The random home video observations of author and critic TIM LUCAS.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Longer, Redder Nights


I recently came into possession of a copy of Georges Franju's L'homme sans visage (1974), the original eight-part miniseries from which the feature version known as Nuits rouges (US: SHADOWMAN) was distilled. I am currently two hour-long episodes into it, only doing one per night. It has no subtitles, but the language of cinema is present throughout.

I've always heard that the feature version is the better one, tighter, better paced, etc. -- but from what I have seen so far, I doubt this. This version has all the breathing room the feature doesn't, and the best parts are almost always the slow scenes in which evil or magical deeds are made to seem mundane -- or vice versa. The opening night shot of a car's headlights as the vehicle slowly inches down a slope to idle under a bridge while two silhouetted figures dump a lifeless body in the river; bookcases opening to reveal secret passages; or a man in a red helmet and black leather jumpsuit thundering a motorcycle through subterranean tunnels hundreds of years old. This stuff goes straight into my veins; it's why I love movies.

I've heard this miniseries is under consideration for release in France as part of the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel's DVD issues of classic French fantasy television, but even if this does come to pass, it won't be subtitled. In the meantime, if the language barrier is no obstacle to you, consult your local torrent provider.

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