Fantomas Unleashed

This is a wonderful movie. Very funny, intelligent, and a sophisticated humour. The scene of Inspector Juve with the three arms is just hilarious. Both the series of "The Pink Panther" (Peter Sellers) or Austin Powers probably were inspired by this wonderful movie and the other Fantomas movies in the 3-movie series. It is a must see.

'Fantomas Strikes Back' is a great period piece. While not as believable and scary as the original series opener a year earlier, the wonderful Rome locations more than compensate. The Fantomas films were shot in post-WWII Europe's heydays, when it looked like the future will be just as rosy.

This film came out the same year as the Bond flick 'Thunderball,' and can be considered French cinema's answer to the Anglophile 007 craze sweeping Europe and the world back then. The kidnapped scientist plot shows up in many Bond films, of course. But the best gimmick in any Fantomas film is Fantomas' ability to assume other people's identity at will by using high quality rubber face masks. And his own, featureless eerie green rubber mask is rather scary still.

BTW, does anyone know if the 'Fantomas' films are available on DVD?

This is more so and now its more of the zaniness, just comparison with the first movie a sight all over the place stuff goin on (the scientist stuff yawn) compared with the first movie's focus but more fun from the main principal characters.

This episode is a bit average: there a lot of funny things but at the end, the movie fails to be a classic: this time you can see that the inspiration is clearly the Bond cousin across the channel, with an European plan, a high tech and hidden lair, a lot of gadgets but maybe it's the explanation, the movie drags terribly like the 007 movies: especially the final part that is wild action chase for about 15 minutes... Anyaway, the 3-hands outfit is funny, the Roma location is exotic and the 3 professors (all played by late Marais) is impossible to tell as it's really tricky...

Fantômas Se Déchaine (or Fantômas Unleashed for the English title) is of the same quality as the first movie from one year earlier. For 1965 you can't expect big special effects, but for that year it was certainly good enough. It reminds me of the time I watched Louis de Funès movies with my grandparents what was always a pleasant and funny time of cinema. Louis de Funès will always stay the best French comedian, and that's mostly due to his hyperactive temper and his great mimicking. The Fantômas trilogy is maybe not his funniest movies but they were entertaining, certainly for that time. Watching this so many years later I still enjoy it, even though it's obvious that we're used to watch better things nowadays.