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The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) Jean Epstein | Original Sountrack and Special Features

_*The Fall of the House of Usher*_ ( original French title: _*La Chute de la Maison Usher*_ ) is a film written and directed by https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLue4rhsHxp68sOqeLIu7z0sCz_c0CDi8P in 1928. It is an emblematic work of French Impressionism that already foreshadows the rising Surrealism. The screenplay was written by https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLue4rhsHxp68EORBXW6-_sic8pddTXa71 , who intertwined the main plot of *Edgar Allan Poe* ’s short story of the same name with themes and suggestions from other works by the author, such as _The Oval Portrait_ and _Ligeia_ . Being a silent film, _*The Fall of the House of Usher*_ did not possess a recorded soundtrack. Epstein, a theorist of photogénie and visual rhythm, conceived the editing as a true musical score, where the rhythm was dictated by images rather than notes. The film abounds with sequences in which the director suggests auditory impressions through the visual; this is particularly evident in the scene where Roderick Usher plays the guitar (14:27). It is from this synesthetic intuition that the challenge of reconstructing the soundtrack we present today was born, composed by *Andrei Poliakov* , @andreipoliakovmusic and performed by him together with the violin of *Ivan Dolgunov* , @ivandolgunov5960 . The leitmotif of this composition is the famous _Libertango_ by *Astor Piazzolla* which, in the version reworked and arranged by Poliakov and Dolgunov, adds to the dreamlike and impressionistic atmospheres of the film that touch of surrealism that, perhaps, belonged to it all along. In addition to the screenplay, *Luis Buñuel* worked on the film as an assistant director, but left the set shortly before the end of filming, apparently due to conflicts with Epstein regarding the stylistic direction of the work; we do not know how much of the original screenplay was subsequently modified by the director. It is often cited among the best cinematic adaptations of all time. _Chapters_ 00:00 - Titles 00:57 - Allan 05:17 - Usher 08:19 - Roderick and Madeleine 16:56 - Roderick’s Obsession 35:00 - The Funeral Procession 42:07 - Silences and Melancholy 47:54 - The Storm 55:11 - The Return of Madeleine 01:04:36 - Ushertango _Synopsis_ .(00:57) Summoned by his childhood friend Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), who is worried about his wife's health, Allan (Charles Lamy) travels to visit him in his gloomy and decaying mansion. Allan finds his friend feverishly intent on painting the portrait of his wife: Lady Madeleine (Marguerite Gance). Usher is so consumed by his work (16:56) that he does not notice that the more the portrait comes to life, the more his lady withers away. When the work is finally complete, Madeleine’s body lies lifeless on the floor (27:06). (35:00) Her body is carried to a crypt in the surrounding marsh. But Roderick is convinced that his bride is not dead, only sleeping. Madeleine will return on a stormy night (55:11) as lightning strikes the desolate manor, causing its collapse. To compose the visual rhythm of his film, Epstein makes frequent use of slow motion, double exposures, and frames that are entirely or partially out of focus—images that do not narrate, but evoke: emotions, sounds, sensations. The black and white images of the interiors alternate with blue-tinted shots of the exteriors: color is also used by Epstein for rhythmic and expressive purposes. To generically define this film as a horror would be reductive, as would associating it solely with German Expressionism. _*The Fall of the House of Usher*_ is, above all, a bridge between the first and second avant-gardes of French cinema. After the more realistic _*Finis Terrae*_ , Jean Epstein would dedicate himself, in the era of sound, primarily to short films and documentaries. #TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher #JeanEpstein #EdgarAllanPoe #OST #FrenchImpressionism #LuisBuñuel #AndreiPoliakov #IvanDolgunov #Libertango _Notes on this edition_ Texts, translations, and special features by Piergiorgio Mariniello @iconaus Original music composed by Andrei Poliakov and performed by Andrei Poliakov and Ivan Dolgunov.