House of Mystery - Escape Room Board Game for Adults & Teens | Immersive Mystery Solving Adventure | Perfect for Game Nights, Parties & Team Building

Product Description Serial films, or Ciné Romans were well-established in France before World War I, where they are most closely identified with writer-director Louis Feuillade. At Albatros, Russian émigré producer Joseph Ermolieff produced three serials in 1921, all adapted from roman-feuilletons by the phenomenally successful Jules Mary. The first two serials have not left a trace in the annals of film archives. But the House of Mystery (La Maison du mystFre), Ermolieff's third serial, (begun in the summer of 1921 and not completed until 1923) by Alexandre Volkoff (with fellow studio director Viatcheslav Tourjansky providing some important and uncredited second-unit work), is a triumph of the genre and a complete delight that not only survived, but also was restored in it's original ten-episode format by the Cinematheque Francaise. Review Congratulations to Flicker Alley for the well-deserved DVD award from Bologna. The House of Mystery was shown there complete in 2002, and an audience unaccustomed to serials (or series) turned up regularly at 9 am every morning, absolutely riveted by the drama. I was there, and was as impressed as everyone else. Several people told me it was one of the finest silent films they had ever seen. I got so involved in the story I gave up writing extensive notes and just scribbled 'Superb!' as each episode came to end. Russian emigres were behind this project, many of whom would work on Abel Gance's Napoleon a few years later; Alexandre Volkoff directed it -- beautifully. His use of silhouettes was as surprising as it was exquisite. But surprises are the trademark of this marvellous production. The usually intense Ivan Mosjoukine (Gance's first choice for the title role of Napoleon) plays at times in Douglas Fairbanks style, leaping like a gazelle when he gets permission to marry. He follows the Fairbanks tradition, too, in performing risky stunts. The whole thing conveyed the joy of film-making and I am so glad it is now on DVD. Flicker Alley have proved themselves among the most enterprising and reliable companies and silent film enthusiasts will long be grateful to them. --Kevin Brownlow, film historian