Lucrezia Borgia (1937)

Directed by silent film pioneer Abel Gance, "Lucrezia Borgia" (1935, 93 min.) blazes onto the screen with the story of one of history's most ruthlessly ambitious families. With the same high style and exquisite attention to detail that Gance demonstrated so breathtakingly in "Napoleon," "Lucrezia Borgia" has been called an exuberant display of Gance's extensive filmmaking prowess. Also included are two rarely seen shorter silent films directed by Gance: "Au Secours!" (1923, 31 min.) uses experimental editing and photography to illustrate a man's adventures in a haunted house. "La Folie Du Docteur Tube" (1916, 14 min.) is a highly advanced experimental comedy about a mad scientist who discovers a sneezing powder that can alter someone's physique. This film, which uses mirrors to create distorted images, is considered by many to be the first appearance of the avant-garde in French cinema.

Interesting Movie from an Earlier Era

I got this movie on a lark, although I tend to like early pre-censorship B+W films. The film told a story without the hang-ups of worrying about what the audience would think and considering it is from another era, I found it to be a most interesting film. I had to watch parts of it twice to catch some subtle nuances, which made the film even more enjoyable. If you like early B+W films, I highly recommend this one. December 17, 2001

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