Finis Terrae Blu-ray Review

Eureka Entertainment

Blu-ray Release: August 12, 2025

Video: 1.37:1/1080p/Black & white

Audio: LPCM 2.0 Mono (music only)

Subtitles: English (French intertitles)

Run Time: 81:42

Director: Jean Epstein 

Four fishermen 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. (From Eureka’s official synopsis)

Polish-born French silent era director Jean Epstein is largely remembered for his adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher (French: La Chute de la maison Usher, 1928) and association with surrealist icon Luis Buñuel, who worked as an assistant on several of his films, before a falling out in the late ‘20s. Given the magnitude of Buñuel’s career, Epstein’s work has otherwise been largely overlooked in North America outside of certain critical and academic circles. Fortunately, his House of Usher follow-up, Finis Terrae (1929), is now available on US Blu-ray, so the rest of us can know what we were missing.

Finis Terrae (not to be confused with the 2003 film Finisterre) is an early example of ethnographic docufiction, also known as ethnofiction. A predecessor of modern documentaries and docudramas, ethnofiction was typically defined as anthropologically focused, scripted dramas that purported to be based on true stories and featured non-professional actors. More popular silent era ethofiction includes Robert J. Flaherty’s Nanook of the North (1922) and F.W. Murnau’s Tabu (1931). 

Epstein was a leader of the avant-garde adjacent French Impressionist Movement during the silent era, alongside Abel Gance, Germaine Dulac, Marcel L'Herbier, Dimitri Kirsanoff, and future Grand Illusion (French: La grande illusion, 1937) and Diary of a Chambermaid (1946) director Jean Renoir. Fenis Terrae is notable for its early adoption of slow motion shots and close-ups, as well as the fact that, as a faux-documentary, it was shot in the elements, utilizing the natural beauty of the environment (the logistics of filming on the water in 1928 must have been a nightmare). The arresting visuals create the drama in place of dialogue or a traditional plot, evoking (to my undereducated eye) allusions to post-war European film movements, like Italian neorealism and Ingmar Bergman’s early Swedish arthouse work.

Eureka’s ad copy proudly proclaims Finis Terrae’s connections to Robert Eggers’ surrealist cosmic horror dramedy The Lighthouse (2019) and Mark Jenkins’ Bait (also 2019), which was, apparently, a similar coastal-set silent era throwback. I haven’t seen Bait, nor have I read an interview where Eggers specifically mentions Finis Terrae as an inspiration. This BFI article mentions it in addition to various pieces of art, literature, and other films, among them Jean Grémillon’s The Lighthouse Keepers (1929), which seems much closer to Eggers’ intent. Still, the similarities between his film and Epstein’s are hard to miss, from the seaside location and sense of isolation to the harsh photography and hallucinatory touches. A lighthouse even features prominently throughout. 

Video

Finis Terrae is in the public domain, so it can be seen from archival type streaming sources, like The Internet Archive and YouTube, but there hasn’t been an ‘official’ DVD or Blu-ray release of the film in North America yet. Eureka’s new Blu-ray utilizes the Gaumont Film Company’s 2019 4K remaster, which was previously available as a French Jean Epstein double-feature Blu-ray (with La femme du bout du monde [1938]) from Gaumont itself. The film is presented in its original black & white, 1.37:1 and 1080p video. 

It’s simply incredible that a nearly century-old picture can still exist in a scannable state and the lack of major negative damage is shocking. At worst, some shots exhibit a few white spots and maybe a light streak of mold. Otherwise, grain levels are fine for type, not to mention shockingly consistent. Textures, small details, and tighter edges are also neatly produced, in spite of the film’s aforementioned age and cinematographers Joseph Barthès, Gösta Kotulla, Louis Née, and R. Tulle’s use of high contrast and diffusion. 

Audio

It’s not listed on the box, but this disc does include an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mono musical soundtrack by Roch Havet. The music is minimalistic, avant-garde chamber orchestra type stuff (the instrumentations feature limited horn, reed, and cello groupings), designed to inspire tone, not to create melodies. The most commonly repeated motif is, to my ear, a take on Berlioz’ “Dreams of a Witches’ Sabbath.” The sound quality is somewhat condensed, but clear and naturalistic. 

Extras

• The Call of the Sea (17:32, HD) – Film historian and critic Pamela Hutchinson explores the director’s life, contemporaries, his work as writer, critic, and filmmaker, the making of Finis Tarrae, and (briefly) comparisons to The Lighthouse. 

• Strangers in Strange Lands (20:32, HD) – An exclusive video essay by New Blood: Critical Approaches to Contemporary Horror (University of Wales Press, 2021) co-editor Eddie Falvey that covers the film’s plot, technical aspects, and the various meanings of its title and imagery. 

• Capturing the Real (11:03, HD) – An archival interview with Joel Daire, the author of Jean Epstein: Une Vie pour le Cinéma (Tour Verte, 2014), who covers the making of Finis Terrae and compares it to the director’s other work.

The images on this page are taken from the Blu-ray and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.