Les vampires (1915) Online

Lensed in an eerily abandoned Paris in 1915, Louis Feuillade's stark chapterplay LES VAMPIRES is a grim and powerful work which is worlds apart from the later glitz and polish of the golden age serials produced by the American studios.

It should be noted that serials were nothing new at this point in time. Formative efforts such as THE PERILS OF PAULINE had already established the appeal of these generally inexpensive actioners, with their bizarre twists and inventive death traps.

The emphasis was generally on a resourceful protagonist pitted against an equally inventive and determined fiend -- frequently an unsuspected heir or lawyer out to obtain an undeserved inheritance.

LES VAMPIRES did this formula one better, making the menace a vast and largely unsuspected criminal empire which is devouring Paris from inside. With members taken from all classes, the dark society is able to plunder, blackmail and murder without dear of action from the authorities. This continues until their removal of a government investigator brings ambitious reporter Philippe Guerande (Edouard Mathe) into things.

Sent to the country to search for details on the official's murder, Philippe plans to combine business and pleasure by meeting Dr. Lox, an old family friend who has a chateau in the area.

Arriving at Lox's estate at the same time as an American heiress who means to purchase the property, the reporter is promptly framed for theft by the hooded agents of the gang, who are secreted in the ancient building.

Locating the dead investigator's head, Philippe manages to turn suspicion on Lox. Murdering the heiress and making his escape across the rooftops, the "doctor" is revealed as the Grand Vampire the (evident) leader of the criminal society.

Philippe falls into the Vampires' hands but is rescued by Oscar Cloud Mazamette (Marcel Levesque) -- a clerk and minor member of the gang whom he had helped earlier. Philippe and Mazamette combine to try to expose the society's operations and bring the gang to a deserved end.

A series of adventures follow, with the Grand Vampire (Fernand Herrmann) and exotic dancer/criminal Irma Vep (Musidora) providing much of the opposition. In a surprise development, it is revealed that the Grand Vampire is not the gang's ultimate leader. When it is convenient, his superior eliminates him. He, in turn, commits suicide when he is imprisoned by the police.

Satanas, the criminal mastermind behind the group's poisons and explosives steps in and assumes co-command with Irma Vep. This occurs too late, however, as Philippe is closing in on the gang's chief meeting place.

After a series of close calls, the reporter and the reformed Mazamette succeed in destroying the Vampires' leadership and bringing the rank and file members to justice.

Not enough emphasis can be placed on the serial's grim and stark look, which almost functions as a characters of its own. This is a Paris where the gang's activities have seemingly terrified the people to the degree that they refuse to venture out unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

Production took place during WW I, when the streets were largely abandoned, and this strange desolation combines with the scurrying of the few characters to present a powerful emphasis that goes beyond the actual turns and twists of the plotline. The result is compelling, entertaining, and more than a bit weird in spots. Tinted scenes add to the welcome air of unreality.

Definitely a 9 out of 10 possible points.

A ten-part serial that took eight hours to watch with breaks, this thing defies not just summary but reliable recall: describing it is like trying to describe a year in my life. Chaotic, unpredictable, upside down, with endless sneaky tricks that defy our conception of 'movie' magic because they mainly involve Cirque-type human machines doing things that couldn't have been faked so convincingly at this date. I mean, you can see the splice whenever a character turns on the light, so when the bitchy criminal mastermind Irma Vep gets wrapped up in rope, then rolls down the side of a four-story building like a human yo-yo, you know you're watching history in the making. What's more, and redemptively, the stupid detectives are REALLY stupid, including this outrageous Italian stereotype who keeps nyuk-ing straight into the camera. There's a wild chase-fight scene on a moving train, a gas attack on a large high-society do, a kid accidentally shooting his father in the nose, and God knows what else. This dumbfoundingly imaginative, yet consistently goofy and crowd-pleasing movie could only have happened in a medium whose limits had not yet been properly defined - in fact you can see the definition happening on screen. When I grow up I want to be Henri Langlois, founder of the Cinematheque Francais, who rescued the world's only print of this film from the curb on garbage day. Hooray!

Feuillade has become much more popular abroad than in his native France where his movies are seldom screened on "cultural TV ,the Arte Channel or the "Cinema De Minuit".Some critics call "Les Vampires" brainwashing at a time when France was at war .Some critics praise it to the skies.I'm for the golden middle .Feuillade was certainly important in the shaping of the serial (along "the perils of Pauline" in America)but he was not as great a director as his contemporaries David Wark Griffith and Abel Gance (whose career did not begin with "Napoleon" in 1926).

The screenplay of "Les Vampires" is pretty silly,definitely weaker than that of "Fantomas" and it is sure easy to see why: "Fantomas " was first a set of volumes written by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain -and Feuillade botched the first chapters which were the best of the saga :see Paul Fejos's "Fantomas" (1932) for that matter.But the rest was quite acceptable,some movies(the third episode :"Le Mort Qui Tue" notably) highly commendable.

"Les Vampires" was a different matter ,because it was an original screenplay and the writer/director had to kill the "Chef Des Vampires" ,not because he thought the audience needed change ,but because it was the war and the actors were mobilized.That's why Feuillade gave up making "lEs Vampires" after 10 episodes and opted for a "good " hero ,Judex ,a conjurer fighting against the villains.The stories are far-fetched to a fault ,pleasant to watch,but not particularly memorable (Maurice Leblanc was writing much more brilliant stories at the time featuring his hero Arsene Lupin who is much more exciting than his bland hero Philippe Guérande and his mate/undertaker.

Much more than the stories,it's the details that are interesting: the maid Mrs Guerande hires is a Girl from Britanny ,and at the time most of the servants came from that region:this was the subject of Becassine ,a comic strip of the era;it's interesting to note that whereas the villains have lovers,the hero,after losing his fiancée in the second chapter-and he doesn't even shed a tear-,remains chaste till the ...ninth episode in which he finds another one.Musidora's famous black tight caused an outcry : the series remained famous for her but she only appears in her outfit in two brief moments: one when she's scrawling on the roofs and the other one in a hotel where she also appears (that crowns it!) dressed as a young man complete with mustache .

Feuillade's most salutary quality was story -telling :even if the plot seems too often too much ,we can't help but admire the way he uses the pictures and thus keeps his lines to the minimum -a thing many of his colleagues could not do-.

Feuillade's influence in France?One sees little of it in the great directors of the Golden Era (Carné,Renoir,Guitry,Duvivier,Et Al). Feuillade's influence shows ,however,in one of Duvivier's silent films " Le Mystere De La Tour Eiffel" or even in Clair's "Le Fantome Du Moulin Rouge" .

Feuillade 's most dedicated follower was Georges Franju who made a remake of "Judex"(1963) and "Les Nuits Rouges"(1973) ,a failed attempt at a seventies "Vampires".Most of this director's works have something of Feuillade : "Les Yeux Sans Visage"(1959) "La Tête Contre Les Murs" (1960)"Pleins Feux Sur L'Assassin".(1961)

In the seventies,Feuillade's touch appeared again in Rivette's stuff ,but it's reserved for intellectuals.What was once the most popular French cinema of an era became one inspiration for the most cerebral (who said boring?) art.

What an incredible piece of history and cinema this is. "Les Vampires" is an 10 episodes long French serial, by Louis Feuillade. A sort of early 20th century mini-series, you may call it. I can't imaging how incredibly gripped the audience must have been while watching one of the episodes in the theater and couldn't hardly wait for the next chapter of the story.

Of course these sort of chapter-plays weren't really anything new at the time of 1915 but still "Les Vampires" is one of the best and most unique as well as accessible of its kind. It has a greatly written and intriguing story, that shows the dark side of common men and the criminal and more disturbing, less peaceful and dangerous side of beautiful Paris.

The serial tells the story of an organized criminal organization, known as 'Les Vampires'. A sort of more rebellious than criminal, organization, who blackmail, kill and steal from the high society in Paris. The episodes follow this organization as well as the groups who battle them; a rivaling criminal organization, the police and a journalist and his friend, who are the real main characters of the movie.

Perhaps the entire serial can also be seen as a social commentary on the life of the rich in Paris but I can't be completely sure of this were the creators intentions.

The first four episodes are perhaps a bit of a drag, since it mostly focuses on development of the characters and the events. After that the gloves are off and the serial turns into a very exciting and tense serial, in which lots is happening, both action- and story-wise. The first few episodes also differ widely in its running time and some are around 15 minutes long, while other are around 30 or 45 minutes. The later episodes are all around an hour long.

The serial features lots of daring escapes, traitorous characters and criminal plans to cause mayhem in the everyday society. Yes, at times the serial gets overlong, since it often repeat itself. Basically the serial is about the characters constantly chasing and capturing each other, until they escape again and things seem to start all over again. It probably is also the reason why you shouldn't watch all the episodes just as once. Best is to watch around 2 episodes a day, to keep the tension and intriguing aspects of the story and characters to a maximum level.

The story telling is surprising good, for 1915 standards. The entire production is a silent one and it forces it to tell the story entirely by its visuals and acting. It does this well and makes the story understandable, although it gets a bit too hard to follow at certain points. Because it has to explain and tell everything with its visual, some of the sequences are overlong. The acting is of course also exaggerated at times, to put down a certain emotion or tension in the story but not as much as some of the early American of that time show. In that regard, the acting in this is truly about 20 years ahead of its time, compared to American and most German productions, of the same time period.

I was absolutely gripped by the storytelling, especially the last 4 episodes or so and even founded it to be tense and excitement, something not too common for an over 90 years old production, even though the story also became quite ridicules at times.

Perhaps the only flaw in the storytelling is that they kept bringing in new characters, also very late in the serial, such as the real main villain that only gets revealed in I believe the 7th episode. if I remember correctly. It makes the whole story a bit too hard to follow- and not always completely interesting and credibly at times.

It is well cast and especially Musidora as the über-lady vamp Irma Vep is great and impressive. She is both sensual as dangerous in her role. What a great early classic character of cinema. Also Marcel Lévesque is great, as the sort of comical relief of the serials and Édouard Mathé also plays a likable main character.

There are some really daring and dangerous, for its time looking, stunts in this production. It also really adds to the tension and excitement of it all.

The production design is great and its like going back in time when watching this. The serial cleverly uses some camera-color filters for each location and mood, to add to the atmosphere and storytelling of the entire serial.

It all in all is an overall very well put together interesting historical big-production, that still remains perfectly watchable by todays standards, thanks to its exciting storytelling and build up.

10/10

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Seeing a police drama that is a favorite of surrealists like Luis Bunuel ought to tell you that this isn't an episode of Law and order.

It take place in a Paris that is empty because of WWI. The dreamlike scenes add to the story of a reporter Phillipe Guerande (Edouard Mathe) who is looking to a criminal organization known as The Vampires (sorry, bloodsucking fans, it's not about Dracula or his minions.).

The crime syndicate could be considered a forerunner of the Mafia as it had it's tentacles in every level of society from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to nobility.

A classic silent film.

Louis Feuillade, who directed over 600 films is the film great grandfather of Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch. Musidora, who played Irma Vep is probably the first screen vamp.

"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).

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".

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

This 1915 French mystery serial is fascinating. Its device of using gadgets (poison rings, poison fountain pens, cabinets with fake back panels, etc.) predates James Bond's by decades, and makes each new episode something to look forward to. The comely Irma Vep is one of the most mysterious and darkest screen heroines of all times. The filmmaker makes extensive use of real Parisian street locations, which seem always, oddly, to be drained of pedestrian life; watching "Les Vampires" is like getting into a time machine.

View "Les Vampires" first, then see "Irma Vep" (France, 1996) so you have a point of reference.

Louis Feuillade may have been an early French pioneer of silent shorts but "Les Vampires" is still bogged down in plot contrivances. Technically speaking it is difficult to view this today as it was upon its release, as 10 separate films, because we're not returning to the theater weekly to see the next great piece of the puzzle. And at 7 plus hours long, to view it in one sitting can be an act of futility and frustration.

Feuillade's great strength was short films but with most of these 10 episodes reaching 45 minutes apiece, he extended his stay a large part of the time, serial or not. Designed as a crime saga with comic relief and unrealistic plot devices, "Les Vampires" has been compared to early James Bond and has been mentioned as being influential on Hitchcock. I don't see it. At best it can be compared to the weekly serials shown in theaters in the 50's, early pulp fiction, and the Pink Panther series. That's not an insult but I'm not giving out credit unjustly either. None of these take away from the fun of the work.

The Vampires are a sinister (take that lightly) crime gang that is plaguing the streets of Paris circa 1915. Edouarde Mathe's Philippe Guarande and Marcel Levesque's Mazamette are the journalist and sidekick who pursue the group. The Vampires most featured member is second-in-command Irma Vep played by Musidora and she actually is rather sexy. The Vampires leader, the Grand Vampire, actually changes three different times during the story and it is the little nuances like this that spoil the film.

Whereas having fun can be quite entertaining, plot can kill the messenger even at this early stage of cinematic history. The poison pens, portable cannons, and paralyzing pin pricks can all be strategically crafty when used appropriately, particularly in a serial series, but they lose their humorous magic when we can't even believe in the people using them. The Vampires, this menace that stalks the rich of Paris and robs them blind, are arguably the clumsiest and most unplanned organization I've ever seen wear black in a movie. Juan Jose Moreno, played by Fernand Herrmann, leads a rival crime syndicate that battles wits with the Vampires and the Guarande/Mazamette team. From the time Moreno enters the film, he successfully thwarts every single Vampire scheme hatched as they cannot do anything right. Indeed were Irma Vep not so sexy she would not be worth having around. She fails at practically every assignment she is given yet not only continually gets away but also is still a highly desired commodity by both the Grand Vampire and Moreno himself.

Of course we know why these continual lapses in anything reminiscent of an actual plot and purpose occur...Feuillade has to push this baby to ten episodes to entertain the masses of 1915 for whom it was intended. But Feuillade does show some weakness here even above his writing by playing scenes out extraordinarily too long. In fact by virtue of trimming seconds off of every scene that went on too long "Les Vampires" could have made an excellent feature length picture around 210 minutes and we could have cleared up the ridiculous plot lapses to boot.

From an acting standpoint it is neither forgettable nor excellent with the possible exception of Levesque's Mazamette character who steals the show with his hilarious mannerisms and comic imagery. While appearing to be a foolish sidekick early on, by the film's end he actually does more and knows more to catch the bumbling Vampires than anyone else on screen. And he's not even the star. If any influencing went on here it was Mazamette's character on Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau.

The nutshell: great fun if it weren't so unnecessarily long. Like early pulp fiction its nonstop use of dastardly doings, devious schemes, and nasty devices may keep you coming back for the next episode time and time again (same bat time, same bat channel) but the plot will probably slow you down in the end. Possibly worth watching to get a look at early French cinema but when compared to Griffith like all 1912-1920 films must be, Feuillade doesn't even come close...6/10.

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.

Admittedly, I was skeptical to watch this not only because of its 7-hour runtime, but also because it is silent and that staying interested for that long on a silent film would be too much of a challenge.

I was wrong however, this is quite watchable and the fact that it is split into ten episodes (of widely varying lengths) makes it all the more accessible.

The plot is also interesting. The film follows a journalist and his bumbling accomplice who repeatedly attempt to track down and foil the plans of a criminal gang known as 'The Vampires'. This plot takes many twists and turns over the course of its runtime with many surprises and also gags (at the hands of Mazamette - the journalist's accomplice).

The acting (despite it being melodramatic due to the time period) is pretty good - especially that of Musidora, who plays Irma Vep of the Vampire gang and is a real scene-stealer.

Overall, this was enjoyable to watch for the most part however it is probably best watched as separate episodes and not in one go.

6/10

I think that if I had seen this, I don't know, ten or more years ago, I wouldn't have this association but, watching Les vampires, maybe the first real groundbreaking piece of epic filmmaking to come out of France during the "pre-sound" era (I don't know about all of Europe since Cabiria was a year before and, come to think of it, this director also did Fantomas just before this, so I may be off completely)... this all seems like the precursor to countless graphic novels (think of the hardboiled stuff but also Superman and Batman to an extent in those worlds) and other pulp serials.

In a way this is in league or the same ballpark as Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, which is also a story of arch criminals and the cops and newspapermen on their trails, and both have an approach to storytelling that is plot driven (though Louis Feuillade is especially concerned with the storytelling twists and turns and mounting of suspense more than Lang, who could pause more often for creating mood and atmosphere). It's a story that is a procedural of the hunt AND about the criminals - and is really about, in each 'episode', drawing out the suspense of a moment and a beat and how, as we can assume, someone will get out of the jam they've been put in, whether that's the criminal or the intrepid Globe writer Philippe Gerande (even that seems to have been echoed years later in certain comic books).

So much happens in the seven hours of this "film" (I'll call it that, but put quotes around it as it's technically a serial, but hey, it's a full work at the end of it all), and to recount every turn of the story would miss the point of its effectiveness. The interest in Feuillade's stories is to draw the audience in finding more clues on the Gerande's side - and, eventually, the former undertaker Mazamette with his mustache and nose and (a little too much) looking at the camera for audience emphasis as his sometimes partner - and then, perhaps daringly, into how the vampires work on their end. There's equal time spent between Gerande's side of the story, as well as some of the other characters connected with him like his mother (there's a terribly exciting episode where she gets kidnapped by the vampires and how she gets out of it is fantastic as it relies on a plant earlier that gets paid off, so to speak, that we almost don't expect), and then on the side of Irma Vep, the non-vampire-but-still-very-much-criminal Moreno, and the others like the villainous scientist who Irma ultimately falls for, and Satanas, the "Grande Vampire" of them all.

What this does is not so much make us feel more sympathetic to them, they are the villains in a story that isn't subtle about drawing the distinctions between good and not, but to have us understand them as people, however they might be duplicitous in their line of operations, and a character like Irma Vep becomes the most memorable thing about this all for a reason. The actress, called only 'Musidora', has wild eyes that can pierce through anything, and how she moves around a space or a room, and then how those eyes can connect with someone, transforms the space she's in. Why does she do these acts of robbery and cat-thievery (more on that in a second), and, eventually, killing or at least by association?

Because she can, just like all the other vampires. There's no grand political statement to what they do, outside perhaps of their disregard for morals or being 'proper' (there's a practically ritualistic dance that the characters do in the middle of a room that gets repeated), and she's that classic comic-book sort of villainess: cunning, ruthless, sometimes vicious, also playful, and in her 1915 way sexy as hell (her in that black suit, man). If any of the Batman writers and creators saw this, it'd be clear as day she was the inspiration for Catwoman (I have no way of knowing that, it's an assumption I'm reading in to).

Louis Feuillade isn't exactly out for the *most* realistic depiction of a story of criminals and heroes, but it also sees cinema as an art form to be used for the utmost effect to give information (there's a great many newspaper clipping to look at to move the plot forward), and he's creating his own simple and effective cinematic grammar to keep the audience invested. This doesn't mean the series isn't without some share of flaws, much as a run of a graphic novel series might run out of steam closer to the latter issues, like introducing some new characters fairly late into the game (i.e. Mazamette's son Eustache is an annoyance, and Philippe's eventual fiancé is clearly there to be used, sooner rather than later, as another figure to be kidnapped by the vampires).

It'd also be advised to not watch it all in one sitting but to parse it out if you can over a few nights; some of the turns and twists - and physicality like at times falling out of windows (watch out for that noose coming your way to pull you down!) - are repetitive. All this noted, it's still a tremendous achievement in pulp fiction storytelling, with the stakes and drama building up more and more as the episodes go on, and if you can buy into some (though not all) of the acting of the period there's a lot of amazing work done as well, most of all by Musidora, but also the actresses in the later episodes do wonderfully too.

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.

Serials are a low point in film history, and the period around the Great War was bad for the French film industry, as well. Commemorating both is "Les Vampires," probably one of the best-remembered serials and the most accessible French motion picture of any kind from its era.

Serials are banal sensationalism aimed at lowbrow tastes. They always have been, from their inception in magazines, newspapers and other cheap literature, which has continued to this day with television. It's always been economical--promising return customers looking for a satisfying wrapping up of previous installments' cliffhangers and loose ends. Usually, the budgets for them are quite thrifty. Additionally, it doesn't require much imagination if one repackages the same devices for each episode--and even less if one repackages the same devices from previous serials--all of which Louis Feuillade, more or less, did here. In many ways, TV series are today's serials.

Feuillade further popularized serials in France, which was probably inescapable anyhow with the flood of American films (and serials) into the cinemas. For some reason, he seems to have garnered more respect than any other maker of chapter plays has--even to this day. I don't know of any other director mostly known for serials offhand. His pictures have had widespread popularity in their day, but also "Les Vampires" seems to remain one of the most praised representations of 1910s cinema. It's not evident that it has anything to do with a mastery of film-making, though; to the contrary, I think that's absent. The long takes from fixed camera positions get very boring, especially the scenes of extended length--those of the characters' every action: scaling buildings, driving off in automobiles, how exactly they go about their crimes and such, as fellow commenter tedg and others have described. This is similar to the practice in early cinema that film historians have called the "operational aesthetic," but which was dated even by 1915.

As other filmmakers did, Feuillade alters tinting to suggest changes of light within the story. Other filmmakers, especially those in Denmark, actually changed the lighting of the scene for the change in light within the scene, which usually required a well-positioned splice. Otherwise, like Feuillade, Danish filmmakers from around this time tended to avoid editing and camera movement, too, but they replaced it with innovations in mise-en-scène, which aid the camera in creating brilliant images, as can editing and movement of the camera. Such innovation, staging, composition, or mastery is lacking in "Les Vampires." The actors do all the work, and the camera just sits there.

You might, but I don't like this serial's content, either. It's a series of convoluted story lines involving a reporter detective and his sidekick Mazamette (played by an awful mugger of an actor) trying to rid Paris of Irma Vep and the underworld criminal gang known as the "vampires." To me it seems to be nearly seven hours of each side ineptly attempting to capture, imprison or kill the other.

In episode eight: Why did they give Mazamette's child a gun, and why did they originate such an elaborate scheme to arrest the bad guy in the first place? Why would they use a kid? Where was a gun in the hands of a decent shot when it should have been in other scenes? And, the vampires require a justice to arrive after enough time has been provided for possible escape to declare their prisoner guilty, although, to their credit, they never do that again. Anyhow, you see my point.

(*Review title taken from "The Serial Speaks," New York Dramatic Mirror, which is quoted in the chapter on serials in "The Oxford History of World Cinema.")

I've only seen about two-thirds of this series so far, but seeing as it took Lovefilm more than six months to send me the second disc in the collection after I returned the first I figured I should review it now before the whole thing fades from memory.

The most striking thing about the series is how fantastical the stories are – even though there isn't a real vampire in sight (which is a bit of a let-down really). The world of Les Vampires is one in which gangs of skilled thieves prey on the wealthy; in which every handshake or pat on the back may result in paralysis of the recipient thanks to a tiny poisonous dart strapped to their attacker's hand; in which nefarious villains hypnotise women into believing they are in love with them, and in which police remove floorboards to create a trap for unsuspecting criminals, then truss them in a giant sack and carry them off to jail.

It all sounds like a lot of fun really, doesn't it? Especially the hypnotism bit. Unfortunately, the episodes of this famous silent serial from Louis Feuillade do have a tendency to drag. This is more an indication of how public expectations have changed in the ninety-plus years since this serial was produced than it is of a weakness in the films, I suppose, but to try to appreciate a film from the perspective of the audience for which it was initially intended is damn near impossible.

The story revolves around the efforts of Philippe Guerande and Mazzematte, his ex-undertaker sidekick and (fairly hopeless) comic relief, to bring to justice the members of Les Vampires Crime Enterprise (French Division). This being a serial lasting many hours, their attempts are, more often than not, foiled, although a villain is occasionally nabbed only for a new face to declare that he is the real leader of the gang, and the other bloke was just his lackey. Mazzematte casts supposedly comical glances at the audience and sometimes pulls childlike faces while Guerande is all charm and capability. Prominent amongst the villains is Mlle Musidora as the femme fatale Irma Vep, who is quite fond of sneaking around in a black body stocking that makes her look alarmingly lumpy.

Like the guy who plays Mazzematte, she plays to the camera – although possibly not quite as intentionally – pulling strange faces and striking over-dramatic poses and postures. It's all quite distracting, but offers some amusement when the story starts to drag. Serials would grow more fast-paced and exciting in the 20s, but this was no doubt considered something of a class act in 1915, and is still worth a look today (if you've got about nine hours to spare) even though it's unlikely to make it into anybody's top ten list.

I suppose it behooves us to know the history of cinema. Its not that long and some of this early stuff had unintended and possibly outrageous influence.

The situation was that in the ten years prior there were all sorts of possibilities for film. It could have been an extension of painting, of dance, of photography (which then had a strong artistic tradition). But "birth of a nation" terminated all futures (at least until recently) and froze film as an extension of theater. That's a crying shame.

This series is one of many varieties of drama that followed that final freezing. The template comes from magazine serials, still influenced by the Conan Doyle influence of the Holmes stories. There had to be secret cabals of thieves with extraordinary, inscrutable powers. There had to be a detective, in this early incarnation still a reporter. There had to be incredible devices and poisons and tricks. Shady getaways and hair-raising escapes.

But those magazine series were drek, and so is this. But stuck it has, and the episodic adventures of TeeVee detectives — especially those of the sixties — followed the pattern. In fact, the pattern even extended to vast periods of time just watching people walk, climb (we have to see the whole thing) and run. In modern times, this extended to the convenient TeeVee filler of watching the detectives walk to their car, get in, start up and drive away. We have to see the entire thing.

There's no art here, no innovation in framing, tone... any element. Just a history lesson in how the banal became acceptable.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Listed near the beginning of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I was fooled by the image of woman with dark eyes and teeth showing into thinking this was an early silent horror film, made before Nosferatu, but I still liked it even though it wasn't. Basically it is a six hour thirty-nine minute serial, a long film split into ten parts, The Severed Head, The Killer Ring, The Red Cypher, The Ghost, The Escaping Dead Man, The Hypnotic Gaze, Satanas, The Thunder Lord, The Poisoner and Bloody Wedding. It all revolves around an intrepid reporter and his loyal friend doing a little investigation, but mainly a society of criminals called The Vampires. The gang of criminals are led by Le Grand Vampire (Jean Aymé), and one of the most well known members is fake stage actress and Femme Fetale, Irma Vep (Musidora), her name is an anagram of the word "vampire". Memorable moments in the serial include a few bodies carried on back, Irma Vep dressed as a bat, a box with a head in it (maybe Se7en was inspired), chases on rooftops, Irma Vep in the back skintight catsuit doing her dirty work, the swapping of the back costumes and the sleeping bodies, amongst other things. Also starring Édouard Mathé as Philippe Guérande, Marcel Lévesque as Oscar Mazamette, Fernand Herrmann as Juan-José Moréno, Stacia Napierkowska as Marfa Koutiloff and Renée Carl as L'Andalouse. As one of the earliest ever French silent films, this is an impressive picture that relies solely on the actors and their facial expressions, some writing, and quite a bit of action, including a little stunt work, and it does all add up to an interesting must see. Very good!

This French crime serial from the 1910s is one of the few silent serials left (and probably one of the only ones available for consumption). Louis Feuillade is its director. I watched the first four episodes (the tapes come each with four episodes of varying length) and will give a brief review of each.

SPOILERS

Episode 1: The Severed Head - I was a little afraid that Les Vampires was going to be really bad when I was sitting through The Severed Head. We are introduced to a journalist, Phillipe, who is hot on the trail of a notorious gang called the Vampires, which is the subject of his daily reports in the newspaper. An important lawkeeping official has been found dead, decapitated. Phillipe goes on the hunt, and the clues lead him to the home of Dr. Nox. Dr. Nox is currently showing his mansion to the mansion's potential buyer, an American woman. Long story short, this is a really weak film. The cinematic devices are still pretty new, but Feurillade shows no talent in using them or innovation in this first episode. It is unsuspenseful, slow, and somewhat laughable. 5/10.

Episode 2: The Ring That Kills - This one's a lot better than the first one. This one is rather short compared to the other three on the first tape. Phillipe sets up a trap at a ballet. There is a really neat ballet number involving a woman dressed as a bat. Anyway, the plan doesn't go that well and Phillipe gets captured. Luckily, Mazamette, a friend of his, has infiltrated the hideout of the Vampires. Phillipe is freed, and they capture a Vampire and put him in his place (he is about to be executed). All in all, The Ring That Kills is pretty goofy (some of the humor is intentional, some is not), but it is a pretty effective crime movie. 7/10.

Episode 3: The Red Cypher - Phillipe takes a few days off of work in order to decipher the codes in a book he has found on the Vampire whom he got killed in his place at the end of Episode 2. The Vampires devise a way to get into his house using false identities. A replacement maid, whose real name is Irma Vep (which you might recognize as the title of a French film from the 1990s), tries to poison Phillipe, but he tricks her as well. Phillipe's mother gets captured, but she also finds a clever way out of her dilemma. By now, this series is still quite silly, but it's pretty entertaining, especially in plot. The cinematic devices are still not used in any fantastic way, but the plot is getting a bit cleverer. Still a 7/10, but nearly an 8/10.

Episode 4: The Spectre - This one was a little confusing in its plot. I must have blinked at the wrong moment and missed an expositional intertitle. There's little of interest besides a decently directed and edited murder sequence in a train, good for its time, anyways, and Phillipe's reconnaissance of an office in which Irma Vep is spying, disguised as a secretary. Also, the final scene has a neat little thing in it: Phillippe and Mazamatte are talking on the phone, both of them present in the same shot. Between them is edited a shot of a bridge, a metaphor for the connection between phone lines. It's pretty dumb, but at least Feuillade was trying here.

Conclusion for Episodes 1-4: all in all, an interesting bit of early cinema, but The Vampires really doesn't hold up very well today. It's mostly just a rather flat series of crime stories, perhaps like the kind that might have appeared in a weekly detective magazine or something, filmed straight without invention or embellishment. Sure, it's still early as heck in the cinema, but by the end of the silent period the art form had gone light years beyond Les Vampires. I wish I were more familiar with D.W. Griffith. He's a contemporary of Feuillade's, and the few bits of his films that I have seen seem much more advanced than this serial. I don't want to make a definitive statement on the comparison between the two, though, until I see one of Griffith's films. Even the earlier films by the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Melies, and the Thomas Edison company seem a lot more amazing today than does this. I might see more of the serial if I ever get a chance to see it for free, but I doubt I'd pay any more money to rent them.

(1)

Phillipe Guèrande, press correspondent, young, supple, Parisian, conventional _jeune premier, supposedly looking dashing, goes to Sologne, where the decapitated corpse of Insp. Durtal has been found, to investigate the case of the Vampires. And it is with the news of this atrocious, appalling event—the finding of a beheaded corpse—that daddy Feuillade's serial begins.

Some of the scenes may seem static, _paceless, sagging—at least for one used to the snappy American serials made 20—40 yrs later; in fact, they are merely leisurely shot—the pace of a director who has hours of footage ahead to tell his story.