Rent Finis Terrae (1929)
3.7 of 5 from 47 ratings
1h 20min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
One of the most important filmmakers France has ever produced, Jean Epstein was a film theorist, critic and a leading figure in the French Impressionist movement. Perhaps best known today for directing the first adaptation of 'The Fall of the House of Usher' from a screenplay co-written with Luis Buñuel, Epstein produced several masterpieces during the silent period, including 'Faithful Heart' (Coeur fidèle), 'The Three-Sided Mirror' (La glace à trois faces) and 'Finis Terrae', the story of a group of fishermen stranded off the cost of Brittany. Four fisherman set out on a three month expedition to the islet Bannec. They intend to harvest seaweed, which will fetch high prices if burned and processed properly - but cabin fever soon sets in. After two of the men brawl over a broken bottle of wine, one of them cuts his thumb on a piece of glass, while the other comes to suspect that his knife has been stolen with malicious intent. As the situation escalates, conditions at sea make it impossible for the men to leave Bannec or for help from the mainland to reach them. An atmospheric maritime tale and a forerunner to such films as Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse and Mark Jenkin's Bait, Finis Terrae is one of Jean Epstein's finest achievements and an aesthetic triumph, particularly in its early and deeply effective use of slow motion cinematography. - Actors:
- Gibois, Jean-Marie Laot, Malgorn, François Morin, Pierre, Ambroise Rouzic
- Directors:
- Jean Epstein
- Producers:
- Serge Sandberg
- Writers:
- Jean Epstein
- Aka:
- End of the Earth
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Countries:
- France
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 11/08/2025
- Run Time:
- 81 minutes
- Languages:
- Silent
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- The Call of the Sea - new interview with film historian and critic Pamela Hutchinson on the life and work of the director
- Strangers in Strange Lands – new video essay on Finis Terrae by film scholar Eddie Falvey
- Capturing the Real - archival interview with French film historian and archivist Joël Daire
