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French Masterworks: Russian Émigrés in Paris 1923-1929 (Flicker Alley) [DVD]

Some of the finest French films of the 1920s – variously experimental, spectacular, charming, witty; and always beautifully produced!

DVD

The collection of Russian filmmakers who made up the core of what came to be known as Films Albatros arrived from Moscow after the October 1917 revolution by way of Yalta, Constantinople and Marseilles, establishing their base of operations in an old Pathé greenhouse-style studio in the Paris suburb of Montreuil.

The five exciting features in this collection, each restored to excellent condition by the Cinematheque Francaise, are all U.S. home video premieres, accompanied by outstanding new music scores by Timothy Brock, Robert Israel, Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Three of the films showcase the multi-faceted talents of Ivan Mosjoukine, who left a starring career in Russia for even greater glory in France. He wrote and directed The Burning Crucible (Le Brasier ardent, 1923) in which he also plays eleven parts. Of this film Jean Renoir said “I was ecstatic … I decided to abandon my trade, ceramics, to try to make films.”

Mosjoukine also collaborated on the script and plays the title role in Alexandre Volkoff’s lavish Kean (1924), dramatizing the later life of Edmund Kean, the greatest Shakespearian of the early 19th century. In The Late Mathias Pascal (Feu Mathias Pascal, 1926) Mosjoukine inhabits the dual lives of the eponymous main character.

To see him in action is to be mesmerized; he combines the theatrical skill of John Barrymore with the élan of Valentino or John Gilbert.

Special Features Include:

A deleted scene from Gribiche - Available only in the foreign negative.
A new essay on Films Albatros and notes on each film by historian Lenny Borger.

Alexander Kamenka, the head of Albatros, thought Jacques Feyder the greatest French filmmaker, and secured his talent for the dazzling comedy-dramas Gribiche (1925) and The New Gentlemen (Les Nouveaux messieur, 1929). Jean Forest (Faces of Children, Crainquebille) is Gribiche, a working-class youth who allows himself to be adopted in the hope that his widowed mother can marry a man unwilling to take on a step-son. The New Gentlemen, one of the wittiest, most sophisticated comedies ever to come out of France, describes a tug-of-war over a pretty young actress between an aging aristocrat and a young left-wing union organizer.

For each film, the original French titles are retained with optional English subtitles.

Product Description

The five exciting features in this collection, each restored to excellent condition by the Cinematheque Francaise, are all U.S. home video premieres, accompanied by outstanding new music scores by Timothy Brock, Robert Israel, Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Three of the films showcase the multi-faceted talents of Ivan Mosjoukine, who left a starring career in Russia for even greater glory in France. He wrote and directed The Burning Crucible (Le Brasier ardent, 1923) in which he also plays eleven parts. Of this film Jean Renoir said I was ecstatic ... I decided to abandon my trade, ceramics, to try to make films. Mosjoukine also collaborated on the script and plays the title role in Alexandre Volkoff s lavish Kean (1924), dramatizing the later life of Edmund Kean, the greatest Shakespearian of the early 19th century. In The Late Mathias Pascal (Feu Mathias Pascal, 1926)-a nearly three-hour super-production based upon a Pirandello Novel and brilliantly directed by Marcel L Herbier Mosjoukine inhabits the dual lives of the eponymous main character. To see him in action is to be mesmerized; he combines the theatrical skill of John Barrymore with the élan of Valentino or John Gilbert.

Alexander Kamenka, the head of Albatros, thought Jacques Feyder the greatest French filmmaker, and secured his talent for the dazzling comedy-dramas Gribiche (1925) and The New Gentlemen (Les Nouveaux messieur, 1929). Jean Forest (Faces of Children, Crainquebille) is Gribiche, a working-class youth who allows himself to be adopted in the hope that his widowed mother can marry a man unwilling to take on a step-son. The New Gentlemen, one of the wittiest, most sophisticated comedies ever to come out of France, describes a tug-of-war over a pretty young actress between an aging aristocrat and a young left-wing union organizer.

For each film, the original French titles are retained with optional English subtitles.

Product details

MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.75 inches; 2.93 Ounces
Director ‏ : ‎ Ivan Mosjoukine, Jacques Feyder, Marcel L Herbier, Alexandre Volkoff
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Box set
Run time ‏ : ‎ 10 hours and 35 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ May 14, 2013
Actors ‏ : ‎ Ivan Mosjoukine, Michel Simon, Lois Moran, Pierre Batcheff, Marcelle Pradot
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
Studio ‏ : ‎ Emphasis
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BGF7VDC
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 5

Best Sellers Rank: #133,178 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,913 in Foreign Films (Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 13 ratings

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4.6 out of 5

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OJ

Great Collection

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022

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Wonderful collection of 3 Ivan Moszhukin films. Only drawback, they didn't include '"Casanova. "

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2013

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Kudos to TCM for bringing these silent movies to TV. I especially enjoyed Gribiche--a story about a working class boy in Paris who is given a chance to move up in society. The movie did not show its age of almost ninety years. What a treasure.

7 people found this helpful

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yossef aelony

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2015

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not very interesting to me.

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John Hutchinson

The Russian View from Paris

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2016

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Rare Russian ex-pats make films in Paris. Delightful. Original... rare films with a Russian flavor.

2 people found this helpful

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M Monk

A Must-see Collection

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017

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Outstanding collection of films. A must for silent film aficionados.

2 people found this helpful

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Michael R. Eaton

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2016

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Excellent compilation and informative booklet

2 people found this helpful

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Chip Kaufmann

No Albatross Around The Neck Here.

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2014

There's so much to admire in this collection that was surely a labor of love for Film Preservation Associates and all those involved in bringing these 5 films back to public conciousness. Not only are we treated to 5 virtually forgotten French films of the silent era but we are given a glimpse at the other side of the Russian cinematic coin. Say Russian silent cinema to any film enthusiast and they'll immediate think Soviet silent cinema with its trilogy of great directors Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, and Alexander Dovzhenko. Those with a little more knowledge will mention pre-Revolution Russia cinema with such names as Evgueni Bauer and Ladislav Starewicz. However hardly anyone talks about or is probably even aware of the Russian filmmakers and artists who fled to the West settling mostly in Paris which makes sense as that's where a huge Russian colony already was thanks to Serge Diaghilev and the internationally famous Ballets Russes. There were a large number of them and they brought lots of skill and polish to the French cinema of the time. Until this set came out, I was completely unfamiliar with Films Albatros who produced all these movies. Now I'm glad to have made their acquaintance.

Of the 5 films in the set, 3 feature Russian born actor-director Ivan Mosjoukine (1889-1939). The one film he directed, the avant-garde THE BURNING CRUCIBLE, was just not my cup of tea. I admire the skill and the daring but now that I've seen it, I don't need to see it again. The same does not hold true of the two other Mosjoukine films KEANE and especially THE LATE MATHIAS PASCAL. KEANE (1924), about the legendary stage actor Edmund Keane is very similar to John Barrymore's BEAU BRUMMEL released the same year. Lavish sets and period costumes with an incredible visual scene set in a tavern. The acting is over the top but then it's meant to be. The real jewel is THE LATE MATHIAS PASCAL which is nearly 3 hours long but is never boring. It has great use of Italian locations and some amazing visual compositions. I can't wait to watch that one again. The remaining two films are by the French filmmaker Jacques Feyder (1885-1948) best remembered in America for THE KISS with Greta Garbo. GIBICHE is a well made tale about a young French boy who is adopted by an American socialite. It features Jean Forest, the young star of an earlier Feyder film VISAGE D'ENFANTS. THE NEW GENTLEMEN is sophisticated silent comedy at its finest. The films are lovingly restored with proper tints and a number of fine scores from different composers. Yet another winner from Flicker Alley.

12 people found this helpful

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Splendid Collection

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2015

Flicker Alley continues to impress. This time they've put together five silent films from 1923-1925 including Le Brasier Ardent (The Burning Crucible), Kean, Feu Mathias Pascal (The Late Mathias Pascal), Gribiche, and Les Nouveaux Messieurs (The New Gentlemen).

Films Albatros was a Parisian film company that featured films of Russian immigrants who fled Russia following the October 1917 revolution. Their work, influenced by French and Russian filmmakers, became a hugely influential movement in their own right.

The five films include the work of Ivan Mosjoukine (actor/writer/director), Alexandre Volkoff, Marcel L'Herbier, and Jacques Feyder. The films are diverse and always entertaining and interesting. Humorous, experimental, groundbreaking, fascinating--each film is worth your time.

There are 660 minutes in this collection, and it also includes an informative essay by Lenny Borger. For fans of Jacques Feyder, there is, in addition, a bonus scene from Gribiche. And, for fans of film scores, Timothy Brock, Robert Israel, Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra are featured.

Kudos to Flicker Alley for making these films available. As usual, the prints are superb, and the entire presentation is classy.

NOTE: I received a review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

4 people found this helpful

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French Masterworks: Russian Emigres in Paris 1923-1928 - 5 Iconic Films Albatros Productions

5 Disc DVD Collection of 5 Iconic Films

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Some of the finest French films of the 1920s – variously experimental, spectacular, charming, witty; and always beautifully produced!

DVD

Special Features Include:

Product Description

Product details

Videos

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