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Histoire d'un crime (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Histoire d'un crime' is a 1901 French silent film directed by Ferdinand Zecca and distributed by Path Frres.Lanzoni 2004, p. 42. The film stars Jean Lizer as the murderer and was based on a contemporary tableau series titled "L'histoire d'un crime" at the Muse Grvin.Schwartz 1999, p. 146.Rge 2009, p. 1026.

'Histoire d'un crime' is considered the first French crime film and among the first to use seedy, realistic settings.Austin 1996, p. 3. Film historian Don Fairservice has noted 'Histoire d'un crime' was "very influential."Fairservice 2002, p. 28.Doane 2002, p. 17. Zecca had convinced Charles Path that other film subjects could supplement the Path documentaries. His other films included comedies, trick films,Paris 1995, p. 11. or fairy tales, such as 'Les Sept chteaux du Diable', both 1901, and 'La Belle au bois dormant' in 1902, as well as social dramas like 'Les Victimes de l'alcoolisme' (1902), 'Au pays noir' (1905) and reconstructions of actual events, the most famous being 'La Catastrophe de la Martinique' (1902).

Plot



During a home invasion, a sleeping bank employee is awakened by a burglar. In the ensuing struggle, the burglar stabs the other man. The next day, the burglar, an out-of-work carpenter, is arrested at a caf while spending lavishly on wine. He is put on trial and found guilty.

While the burglar is being held in prison, he sees a series of flashbacks on his cell wall, depicting him as an honest workman with a happy home life but he soon begins to drink heavily. Becoming a burglar, he descends further into crime, finally committing a murder.

As the day of execution arrives, the executioners cut his hair off and a priest performs an expiation. The burglar is led to the guillotine and is executed.

Cast



* Jean Lizer as the murderer

Production



'Histoire d'un crime' is stylistically innovative in its use of superimposition of images. The story was of a man condemned to death, awaiting execution with his crimes appearing on his cell wall. The film is also an early example of flashbacks as a film device.[http://brevestoriadelcinema.altervista.org/4-1.html :The rise of French cinema."] 'brevestoriadelcinema'. Retrieved: 31 December 2016. The realism that was portrayed led to the film being stopped before the final execution scene to allow women and children to leave the theatre. Later, French authorities censored the film and required that the scene be entirely removed.

References



Notes



Bibliography



* Austin, Guy.'Contemporary French Cinema: An Introduction.' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1996. .

* Doane, Mary Ann. 'The Emergence of Cinematic Time: Modernity, Contingency, the Archive'. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2002. ,

* Fairservice, Don. 'Film Editing: History, Theory and Practice: Looking at the Invisible'. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2002. .

* Lanzoni, Rmi Fournier. 'French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present'. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004. .

* Paris, Michael. 'From the Wright Brothers to Top gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. .

* Rge, Philippe. 'Encyclopedia of French Film Directors', Volume 1. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009. .

* Schwartz, Vanessa R. 'Spectacular Realities: Early Mass Culture in Fin-de-sicle Paris'. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1999. .


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