Image of the Day

[randy_byers]

L'enfant de Paris (1913)

'Perret’s artistic maturity is beautifully represented in the influential feature The Child of Paris, a naturalistic drama reminiscent of Émile Zola. Of this film, critic Georges Sadoul proclaimed, “Léonce Perret was able to render a graceful and lively story by using an extraordinarily refined cinematic repertoire: backlighting, low-angle shots, close-ups, moving shots and numerous other innovations, all of which Perret implemented with flair, in stark contrast to...the still somewhat primitive technique of David W. Griffith at that time.”'

-- Gaumont Treasures (1897-1913)

' It is easy to see why Gaumont’s first feature filmmaker, Léonce Perret, although a little-known figure, greatly influenced 1920s cinema. The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador (1912) and The Child of Paris (1913) are replete in refined pictorialism, advanced split-screening, fast cutting and other editing novelties, special effects, backlit silhouettes, highly stylized and theatrical lighting, angles, pans, masterful transitions, extreme close ups, point-of-view shots, early reaction shots, and, thankfully, a shift from stationary tableaux to more consistent multiple camera set-ups.'

-- Amy R. Handler, review of Gaumont Treasures (1897-1913)