User reviews

I had always been intrigued by the exploits of this famous criminal mastermind, and especially its initial cinematic adaptation via the Silent Serial of 1913-14 made by Louis Feuillade (whose French 2-DVD Set I purchased, rather costly, and enjoyed a great deal). Another interesting version was the 1932 Paul Fejos film, which recently turned up on late-night Italian TV (in the original language!) - but I missed out on it because at the time I was in Hollywood!!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the Sixties revival but, as it turned out, it's a likable - and stylish - enough triptych, even if it's somewhat unbalanced by the comic relief (which increased with each new entry). Also, since I watched the three films back-to-back, they've become more or less interchangeable in my mind - especially given the fact that they have much the same cast and crew!

It's interesting that Jean Marais has a dual role - as had been the case with Jean Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946), where he was hidden behind an amazing animal make-up for virtually the entire film, as well as playing the rather bland hero - as both Fantomas (his features are still recognizable behind the rather wonderful blank-faced mask) and the intrepid reporter hero (at which he managed to be credible, despite being 50 years old!), with an equally brave partner (the lovely Mylene Demongeot) in tow; while popular comic Louis De Funes appears as Commissioner Juve, forever in pursuit of the elusive and fiendish criminal, abetted - but more often hindered - by a rotund Inspector played by Jacques Dynam.

Unfortunately, the film aspired more to the tongue-in-cheek approach, colorful scenery and the gadget-heavy thrills of the James Bond extravaganzas (featuring even a similar score!) rather than the poetic touch - which went hand in hand with the inherent surrealism of such fare - which Georges Franju gave to a contemporaneous remake/compression of another Feuillade Silent Serial, JUDEX (1963; the original was released in 1916-17). Perhaps the best scene(s) of the film is the extended set-piece at the climax in which Fantomas utilizes five separate means of transportation - train, car, motorbike, boat, submarine - in order to escape the clutches of the Law (successfully).

One must travel back to the 19-Sixties to appreciate 'Fantomas' to the full.

In those days English James Bond was taking off with his second or third film, creating a hype that is exceptional in film-history right up to this day. According to the customs back then, the French came up with 'Fantomas', providing a counter-weight that made considerable impact. However, in the long run James Bond has lived on while Fantomas is by now clear history.

Watching this film for the first time since 1965 or so, one must conclude that 'Fantomas' makes a comedy, as well as a clever persiflage of the contemporary James Bond (performed by Sean Connery). Shot with the techniques available back then, catching well-acted roles by prominent French actors and actresses of those years.

For those who were not around in 1965, I fear that 'Fantomas' has not much to offer. Knowledge about the mid-Sixties is necessary to understand this film to the full.

first, it is expression of a long and solid tradition of French comedy. second, it is a brilliant demonstration of the wise use of clichés of a genre for a fascinating work. third, it reminds the genius of an impeccable art of Louis de Funes, the flavor of a time, the seduction of Jean Marais, the fine mix between action, humor and cultural references. a film who reminds more than presents. because , part of an easy genre, it is made with beautiful precision. its atmosphere remains seductive after a half of century. it remains a lesson of cinema in front with contemporary comedies/action films. short, a delight. nostalgic, nice, touching. and a character who seems be symbol of dark fears and secret fascination of bad.

This is a freewheeling fun narrative. Weeeeeeee. Funny parts along with the things happening.

11/19 p.s. This is a technical marvel of a flick that shows motorcycles in a chase sequence as they crash and riders flip through the air like out of The Road Warrior from predating the same type of action being done here way before.

It was wonderful for me to discover this classic French gem so late.

Why?

Because I was brought up on 007, and Fantomas harks back to early Bond in many ways: Thematically, musically, visually. But whereas Bond films perpetrate English rational thinking and ironic humor, Fantomas goes the French way: Farce, sexyness, and ...Louis DeFunés!!!

We are nearer to comic- book villainy here.

We also notice that lots of FRANCS were put where the Brits put their POUNDS. By this I don't doubt for a minute that by showing off Paris and the French Riviera the French government certainly wished to rival Britain's skilfully propaganda operation perpetrated by Bond films. (Let's not forget that Ian Fleming, who authored the books, was a British agent).

But though Marais has much of Roger Moore's (a future Bond) suave appeal, it is the zany, manic DeFunés who steals the show...turning the film into something hard to classify. In fact he single-handedly wreaks havoc, and triggers off material for Peter Sellers' future inventions like Inspector Clouseau (of the Suretée).

The stunts in this film are amazing, and coarsely riveting. Marais and elderly DeFunés pull off quite a few themselves. And the inflatable dinghy finale is so tongue-in- cheek it will have you giggling like a toddler.

Vive la Liberté!

I watched this film tonight on TV5 again for the first time in 20+ years and loved it. I had always wanted to see it again because it had left only good memories from when I was a teenager and watched it on German TV where it was very popular in the 70s. The main character is an evil rogue who outwits his pursuers by his skills in disguise and technical resources. The film (and its sequels) is based on a series of 1910s French pulp novels which have only sparsely been released in the U.S. (sadly unavailable in print right now). The novels influenced French surrealist and avant-garde artists/writers because of their fascination with moral transgression and black humor (a term coined by the surrealist Andre Breton in the 1930s). If you like slapstick comedy you will also enjoy Louis de Funes in the role of Inspector Juve. Sure, the film is badly made by today's standards and technically not as brilliant as the 1960s James Bond movies that it mocks--but, hey, at least the bad guy is smarter than the good ones, which is still refreshing to see compared to most oh-so-morally-PC Hollywood flicks today.

Enjoy!

The Fantomas novels were resurrected in the early 1960s as France's own answer to the James Bond frenzy that swept the Continent and the world. The first one of the trilogy was filmed in 1963-64 and released in 1964. This film is shot in normal aspect ratio 4:3, whereas the following two were filmed in anamorphic wide screen.

The opening sequence of the film is already a gas: Fantomas pulls up in a chauffeured driven Rolls Royce Silver Cloud to a fancy jeweler's store next to the Paris Ritz Hotel. His mask identifies him as a British Lord. He pays for the jewelery with a personal check and then drives off with his stunning lady friend, smiling and laughing his distinct laughter. Next, we see the check being held in the hands of the jeweler, when suddenly, the amount and signature written on it disappear (invisible ink!) and the word "FANTOMAS" appear. Pretty high-grade stuff for 1964.

Interesting to note that in all three films, the actor Jean Marais played both the criminal mastermind Fantoms and ladies man Fandor, the journalist.

I also enjoyed looking at the journalist Fandor's hip mansard apartment. Top gimmick is the rubber masks that offer Fantomas anyone's identity at will. The flying Citroen car debuted here and was used on an AMC car that flew with retractable wings 10 years later in a Bond movie.

It would be so nice to be able to get the Fantomas films on DVD here in North America.

Director Andre Hunebelle is no familiar name to me and, according to the IMDB report on him, he was "an odd job" man, doing everything from thrillers to swashbucklers, to comedies, and possibly a great deal more that I have not watched... and, on the strength of this film, I doubt I will look forward to watching more of his work.

Jean Marais is entrusted with not one but two roles, those of Fantomas and of the "Point du Jour" reporter/journalist Fandor covering Fantomas as he steals things from under everyone's nose. He does more than that, too: as Fantomas, he sabotages the brakes of the car in which Marais and Demongeot wake up, so they can die - and what follows is a ridiculous ride down and up mountains, with a supposedly brakeless vehicle actually heard applying brakes, among other impossibilities!

That's not all! Fantomas' master stroke: he copies French Police Commissar Juve (Louis de Funès') mug! And it takes a facial reconstruction exercise at the Police HQ for Juve to realize that Fantomas is impersonating him! I wonder if Hunebelle and the screenwriters watched Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in THE PINK PANTHER one year earlier. If they did, pity de Funès did not act with the same restraint as the British comedian!

The 1960s decade opened with a new fetiche: that of rubber masks to change your identity. You saw it in TV productions like THE FUGITIVE, spy-spoofing GET SMART, in the intro to James Bond's FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963), in John Huston's THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER (1963), so FANTOMAS just picked up the fad and extended it (Fantomas' mask is quite good in its bluish, ghoulish way).

Other than that, the curvaceous Mylène Demongeot, and the slapstick, unfunny de Funés, continually repeating "faster, faster, faster" ("vite, plus vite") wherever he might be and whatever he might be traveling on.

I first saw FANTOMAS as a kid in 1967, and it left me with a vague sense of fear and fascination, prompted by the mask, the man's evil... now, nearly 60 years on, I had to force myself to watch it to the end to try to rediscover that magic - but found none.

Out of respect for what I saw as a child, I give it an undeserved 6/10.

The Fantomas novels were resurrected in the early 1960's as France's own answer to the James Bond frenzy that swept the Continent and the world. The first one of the trilogy was filmed in 1963-64 and released in 1964. This film was just Brilliant, from the acting, the super funny dialogue and to the incredible action. YES! the film had some really amazing action for its budget, make and year of release.

The opening sequence of the film is already a gas: Fantomas pulls up in a chauffeured driven Rolls Royce Silver Cloud to a fancy jeweler's store next to the Paris Ritz Hotel. His mask identifies him as a British Lord. He pays for the jewelry with a personal check and then drives off with his stunning lady friend, smiling and laughing his distinct laughter. Next, we see the check being held in the hands of the jeweler, when suddenly, the amount and signature written on it disappear (invisible ink!) and the word "FANTOMAS" appear. Pretty high-grade stuff for 1964.

Interesting to note that in all three films, the actor Jean Marais played both the criminal mastermind Fantomas and ladies man Fandor, the journalist.

I also enjoyed looking at the journalist Fandor's hip mansard apartment. Top gimmick is the rubber masks that offer Fantomas anyone's identity at will. The flying Citroen car debuted here and was used on an AMC car that flew with retractable wings 10 years later in a Bond movie.

It would be so nice to be able to get the Fantomas films on DVD here in North America.

Recently saw this one on TV again, rekindling some childhood memories. The plot is laughable but does not even seem to take itself seriously. There is a hunch of some of the Bond movies with the mysterious almost-all-powerful villain, improbable chase and action sequences and a behaviour by the main figures that sometimes defies any attempt at rationalization. Watchable for the 60's feel, some comic and some burlesque scenes.

If you love dorky movies, this is the Height of Dork. James Bond meets Mad Mad Mad Mad World meets Abbott and Costello, all in French. It's a parody of itself, including the sped up chase scenes, idiotic plot, and the "jazzy" exaggerated score featuring way too much marimba. The actors do seem to be having fun, it seems.

Not for the weak, but truly for serious dork appreciating professionals only.

Simplement culte de chez culte. A voir et à revoir

This movies i mean the three Fantômas were an important part of my childhood back in the late 60s or early 70s, i remember how much fun was to go the movies back then in my little coastal town of Banes in the east part of Cuba with my cousin Manny, and the Fantômas movies were the biggest hit of all, any Cuban over 40 years old will tell you how much they love this movie and because this movies Mylene Demongeot the very beautiful french actress became very popular in the beginning she was another copy of Brigitte Bardot as michele Mercier or Marina Vlady and many others were but as Vlady she became star in her own right, Louis de Funes the most popular of all french actors or comedian in Cuba became an idol back then he was really funny later in my life i discovered he was of Spanish decent and Jean Marais by the time of the Fantômas movies he was at the end of his stardom and i was very surprise when i discover later in my life he was gay and at one point he was the lover of Jean Cocteau, anyway i love the Fantômas movies and forever they will remain part of my life

While the English word "actor" and the German word "Schauspieler" (lit. "watch-player", i.e. player for those who watch) are neutral concerning the genre of acting (drama, horror, comedy, etc.), the French word "comédien" means originally the player of a comedy (Comédie Française). In this linguistic difference one may recognize why in France the comedy has a quite different place-value than it has in most other countries where the comedies are for acting about what the desserts are for a meal: welcome but basically unnecessary last delights. While, consistently, comedies in France look back to a very long tradition, the specific film comedies are children of the 50ies, 60ies and 70ies and inseparably connected with names like Fernandel, Bourvil and Louis De Funès, the so-called triumvirate of French Comedy. This is most interesting not only because of its late appearance compared to the long tradition of comical stage-acting, but mostly, because its emergence goes almost hand-in-hand with that of the rather abstract, non-entertaining films of Nouvelle Vague which officially started in 1958. Another reason of interest is that, e.g. in Germany other other surrounding states of France, this is unparalleled: In Germany, e.g. the sixties have been characterized basically by "Lederhosen-" and "Heimat-Films" on the one side and by criminal movies à la Edgar Wallace and its imitations, but not by a specific form of comedy. The year 1964, in which the first of the three "Fantômas"-movies appeared (the others followed in 1965 and 1967), was the same year when the first of the six "Gendarm De Saint-Tropez" movies were shown. If one compares these two movies with the later pictures De Funès did, one can easily see that he was not yet allowed to give that typical kind of performance which made him famous. De Funès, who had been already a famous stage actor for decades and also had appeared in dozens of smaller film roles, had to become 50 years old before someone detected that his comical talent would attract the masses in France. However, it took some more years before his attraction was detected even outside of France. So, in the early 70ies, one got to see in the cinemas of the German-speaking middle Europe up to 4 different De Funès movies per year that could even stand the concurrence of the Spaghetti Westerns which reached their high popularity in the same time. Probably because he knew of his weak heart, De Funès worked like a candle that burns from both sides at once, he would not even stopped after the first of a series of severe heart-attacks. Only in his last two or three movies, when he was not allowed to make more than one picture per year, he become quieter, approximately so as we see him in the three Fantômas movies, but still exciting for everybody not familiar with him.

While making a movie, the maker has to decide on whether to make it an action movie or comedy. Unless a fine balance is made, it becomes as ridiculous as this. To compound the fact, translating comic sketches into screen is difficult, things that one won't find impractical in the comics becomes ridiculous on screen. The ubiquitous Police Commissioner - who loves being on TV screen - how could people fail to recognise him, when he (or Fantomas in his mask), robbed repeatedly, deliberately showing his face to witnesses ? The lengthy sketch by the police artists based on description of witnesses was as farce as the movie plot itself. Had this been really comedy, that would have been acceptable, but it was more of an action movie, with a bit of comedy, especially by the Master Funes thrown in. Even more ridiculous were the brake-compromised car - how could it run backwards ? Or the final chasing - A man gets down of a disconnected train, runs off to a petrol station to 'kidnap' a car and then drives for some distance to pick-up his colleague (which indicates he must have traveled a few kilometers to the petrol station), and then manages to overtake the train, which by any practical purposes must have gained more than half an hour. The whole movie is full of these plot-holes, larger than pot-holes. Not even Funes can save this. This could have been somewhat OK in infancy of movies say 'Hazard of Helen' or 'Perils of Pauline' Shorts of the early silent period, but not in mid sixties.

Still exciting after 57 years after its completion. André Hunebelle was a good craftsman, who has also made many other very successful films. All the actors are great, especially the trio Mylène Demongeot, Jean Marais, Louis de Funès. And the best, without question, is the great comedian Louis de Funès. I've seen this movie many times, like the next two in the series, I grew up with them, I love them! This one is actually a remake of "Fantômas" (1947), directed by Jean Sacha with a very young Simone Signoret.

It has been a long time since i have watched this film , I have been looking for this film for a while so imagine my surprise when i found this title as a part of Kino Lorber collection . The best thing about this set was that it included all three of the films . Yes it is a part of a trilogy for those who are not familiar with this title . The film is heavily inspired and spooks in a way the james bond villains . It is not the greatest story but the comedy in the movie makes it stand out.I would highly recommend this title for it has all the ingredients of a entertaining movie . Luis de funes makes this movie timeless and it still as entertaining as it was when i watched it for the first time . Highly recommend that you buy this set which could be found in target , amazon even ebay .

The Fantomas trilogy, starring the incomparable Louis de Funès, earns a perfect 10/10 for its exceptional blend of humor, intrigue, and unforgettable performances. This series stands as the pinnacle of de Funès' illustrious career, showcasing his comedic genius at its best.

Each film in the trilogy is a delightful escapade into the world of Fantomas, a master of disguise and cunning. Louis de Funès' portrayal of the determined and often flustered police commissioner is both hilarious and endearing. His ability to convey humor through physical comedy and expressive antics is unparalleled, making every scene he's in a joy to watch.

The Fantomas trilogy is brilliantly crafted, with a perfect balance of slapstick humor, clever gags, and suspenseful storytelling. The narrative is engaging, with each installment offering a fresh and exciting adventure. The films manage to maintain a sense of continuity while each stands strong on its own.

Furthermore, the trilogy's production values, from the set designs to the costumes, add to the overall charm and timelessness of the films. The supporting cast complements de Funès perfectly, adding to the dynamic and entertaining plot.

This is a far cry from the original concept of Allain and Souvestre and has been reduced to nothing more than one of those infernal James Bond spin-offs that cluttered up sixties cinema as well as being yet another of the worthless remakes that Jean Marais made with director(I use the term loosely) André Hunebelle.

It is utterly devoid of suspense and momentum whilst the so-called 'comedic' element supplied by the police inspector of hammy Louis de Funés is utterly infantile. Marais was apparently advised to do the film by his mentor Jean Cocteau and had not Cocteau passed away before the film's release he would no doubt have been obliged to offer Marais his deepest apologies. Lovely Mylene Demongeot deserves better although this is so typical of the mediocre material she was offered from the 1960's onwards.

This ineffably naff and feeble opus is generally considered to be the best of Hunebelle's Fantomas trilogy. If that is the case I dread to think what the others are like and have not the least desire to find out.

In preference to Hunebelle's abomination this viewer would highly recommend Louis Feuillade's stylish pentalogy from 1913-14 which has been beautifully restored by the Cinématheque Francaise.

30/03/2023. Farewell Mlle Demongeot. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

You may have heard of him, or maybe you haven't. You may have seen Luis De Funes before or maybe you haven't. But seeing him (the latter) chase the other (the former who also is the latter at some point .... no pun intended and you'll understand when you see the movie) is quite the sight to be seen.

Quite a lot of stunts for a movie from the 60s and also done practically too. You have to have a soft spot for the way they did things back then though. Not to mention the humor. I really love Luis, but I also got really used to his German voice I grew familiar with (no pun intended, because literally I grew up with his movies) ... so it was weird hearing him speak French. Still the movies do work and I wonder why they only did two sequels to this. Maybe they weren't that succesful at the time? I could look that up, but I'll just enjoy the ones they did and will not mind the rest.