The Fall of the House of Usher (M Webber & J Watson, 1928) DVDRip VOSE

[el_saturn]

Spoiler: mostrar

James Watson and Melville Webber were pioneers in avant-garde film. Despite their importance as leading figures in the film world, Watson and Webber's work is often overlooked and not given sufficient credit. Sitney manages to leave them out of his book, Visionary Film, which is considered the avant-garde film textbook. Watson and Webber worked on many films, but they are most well-known for The Fall of the House of Usher and Lot in Sodom. The filmmakers worked closely with the poet e.e. cummings, who provided shooting scripts on The Fall of the House of Usher. Watson and Webber were not fans of modernism and did not like their work to be described as modernist. They preferred to have their films described as amateur. Watson and Webber are highly esteemed figures in the gay community for their work on Lot in Sodom, a film which explores the topic of gay male desire. The Fall of the House of Usher is perhaps their most well-known piece. The literary film hardly follows a narrative, but is valued for its creative use of repetition and variation and for the films' dramatic lighting.


Watson and Webber's films may have been overlooked because they were usually literary extensions. Lisa Cartwright continues, "Watson and Webber's two completed avant-garde films exhibit a literary bias not so much because they originated in literary texts, but because they correspond structurally and aesthetically with theories of literary production with which the two were associated". In addition, the filmmakers worked closely with e.e. cummings. cummings was able to visualize his literary work, and Watson was a gifted verbalist. Watson also had experience in the realm of literature because he ran The Dial, a popular literary magazine known for being experimental. Webber was a gifted public speaker and teacher.


Watson and Webber's The Fall of the House of Usher is a film extension of Edgar Allan Poe's short story. Watson was quoted as saying that the pair chose to make a film about Poe's story because "they had not read it in a while and would be free of its influence". This seems like a rather ironic statement. However, it is always interesting to see what may unconsciously develop out of ideas that have laid dormant for a length of time.


Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher is a story about a man, Roderick, who buried his sister alive. The narrator, a man who comes to comfort Roderick in his mental disorder, is run out of the house when Roderick's sister, Madeline, escapes from her tomb and seeks revenge on Roderick and the house. Poe describes the house in creepy and gloomy language. Poe describes the walls as "bleak", the windows as "eye-like" and calls the house "a mansion of gloom". At the end of the story the mansion falls apart, perhaps as a metaphor for Madeline's wrath.


The mansion's visitor is played by Webber himself. He has a rather bewildered expression throughout the film. Webber's expression indicates both fear and confusion. The dramatic face makeup makes Webber look rather dream-like.


The windows are one of the most striking features of the film. They stress the atmosphere of optical distortions. The windows look almost as if they have been smashed to pieces and put back together. It is as if one cannot get a clear view either in or out of these windows, again stressing the feeling of being trapped inside the house which is so prevalent throughout the film.


The strange movements of the staircase also suggest being trapped inside the house. They move in disordered and dream-like patterns; it is as if they never end. The staircase continues moving upward for some time leaving the visitor bewildered and in a frantic state of discontentment.


The sledgehammer that Roderick used to nail Madeline into her tomb is a repeated image in the film. The hammer moves at different speeds. The sequence of repetition and variation of the hammer suggests a narrative, but the film as a whole really does not follow a coherent narrative. It is helpful to read Poe's story before watching the film.


Like many avant-garde films after it, The Fall of the House of Usher is very dream-like. Madeline looks like a ghost, as does Webber in his pale face makeup. The figures move strangely throughout the film. At one point, we see a series of letter floating around. The letters suggest spelling SCREAM. The letters are probably a metaphor for the importance of the stack of books, another dream-like image in the film. It is in picking up one of these books that the visitor begins reading to Roderick to calm him down. However, it is at this time that they begin to hear Madeline's threatening wails echoing throughout the house. At the end, Madeline falls on her brother, perhaps smothering him while the visitor runs out of the house. The house then falls apart with Madeline and Roderick in it.


Critics suggest that Watson and Webber were influenced by expressionism because Webber is made up to look like the faces of the Tavant fresco. Webber was writing, and teaching about medieval art during the production of the film which may have also influenced him. Lucy Fischer comments, "Watson and Webber's use of a combination of techniques including disjunctive narrative, psychological complexity and ambiguity graphically expressed, unusual architectural angles, dramatic lighting, anamorphic lens shots and multiple exposure suggests that they were informed by a wide range of European and Soviet modernist conventions". This is interesting because Watson spoke out against modernism and wished for a return to more classical conventions.


The music in the film pulls the viewer into the intensity of the plot. The music changes form a calm melody to a nightmarish tick-tocking when Madeline falls into her possessed state and walks away from the table. It sounds almost like a fast heartbeat that is about to explode. In addition, the scene where we see just the hammer moving up and down on what is presumed to be Madeline's tomb, the music switches tempo with the speed of the hammer. When the hammer begins to fall on top of the tomb at an inhuman speed, again suggestive of a nightmare, the music begins to get faster and faster. Watson and Webber's choice of music really adds to the dream-like quality of the film.


In closing, although Watson and Webber have been overlooked by the film community, their influence on avant-garde film is extreme. The pair is highly respected for their experimental work. The teamwork between the two, as well as with e.e. cummings, produced some of the most influential of the early avant-garde films. They were a modest pair and viewed their work as amateur. Watson and Webber's work will continue to influence experimental filmmakers in the future.


--Tara Travisano, 2003

Un ripeo considerablemente mejor que el de este hilo (mayor calidad de imagen y menos recortada):

Spoiler: mostrar

Primero las del nuevo

The Fall of the House of Usher (Webber-Watson, 1928)

Ripeo de dixonsteele007 compartido en KG


IMDb



Nacionalidad: Estadounidense

Idioma: Inglés

Directores: Melville Webber y James Sibley Watson Jr.

Guión: Edgar Allan Poe (Novela)

Reparto:

Herbert Stern ... Roderick Usher
Hildegarde Watson ... Madeline Usher
Melville Webber ... Un viajero

Duración: 13 minutos

Lo suyo sería poner aquí una sinopsis del relato de Poe, pero aunque el corto es fiel al escrito, de su simple visionado no saldría tal sinopsis, porque es todo muy vago y surrealista. Así que por una vez, y sin que sirva de precedente, recomiendo leer el relato antes de ver el film (por ejemplo: aquí en inglés o aquí la traducción de Cortázar al español), o releerlo si no lo tenemos fresco. Como no llega a los 13 minutos, sería un buen ejercicio para quien tuviera la suerte :comi: de no haber leído el relato (para mí siempre es una suerte tener por leer/ver/escuchar cosas buenas), verlo antes de leer el relato y después, seguro que la experiencia es bien diferente.

Pero bueno, para los que quieran saber más o menos de qué va la historia para animarse o pasar: Un viajero recibe una apremiante carta de su viejo amigo Roderick Usher rogándole su presencia en Usher para paliar el mal que azota su cuerpo y su mente. Una vez en la casa, menos inerte y más orgánica que cualquier otra, descubre que el mal que consume a su amigo también se ceba con su hermana, Madeline, que vaga cual aparición por la casa.

A mí me ha gustado mucho, capta muy bien la esencia del relato, ese toque surrealista-experimental se adapta a la atmósfera onírica de la historia, muy ágil (13 minutos que pasan volando), los pocos recursos que debían tener, los aprovecharon muy bien. Recomendadísimo como complemento a la lectura, si ya se completa la velada (como hice yo) con la libre adaptación de Epstein...

Capturas:





The.Fall.of.the.House.of.Usher.(Webber.&.Watson.1928).DVDRip.English.avi
Subtítulos en español: SubDivX | Opensubtitles
Subtítulos en galego: Opensubtitles

Datos técnicos:

Spoiler: mostrar

File Name .......................................: The.Fall.of.the.House.of.Usher.(Webber.&.Watson.1928).DVDRip.English.avi
File Size (in bytes) ............................: 183,576,576 bytes
Runtime .........................................: 12:50.138

Video Info
Video Codec .....................................: XviD ISO MPEG-4
Frame Size ......................................: 640x480 (AR: 1.333)
FPS .............................................: 23.976
Video Bitrate ...................................: 1708 kb/s
Bits per Pixel ..................................: 0.232 bpp
Compatibillity...................................: [], [N-VOP], [], []

Audio Info
Audio Codec .....................................: 0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Sample Rate .....................................: 48000 Hz
Audio Bitrate ...................................: 192 kb/s [2 channel(s)] CBR
No. of audio streams ............................: 1

Los subtítulos son una chorrada (17 líneas), no tiene intertítulos, sólo aparecen algunas palabras en pantalla que se corresponden a sonidos, pero quizás le sean útiles a alguien que no sepa inglés.

Está también disponible en el 2º volumen de la fantástica colección Unseen Cinema (es posible que este ripeo saliera de esa colección).

Saúdos

Lot In Sodom, la otra pelicula realizada por Watson & Webber fue publicada por Luxor aqui:
viewtopic.php?t=21092&highlight=watson+webber

[Fitzcarraldo]

thanks!!! Brilliant post!! Jeanne Dielman is coming out of the oven, 3 CD rip with 320x240 of resolution it's the best for it I'm afraid, couldn't remove the black bars, they are not straight, so I would chop out parts of the movie. But it's still far better, then the one cd rip version that floats around. And the other two aswell! I think I'm going to reencode them, as they are mpg files very oversized. Damn darkness for this!

[bluegardenia]

8O Mil gracias saturn.
A ver si un día puedo compartir la Salomé de Charles Bryant que acompaña a Lot in Sodom en el dvd editado

[Karlugrath]

¡Qué interesante y qué sorpresa! 8O . Pinchada

[el_saturn]

Damn darkness for this!

Yes, too bad it's so gloomy, but what can I say...it suits its hallucinatory mood
and maany thanks for the rips!!

A ver si un día puedo compartir la Salomé de Charles Bryant que acompaña a Lot in Sodom en el dvd editado

Eso seria fantastico. Aqui tienes a un incondicional expectante

[trep]

Thanks El_Saturn!

[hattusil]

Por cierto, yo también he pinchado.

Gracias. Nos vemos.

[Chacoterox]

Llegando a la casa la pincho... y por cierto Blue... estamos expectantes de Salome.

[Karlugrath]

Completa y compartiendo. Muchas gracias por la película

[Luxor]

Andá, no había visto este post, con ekl tiempo que llevaba yo buscando esto. Muchas gracias saturnino.

[fiddles]

splendid

[David_Holm]

Un ripeo considerablemente mejor que el de este hilo (mayor calidad de imagen y menos recortada):

Spoiler: mostrar

Primero las del nuevo

The Fall of the House of Usher (Webber-Watson, 1928)

Ripeo de dixonsteele007 compartido en KG


IMDb



Nacionalidad: Estadounidense

Idioma: Inglés

Directores: Melville Webber y James Sibley Watson Jr.

Guión: Edgar Allan Poe (Novela)

Reparto:

Herbert Stern ... Roderick Usher
Hildegarde Watson ... Madeline Usher
Melville Webber ... Un viajero

Duración: 13 minutos

Lo suyo sería poner aquí una sinopsis del relato de Poe, pero aunque el corto es fiel al escrito, de su simple visionado no saldría tal sinopsis, porque es todo muy vago y surrealista. Así que por una vez, y sin que sirva de precedente, recomiendo leer el relato antes de ver el film (por ejemplo: aquí en inglés o aquí la traducción de Cortázar al español), o releerlo si no lo tenemos fresco. Como no llega a los 13 minutos, sería un buen ejercicio para quien tuviera la suerte :comi: de no haber leído el relato (para mí siempre es una suerte tener por leer/ver/escuchar cosas buenas), verlo antes de leer el relato y después, seguro que la experiencia es bien diferente.

Pero bueno, para los que quieran saber más o menos de qué va la historia para animarse o pasar: Un viajero recibe una apremiante carta de su viejo amigo Roderick Usher rogándole su presencia en Usher para paliar el mal que azota su cuerpo y su mente. Una vez en la casa, menos inerte y más orgánica que cualquier otra, descubre que el mal que consume a su amigo también se ceba con su hermana, Madeline, que vaga cual aparición por la casa.

A mí me ha gustado mucho, capta muy bien la esencia del relato, ese toque surrealista-experimental se adapta a la atmósfera onírica de la historia, muy ágil (13 minutos que pasan volando), los pocos recursos que debían tener, los aprovecharon muy bien. Recomendadísimo como complemento a la lectura, si ya se completa la velada (como hice yo) con la libre adaptación de Epstein...

Capturas:





The.Fall.of.the.House.of.Usher.(Webber.&.Watson.1928).DVDRip.English.avi
Subtítulos en español: SubDivX | Opensubtitles
Subtítulos en galego: Opensubtitles

Datos técnicos:

Spoiler: mostrar

File Name .......................................: The.Fall.of.the.House.of.Usher.(Webber.&.Watson.1928).DVDRip.English.avi
File Size (in bytes) ............................: 183,576,576 bytes
Runtime .........................................: 12:50.138

Video Info
Video Codec .....................................: XviD ISO MPEG-4
Frame Size ......................................: 640x480 (AR: 1.333)
FPS .............................................: 23.976
Video Bitrate ...................................: 1708 kb/s
Bits per Pixel ..................................: 0.232 bpp
Compatibillity...................................: [], [N-VOP], [], []

Audio Info
Audio Codec .....................................: 0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Sample Rate .....................................: 48000 Hz
Audio Bitrate ...................................: 192 kb/s [2 channel(s)] CBR
No. of audio streams ............................: 1

Los subtítulos son una chorrada (17 líneas), no tiene intertítulos, sólo aparecen algunas palabras en pantalla que se corresponden a sonidos, pero quizás le sean útiles a alguien que no sepa inglés.

Está también disponible en el 2º volumen de la fantástica colección Unseen Cinema (es posible que este ripeo saliera de esa colección).

Saúdos

[arthureld]

Me apunto a este nuevo ripeo. Muchas gracias por traerlo David. Ahora buscaré el relato que lo tengo pero a saber donde y te haré caso y refrescaré mi memoria. Y de paso me acabo de acordar de la versión de Corman y de Price y la voy a buscar también.

[marlowe62]

Más capturas (cortesía de Andrei en sharethefiles):

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Enlaces relacionados:
La chute de la maison Usher (Jean Epstein, 1928) DVDRip VOSE

[Coursodon]

Pinchada, gracias.