The Fall of the House of Usher
Director: Jean Epstein
Year Released: 1928
Rating: 3.0
Surreal adaptation of the Poe story that's interested more in its own imagery than in faithfulness to the story itself. Still, it's a mesmerizing picture, like Murnau's Nosferatu and Dreyer's Vampyr, aided in its haunting-ness by its age and deteriorated celluloid. I found myself paying less attention to whatever narrative remains and more on getting sucked into Epstein's sets and creeping pace. I haven't seen enough work by Epstein to guesstimate how much Luis Buñuel contributed, but considering how flippant and comical Buñuel has been historically (as opposed to dark/gothic) makes me believe the strengths of this are due mostly to Epstein.
