After viewing his interesting debut Paris-Cinema (1929-also reviewed)I decided to check what other titles by film maker Pierre Chenal I had waiting to be played. Having found his adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice/The Last Turning (1939-also reviewed) to be superb,I got set to witness Chenal adapt another crime.
View on the film:
One of just two titles Andre Galitzine edited, (the other being Abel Gance's The Life and Loves of Beethoven (1936) ) co-writer/(with Marcel Ayme/ Christian Stengel and Vladimir Strizhevsky) directing auteur Pierre Chenal closely works with Galitzine to dip Raskolnikov's crimes in a ultra-stylised Film Noir atmosphere.
Haunting Raskolnikov with the shadow of his crime, Chenal stages mesmerizing dialogue-free set-pieces tracking shots shadowing Raskolnikov slithering down long corridors to the stairs in a race against time to not get caught for the crash-zoom axe murder,which Chenal compliments with a strikingly shot and edited first-person sequence (backed with Arthur Honegger's ominous score) ,from Porphyre directly pointing his suspicions at the audience/ Raskolnikov.
Reuniting the year after with Marcel Ayme for Les mutines de l'Elseneur, here the duo are joined by Christian Stengel and Vladimir Strizhevsky in taking on adapting Dostoevsky's classic novel, and placing it within the confines of Film Noir.
The writers wonderfully pluck the increased alienating/ isolating Noir loner state Raskolnikov pulls himself towards, altering the deep personal pride which had kept him detached via looking down at all others in society, into an increasingly poisonous mind-set of attempting to separate himself from the tide of guilt coming in.
Reuniting afterwards for Feu Mathias Pascal (1937-also reviewed-which has the same style final shot as this film)) Pierre Blanchar gives an incredible turn as Raskolnikov,who Blanchar has moving like a slippery eel, sliding into the shadows as others get framed,and unintentionally allowing for the edges of his mask to slip off, as Raskolnikov fights to keep his emotions detached as the accusations increase.
Stamping in determination to solve the case, Harry Baur gives a thrilling, barnstorming performance as Porphyre,with Baur tightening the screws on each encounter with a suspect until it cracks to the emotionless face of Raskolnikov, who Porphyre suspects is trying to avoid punishment.
View on the film:
One of just two titles Andre Galitzine edited, (the other being Abel Gance's The Life and Loves of Beethoven (1936) ) co-writer/(with Marcel Ayme/ Christian Stengel and Vladimir Strizhevsky) directing auteur Pierre Chenal closely works with Galitzine to dip Raskolnikov's crimes in a ultra-stylised Film Noir atmosphere.
Haunting Raskolnikov with the shadow of his crime, Chenal stages mesmerizing dialogue-free set-pieces tracking shots shadowing Raskolnikov slithering down long corridors to the stairs in a race against time to not get caught for the crash-zoom axe murder,which Chenal compliments with a strikingly shot and edited first-person sequence (backed with Arthur Honegger's ominous score) ,from Porphyre directly pointing his suspicions at the audience/ Raskolnikov.
Reuniting the year after with Marcel Ayme for Les mutines de l'Elseneur, here the duo are joined by Christian Stengel and Vladimir Strizhevsky in taking on adapting Dostoevsky's classic novel, and placing it within the confines of Film Noir.
The writers wonderfully pluck the increased alienating/ isolating Noir loner state Raskolnikov pulls himself towards, altering the deep personal pride which had kept him detached via looking down at all others in society, into an increasingly poisonous mind-set of attempting to separate himself from the tide of guilt coming in.
Reuniting afterwards for Feu Mathias Pascal (1937-also reviewed-which has the same style final shot as this film)) Pierre Blanchar gives an incredible turn as Raskolnikov,who Blanchar has moving like a slippery eel, sliding into the shadows as others get framed,and unintentionally allowing for the edges of his mask to slip off, as Raskolnikov fights to keep his emotions detached as the accusations increase.
Stamping in determination to solve the case, Harry Baur gives a thrilling, barnstorming performance as Porphyre,with Baur tightening the screws on each encounter with a suspect until it cracks to the emotionless face of Raskolnikov, who Porphyre suspects is trying to avoid punishment.