on Juve (the detective) rather than Fantomas (the thief). This gives it a feeling of a chase, and indeed on the train there is plenty of movement and pacing. Juve is always on the move, even if he never knows if he is going in the right direction...

This whole series is incredible, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in silent film.