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L'INHUMAINE

1924

Marcel L’Herbier

L'inhumaine

SYNOPSIS

Claire Lescot, a famous cold-hearted diva, drives men to madness until a young engineer fakes his suicide to teach her a lesson in humanity. She visits his futuristic laboratory, where he uses strange scientific apparatus to revive her dormant heart. Famous for its stunning Art Deco sets designed by masters like Fernand Léger, this visual symphony blends avant-garde aesthetics with melodrama to create a controversial, dazzling synthesis of the cinematic art form.

CRITIQUE

Marcel L’Herbier’s film is a dazzling manifesto of the French avant-garde, prioritizing visual style over narrative logic. Bringing together the era's greatest artists, including Fernand Léger and Robert Mallet-Stevens, it serves as a time capsule of the Art Deco movement. Its rapid editing and cubist sets challenged audience perceptions, treating cinema as a synthesis of all arts. While divisive upon release, it is now recognized as a bold experiment in 'pure cinema,' pushing the medium toward visual abstraction and influencing modern music video aesthetics.

SCREENING AVAILABILITY

  • Theatrical screenings

  • Non-theatrical screenings

  • Festivals and cinematheques

  • Educational screenings

  • Television broadcasting

  • Digital platforms and streaming

  • Promotional and editorial use

  • Licensing of graphic and visual materials

AVAILABLE FORMATS

  • DCP

  • DCP with subtitles

  • Apple ProRes

  • MP4 Screening File

  • MP4 Rehearsal Copy for Musicians (silent films)

  • Blu-ray

  • High-resolution archival masters

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

  • Posters

  • Press stills

  • Promotional assets

  • Screening support materials

AVAILABLE SUBTITLES

  • English

  • Spanish

  • French

  • Portuguese

  • Italian

  • German

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