Short-Order: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1928)

There is a certain patriarchal, condescending feel to the lack of short film in the modern movie scene.  Aside from Pixar, the short film has largely gone the way of the dodo since the 1960's, as live-action shorts, cartoons and newsreels have been abandoned in favor of fitting more showings in a day.  However, the advent of YouTube has made a new boon for shorts, seeing as their length fits in well with the attention span of the internet.  Short-Order looks at great short films from across time and I couldn't think of a better one to start with than the great The Fall of the House of Usher by Melville Webber and J. S. Watson, Jr.

You really can't go wrong with Poe, and The Fall of the House of Usher is one of his most enduring and haunting stories, creating palpable dread from mere suspicion and obsession.  There have been many film adaptations over the years, including two excellent and very different takes: Roger Corman's 1960 version starring Vincent Price in one of his most affecting and subtle performances (also check out The Tomb of Legia), and the stunning, feature-length 1928 French silent version by Jean Epstein and Luis Buñuel.  An incredible telling that is often forgotten, aside from experimental and silent film scholars, is this 13 minute silent version, from the team behind Lot in Sodom (another high water mark in experimental film making).

It's a film that lives in kaleidoscopes: the opening shot is just a pan across the first page of the story, refracted to the edge of comprehension.  A traveler approaches a kaleidoscope castle, nothing but a many of spires against rolling clouds.  The stairs multiply as well, cutting like paper to see their walkers.  The Usher siblings, Roderick and Madeleine, live alone in their ancestral home, cast in Deco splendor and served by unseen servants.  A superimposed coffin is served on a silver platter.  Doors are built from Tangrams.  Hammers.  Top hats.  I'm in love in fright.

I'm being vague because it's only 13 minutes and is vague in itself, playing with the images of the story rather than initiating the poorly-read.  Because of its seeming public domain status, there are a number of uploads available and some of them have atrocious soundtracks.  Internet Archive has one with decent music, though the quality isn't too good.  I'd suggest taking this version and turning the sound off, replacing it with this.

~PNK