![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/7b/e4/0021e47b_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/7b/e4/0021e47b.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
2xDVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 4:3 | 300 mins | 7,56 Gb + 7,93 Gb
Musical Score AC3 2.0 @ 224 Kbps with English intertitles
Genre: Classics, Adventure
2xDVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 4:3 | 300 mins | 7,56 Gb + 7,93 Gb
Musical Score AC3 2.0 @ 224 Kbps with English intertitles
Genre: Classics, Adventure
Silent movie fans and quite possibly the more adventurous lovers of comics will find a lot to admire in this very good reconstruction of the first Judex serial, made in France during the first World War. Although very definitely shot in the style of the time, its subject matter, like Fantomas and Les Vampires before it, shows a charming approach to fantastic material that has to be counted as the first modern superhero story.
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![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/8e/e4/0021e48e_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/8e/e4/0021e48e.jpeg)
Director Louis Feuillade won fame and critical acclaim, in both Europe and America, with his early crime serials, Fantômas (1913-14) and Les Vampires (1915). These episodic films were hugely popular, but they also brought Feuillade a fair amount of criticism from the bourgeois establishment, who accused him of glorifying crime and making heroes of criminals. Feuillade’s well-meaning response to this brow-beating was another serial, the 12 part epic entitled Judex.![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/8f/e4/0021e48f_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]]()
In Judex, the central character is not a master criminal, but a crime-fighter with special powers, unusual technology and a penchant for extravagant dress wear – in effect, the moving image’s first superhero. His name is Judex, which, coincidentally, is the Latin word for “Justice”. The actress who played the principal villain in Feuillade’s Les Vampires – the stunning Musidora – resurfaces in this film, albeit in a far more restrained role. The part of Judex is played by the René Cresté, a charismatic actor who cuts an instantly recognisable profile in his wide-brimmed hat and flowing black cape.![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/91/e4/0021e491_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]]()
Judex has less of the expressionist fantasy element of Feuillade’s earlier serials but is still a magnificently constructed piece of cinema, and one which shows that, both artistically and technically, Feuillade was way ahead of the game. There’s less action than in Les Vampires, but the characters are much more developed and believable. Far from being an infallible hero, Judex turns out to be a much more interesting character, one whose methods for fighting crime progressively erode his moral authority and cause us to question whether he is really as noble as he seems.![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/92/e4/0021e492_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]]()
Contrary to Feuillade’s intentions, Judex ends up being the most anarchistic of his thriller serials. By presenting us with a flawed hero, the film subtly undermines the notion that good will always win out over evil, and that moral goodness is all it takes to save the day. In Judex, it is possible to see the origins of film noir and the film policier, genres which would leave a very heavy imprint on French cinema. In such films, the boundaries between good and evil are seldom well-defined, and notions of moral superiority are, if anything, totally subverted.![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/93/e4/0021e493_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]]()
The popularity of the Judex series led Feuillade to make a sequel, which again consisted of twelve episodes, and was entitled La Nouvelle Mission de Judex, released in 1918. Subsequently, Judex was remade by his son-in-law Maurice Champreux in 1934, and then by Georges Franju in 1963.
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/8f/e4/0021e48f.jpeg)
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/91/e4/0021e491.jpeg)
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/92/e4/0021e492.jpeg)
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/93/e4/0021e493.jpeg)
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/96/e4/0021e496_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/96/e4/0021e496.jpeg)
Flicker Alley's DVD of Judex is said to be the first complete reconstruction of the full serial and was originally shown on the TCM cable channel. Presented across two discs the picture is intact, steady and in fine shape for viewing, although it must be said that because no original elements exist the image is sometimes contrasty. But it doesn't look to have been optically repositioned or otherwise marred by generational hanky-panky. The intertitles have been replaced with English cards, and likewise the many messages, letters, and signs are shown as carefully doctored replacements in English. Judex writes a message to his prisoner, which spells out "in fire" across the wall of his cell, but we only see a new representation of the lettering in a matted-in box. It would have been nice to know what the original looked like.![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/94/e4/0021e494_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]]()
The serial's prologue, twelve chapters and epilogue are spread across the two discs, and have enticing titles like "The Secret of the Tomb" and "Jacqueline's Heart." The second disc has a lengthy speech by composer Robert Israel on his new score for the marathon serial, illustrated with appropriate scenes from the movie.
Judex will be a must-see for fantastic film fans who should be warned that although it's the source inspiration for their favorite pulp superheroes, the hero mainly walks around in an impressive cape and hat, never hits anyone and lets gadgets and a pack of dogs do his fighting. In true fin de siecle (sp?) style, the villains mostly self-destruct from their own frustration.![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/95/e4/0021e495_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]]()
Georges Franju filmed a rarely-seen feature remake of Judex in 1963, reinterpreting Feuillade's nostalgic chivalry with the visual poetry of Jean Cocteau. The contrast between the hero's initial omnipotence and his later relative helplessness is made a major factor, and the whole story is given surreal twists such as with the bird-masks at Favreaux's party that reveal the nature of their wearers. Franju also places the story in an historical context that Feuillade could not have perceived, with the noble world of Judex and Jacqueline, Cocantin and Daisy about to be shattered by the 20th century brutality of the Great War. Criterion's most awaited future disc at this writing is Georges Franju's superlative horror film Eyes Without a Face; perhaps there's a possibility that Judex will not be too terribly far behind.
That DVD can put treasures like the silent Judex into our reach far outweighs our grumbles about the format. Flicker Alley has just become a DVD label to watch.
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/94/e4/0021e494.jpeg)
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/95/e4/0021e495.jpeg)
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/97/e4/0021e497_medium.jpeg)
Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]
![Judex (1916) [Deluxe Edition]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/97/e4/0021e497.jpeg)
Special Features:
- The most complete version of the film currently available presented in its entirety in a newly tinted film transfer
- A brand new English language translation
- A new digitally recorded orchestral score by the renowned silent film composer Robert Israel
- The Music of Judex – Robert Israel discusses his process for creating the music score in an 18-minute featurette (on the Disc 2)
Many Thanks to Original uploader.
If you want to download it, but found out that links are dead,
just leave a comment or PM me!
just leave a comment or PM me!
No More Mirrors.