Les vampires

I can't say enough about this film--I've pursued and studied it for the last twenty years! I'm so happy it's finally been made available on video. The first time I saw it was at the Videoteque de Paris...everyday for a week I watched episode after episode but, to my horror, when I requested the last episode I was told it was unavailable! It seems that, just the day before, the grandson of Louis Feuillade--I believe he is Jacques Champraux--had the video pulled from public viewings while it was in litigation. I thought I was going to fall over! The singular reason I was in Paris was to see LES VAMPIRES and suddenly, I was swallowing a very bittersweet pill. Anyway, eventually I saw the last episode, "The Bloody Wedding," but not until some years later when the serial was shown in its entirety at the Art Institute of Chicago. FIN

I knew next to nothing about this serial before starting on the first installment. I had mild expectations, figuring it would be a struggle to pay attention and not get bored. Boy, was I wrong! It starts of with a fast pace, leading you into a mystery with twists and turns and exciting villains. Following the young reporter, it's almost like an excellent Tintin-adventure. In fact, there are many parallels to Tintin that can be made, including a clumsy friend that happens upon great wealth.

Sadly, it loses a lot of momentum about midway through. As far as I can understand, there was no script (only a general idea), and it kind of shows. I assume the Irma Vep and Mazamette-characters were the most popular, because they become more and more involved in the storyline as it progresses. After a while, Guérande (the hero reporter) is almost completely overshadowed by the "supporting cast". Musidora is fantastic as Irma Vep, and it's hard to complain about there being more of her - but it does lead to a less interesting story. As you eventually follow the villains almost as much as the protagonist, there is no longer any mystery to it. The twists and turns doesn't matter, because they often don't surprise you. When it comes to Marcel Lévesque's performance as Mazamette, it was probably better in its time than it is now. As (almost) the only character, he constantly looks at the camera, acting as if it was a slapstick comedy. The same goes for his son, who appears later.

Don't get me wrong, there are still thrilling scenes, stunts and twists in the latter episodes, but they are few and far apart, and not enough to save the entire series. Maybe it would have been better if I had not "binge-watched" it, but from what I hear, that's how it's usually shown in screenings.

Had the rest of the serial been as good as the first 4-5 installments, this would have been an excellent introduction to silent film.

"Les Vampires" (1915 - 398 minutes - B&W) is a classic of the mute cinema series directed by Louis Feuillade. In ten episodes, it counts the adventures of a masked assailants group who haunt Paris. The mythical actress Musidora [ the first "Vamp" of the European cinema ] is the star in the series, that achieved fame due to the great admiration among the surrealists (Andres Breton and Luis Buñuel were its bigger fans), seduced by the dreamily scenes that sometimes appears in the narrative. At first "Les Vampires" was rejected for the French vanguard directors, that considered it like a mere policeman series. The film was saved from destruction thanks to the efforts of the founder of the French Film library, Henri Langlois, and after years forgotten, "Les Vampires" was exhibited again in the sixties, in concurred sessions that had marked time, especially in Paris, London and New York, causing a reevaluation of the critics relatively to the work of Feuillade. Andres Bazin, the great critic of the French cinema, said that "Les Vampires" was "one of the biggest film of all the times", admiration shared with the directors of the new French cinema. Today, Feuillade is placed side by side to other geniuses of the mute period of the cinema, as Griffith, Stroheim, Murnau and Gance. The episodes: 1: The Cut Head (31 minutes); 2: The Ring that Kills (13 minutes); 3: The Red Book (39 minutes); 4: The Specter (30 minutes); 5: The Escape of the Dead Man (35 minutes); 6: Hypnotic eyes (53 minutes); 7: Satanus (42 minutes); 8: The Master of the Thunder (50 minutes); 9: The Poisoner (48 minutes); 10: The Terrible Marriage (57 minutes).

An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.

Director Louis Feuillade is something of a legend, having directed an astonishing 630 films in the silent era (and perhaps more). He is best known for "Fantomas", the serial he made prior to "Vampires", and while the former may be marginally superior, they are both exquisite in their own way, and a great example of early thrillers.

Indeed, it is quite impressive that a film is seven hours long and still exists one hundred years later. Given how many silent films have since been lost forever, it is incredible that Feuillade's work seems to be intact and in great shape.

Now here's a movie that doesn't require a replication of Paris in the early 20th century. The real McCoy is used for the settings, vehicles, costumes, firearms, etc. Since it was filmed in 1916 one can see for example how horse-drawn carriages were still a very popular means of transport in the "modern" sense. If you a true fan of motion picture history -- then you can't afford to miss this gem. It represents the dawn of the motion picture industry before we had well-known movie stars and blockbusters like Intolerance (1916) and Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919).

This film, a series of 10 episodes, tells the story of a gang of thieves and murderers (The Vampire Gang) who are out to create havoc in Paris for their own personal goals. The heros of this tale are a newspaper reporter, Phillipe Guerande, and his hilarious sidekick, Mazamette. Together they aim to foil the latest capers of the gang and find themselves in unexpected trouble throughout the entire series. Ingenious methods by the criminals are used in each episode.

Each episode builds upon the first, so I strongly recommend you watch it in sequence (as if you watching the Sopranos on HBO). It's interesting to see how the characters develop and improve their acting as they gain experience and confidence within their roles. Irma Vep and Mazamette, especially are a treat to watch. Later in the series, both Irma Vep and Mazamete deliberately ham it up for the viewing audience and camera just for fun! Guerande reminded me a lot of Gene Kelly with his clean-cut facial expressions and haircut. Only the last episode (#10) was a disappointment. For some reason, much of the print was washed out in the interior scenes, the tinting inconsistent (many outdoor scenes were red instead of green etc.) and the storyline was unrealistically forced forward (i.e., how did Mazamette enter into Guerande's house at 2:00 am uninvited and how did Guerande climb down the 3rd floor balcony of the Vampires' mansion after he threw away their knotted rope, the Vampires' only means of escape from that level?)

Most episodes are 45 minutes in length, except #10 which is nearly a hour. Even though the entire series runs over 8 hours, don't watch it a double speed as suggested by a previous reviewer. The score adds ambience, suspense & excitement to the Parisian scenes at the appropriate places. Lastly there are two supplements on the DVD. The first is a royal waste (a true supernavel, or "turnip" according to the French), the second is a cute story starring the young boy who played Mazamette's son in "Les Vampires".