The Thousands

Directed by Louis Feuillade, this series of silent films based on the crime fiction novels of Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre has it all. They’re packed with classic 1900s effects like model train crashes, cross-fade disguises, superimposed smoke, gun battles, prosthetic stunts, giant pythons and a never ending palette of colour tinting to indicate day/night/jovial/sinister, regardless of the lighting. As a series it is a visual degustation, and it’s easy to see why Fantomas, the criminal character at the center of the plot line, inspired the likes of Rene Magritte and Dali as a potent inspiration to the Surrealist cause.**With its strangely jubilant sepia world, it is incredibly immersive and hilarious in an unhumourous way. There are some painfully long scenes – like five minutes of following an elevator up several floors, cutting to each floor to watch it go past – so while this may sound contradictory, read the books instead if you aren’t the patient type. But it’s worth it for the adventure in what is regarded as one of the best silent films of its era.

We’ve always loved the character of Fantomas, so it was interesting to see a manifestation of him in this form.