L’Inhumaine

Deluxe Blu-ray Edition

FA 6795 Format: Blu-ray Region: Region A Director: Marcel L'Herbier Featuring: Georgette Leblanc, Jaque Catelain, Philippe Hériat Composers: Aidje Tafial, Alloy Orchestra Year: 1924 Language: Silent with original French intertitles and optional English subtitles Length: 122 minutes UPC: 617311679599 ISBN: 1-893967-95-6 Available: Mar 1, 2016

L’Inhumaine (1924) “On leaving the theatre one has the impression of having witnessed the birth of a new art.”- Adolf Loos 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. Bonus Materials Include: • “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.