Fant%C3%B4mas (1913 serial)

Fantmas pronouncedftomas is a French silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, based on the novel of the same name. The five episodes, initially released throughout 191314, were restored under the direction of Jacques Champreaux and released in this new form in 2006.

Fantmas was enormously popular upon its release in France, and made Navarre, who played Fantmas, an overnight celebrity. In a rave review from a 1914 issue of the French journal Chronique cinmatographique, critic Maurice Raynal wrote that There is nothing in this involved, compact, and concentrated film but explosive genius.citation needed In his contemporary critical review of the Fantmas serial, Peter Schofer notes that contrary to some modern understandings of the series, Fantmas was not interpreted by its audience as a suspense film. Based on a previously published and widely read newspaper serial, audiences of the time were already extensively familiar with the plot, characters, and outcome of the story, making the film much more about how the story might develop as opposed to what might happen next. ........

Source: Wikipedia