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Powerful

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Poe's world is unique, dreamlike, and therefore extremely difficult to adapt to the screen. So far this is the only film I've seen which succeeds in truly evoking the atmosphere of his work. Phantasmagoric, hauntingly romantic (in the true sense), a masterpiece. As if one is dreaming in a state of wakefulness. This is 7th art poetry. I'm sure Edgar Allan Poe would have been delighted with this. If you like his oeuvre, this is the cinematic adaptation of his most famous story to see.

One of the benefits of knowing Dave Sindelar (of sci-film.org and the "Movie of the Day" forum on the "Monsterkidsclassichorrorforum" on Yuku) is that sometimes I get to see some stuff I never would have know about otherwise.Well, I mean good stuff as well as the deservedly obscure stuff.He pulled out this fairly short film recently as a break from all the 50's sci-fi dreck we've been wading through, and I have to say that this silent film was easily the single best example of the era that I've ever seen.This director and the casting crew managed to cast and film a group of actors who were superbly suited for the demands of silent film...and by this, I mean that all you have to do is look at the actors in almost any given scene and you will already know almost everything there is to know about their characters. This is way different from the hammy over-emoting that jars my sensibilities even when I view something like the recently restored "Metropolis Complete".And the photography and lighting and costuming and set design...they all combine to create and reinforce the atmosphere of Poe's little tale of decadence and dread.Especially impressive is the soundtrack, which seems to combine wire harp, scratching violins, hammered piano and heaven knows what else to provide a background that is at once beautiful, disturbing and haunting.Only 8 stars because the story itself...is extremely annoying in its way, especially after the first 30 minutes. You can't help but wonder if maybe actually having a JOB with stuff to do OUTSIDE would work wonders for the situation. "THIS is what comes of having too much money and too much time on your hands..."

La Chute de la Maison Usher, or The Fall of the House of Usher as it's know amongst English audiences, starts with Allan (Charles Lamy) heading for the Castle of his good friend Sir Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt) who sent him a letter saying that his wife Madeleine is ill. Once there Allan finds Madeleine very sick & her husband Roderick determined & almost obsessed to paint her portrait. As Roderick paints Madeleine becomes weaker & weaker almost as if the picture is draining the life out of her, Allan tries to help his friend but tragedy soon strikes...This French production was co-written, produced & directed by Jean Epstein & was the second of two filmed The Fall of the House of Usher adaptations during 1928, honestly I don't know the original novel was published in 1839, I mean you wait 89 years for a filmed adaptation & two come along at the same time! Anyway, I feel that I have a bit of a problem here as I have read plenty of positive comments about La Chute de la Maison Usher & maybe I'm not the right sort of person to write a comment on it but I have to say that it simply didn't do anything for me. I didn't like it, obviously the first thing to say is that this is a silent film & therefore it relies on imagery but even so I thought the story was weak, I thought as a whole the film was boring & dull even though it only lasts for about an hour & it really didn't do anything for me at all. La Chute de la Maison Usher was made almost 80 years ago & that is literally a lifetime, the world, cinema & tastes have moved on a lot since then & I found no enjoyment in this film. I feel this film has dated badly & probably wasn't that good to start with anyway. I never felt for any of the character's, I never cared about anything that was happening & I found it all rather tedious to sit through, I'm sorry if I've offended any silent film fans out there but that's the way I felt.Director Epstein does an OK job, a lot of people ramble on about the imagery in La Chute de la Maison Usher & I will freely admit it definitely has it's moments but I thought they were few & far between. Shots of people's mouths moving & not actually hearing what they say just seemed weird to me, I didn't like the music & the version I saw kept the original French language insert cards which were narrated by guy with the most awful sounding thick French accent which was also off putting. Based on the story by Edgar Allen Poe I doubt this has much resemblance to it apart from one or two basic elements, stick with the fantastic Roger Corman House of Usher starring Vincent Price.Technically the film was OK considering when it was made. You simply cannot tell about the acting as no one ever speaks although the film is full of unnatural exaggerated movements to try & suggest emotions or reflect what's happening which works to an extent but after a while just looks a bit daft.La Chute de la Maison Usher will appeal to those who crave a bygone era, who live in caves or who are stuck in the past, for me I like my films to have a story, not to bore me & to have sound & I'm sorry if that last statement makes me sound like an uneducated idiot but that's how I feel. The world has moved on since 1928 & for the better.

A very influential movie in its time, mainly for its imaginative cinematography and cutting.The story itself is hard to follow, but not very important since the movie has more essence than substance.The opening scene of the peasants cringing hearing that someone wants to visit the Ushers is later reused many times (i.e., in Dracula).