



Flicker Alley: New 4K Restoration of Marcel L'Herbier's L'inhumaine Coming to Blu-ray Posted December 4, 2015 12:22 AM by



Flicker Alley, in association with Lobster Films, the Blackhawk Films Collection, Le Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), ARTE and SACEM (French Society of music authors, composers and publishers) will bring to Blu-ray a brand new restoration of Marcel L'Herbier's elaborate cinematic fantasy L'inhumaine (1924). The release will be available for purchase on February 23, 2016.



Released to intense controversy in 1924 for its cinematic and technical innovations, L'Inhumaine (The Inhuman Woman) is a visual tour-de-force; a fantastical, science-fiction melodrama; and a momentous collaboration of legendary figures from the avant-garde movement. Directed by Marcel L'Herbier (L'Argent, Feu Mathias Pascal) and starring the famous French opera singer Georgette Leblanc - who helped produce the film along with L'Herbier's company, Cinégraphic - L'Inhumaine is most notable for its style of filmmaking. In L'Herbier's words, it represents a "miscellany of modern art," bringing together some of the greatest artists from the time period, including painter Fernand Léger, architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, glassmaker René Lalique, fashion designer Paul Poiret, and directors Alberto Cavalcanti and Claude Autant-Lara, among others, to create a collaborative cinematic experience.



Leblanc plays the "Inhuman Woman" of the title, Claire Lescot, who lives on the outskirts of Paris, where she draws important men to her like moths to a flame. At her luxurious parties, she basks in the amorous attentions of her many admirers while always remaining aloof. When it appears she is the reason for a young devotee's suicide, however, her fans desert her. The filming of the concert where she's raucously booed is a renowned piece of cinema history: L'Herbier invited more than 2,000 people from the arts and fashionable society to attend the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and play the part of the unruly audience. Among the attendees were Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Erik Satie, René Clair, James Joyce, and Ezra Pound (although none are actually visible).



For this brand-new restoration, Lobster Films - with the support of Marie-Ange L'Herbier (the director's daughter), the French CNC, SACEM and Maison Hermès - utilized the original nitrate negative, scanned at a pristine 4K resolution, and restored the original tints for the first time since the film's release. The Blu-ray features two audacious new scores, one from percussionist Aidje Tafial and the other by the Alloy Orchestra. With optional English subtitles to the original French intertitles, Flicker Alley and Lobster Films are proud to present L'Inhumaine in an edition that does justice to the dazzling beauty of L'Herbier's landmark vision.



Special Features: "Behind the Scenes of L'Inhumaine": A 15-minute featurette about the original production and making of L'Inhumaine.

"About the Recording of Aidje Tafial's Music": An exclusive look into the creation of the original score.

A booklet featuring rare, behind-the-scenes photographs and information about the film.





Source: Blu-ray.com | Permalink | [Country settings]



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Arkadin Dec 04, 2015 even though I'm not at all familiar with this film or the director, it sounds absolutely amazing.

This is the type of release that blu-ray excels at--bringing back to life seminal works from the earlier era of film, which would otherwise be left to be viewed on extremely compromised sources, if at all.

Flicker Alley's bds are fairly expensive for sure, but they really have slowly curated an incredible blu-ray library of very important works over the last 10 years.

Their relationship with Lobster films has really paid off with so many of these stunning releases.

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Top contributor John_Drake Dec 04, 2015 What a brilliant release! Looking forward to seeing the new resto for this title!

krasnoludek Dec 05, 2015 Sounds fantastic. Another hit out of the ballpark for Flicker Alley. Keep these B&W classics coming.

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