Fantômas, as a literary creation, had already reached a venerable age when the 1960's came along and provided him with a new incarnation. Many an approach would have been possible : the surreal, the dark, the poetic, the realistic, and so on. Here the makers went for a big-budget mix of comedy (including homage, satire and pastiche) and adventure, aimed mainly at the young. By way of educated guess I would suppose the movie was aimed mainly at boys between, say, the ages of 11 and 15. There are adults, however, who like the movie well enough, mainly as a guilty pleasure.
It's the first, and best, in a series of Fantômas movies. The prestigious cast boasts stars such as Louis de Funès and Jean Marais. The latter plays two roles : he plays both an enterprising, intrepid reporter and a supervillain much given to snatching fashionable jewellery and hatching inhuman plots in the company of obedient minions. This dual role allows for scenes where A impersonates B who's impersonating A, and so on. (Watch out for the basic Fantômas mask, which is rather cool.)
Early on in the movie, the reporter gets noticed by the supervillain because he wrote a fake newspaper scoop which the supervillain found offensive to his sensibilities. Much of the supervillain nonsense written by the reporter seems to fit the Fantômas character well enough ; as a result it's not entirely clear why the man's complaining... Probably didn't receive enough attention as a toddler, or something like that.
Jean Marais, as our reporter hero, is given a much younger fiancée, in the person of blonde and beauteous Mylène Démongeot. While the role does not tax her abilities, it is worth remembering that the said actress did very well in the "noir" genre.
"Fantômas" is a colourful movie with excellent locations, a cheery musical score and a number of impressive stunts. It is not wise, however, to examine it too deeply, as the various plot holes could make for a bumpy ride... Visually and aesthetically, it bears a similarity to the "Diabolik" movie. However, I can't in good conscience recommend "Diabolik" to you. (If I remember it well, I wrote a rather nasty review ending with "Well, the movie may be dire, but at least it's not dire in a boring way".)
It's the first, and best, in a series of Fantômas movies. The prestigious cast boasts stars such as Louis de Funès and Jean Marais. The latter plays two roles : he plays both an enterprising, intrepid reporter and a supervillain much given to snatching fashionable jewellery and hatching inhuman plots in the company of obedient minions. This dual role allows for scenes where A impersonates B who's impersonating A, and so on. (Watch out for the basic Fantômas mask, which is rather cool.)
Early on in the movie, the reporter gets noticed by the supervillain because he wrote a fake newspaper scoop which the supervillain found offensive to his sensibilities. Much of the supervillain nonsense written by the reporter seems to fit the Fantômas character well enough ; as a result it's not entirely clear why the man's complaining... Probably didn't receive enough attention as a toddler, or something like that.
Jean Marais, as our reporter hero, is given a much younger fiancée, in the person of blonde and beauteous Mylène Démongeot. While the role does not tax her abilities, it is worth remembering that the said actress did very well in the "noir" genre.
"Fantômas" is a colourful movie with excellent locations, a cheery musical score and a number of impressive stunts. It is not wise, however, to examine it too deeply, as the various plot holes could make for a bumpy ride... Visually and aesthetically, it bears a similarity to the "Diabolik" movie. However, I can't in good conscience recommend "Diabolik" to you. (If I remember it well, I wrote a rather nasty review ending with "Well, the movie may be dire, but at least it's not dire in a boring way".)