Title: Les VampiresGenre: Horror
IMDB User Score: 6.9/10
Year: 1915
Language: French
Format: Black & White, Silent
Length: 440 Minutes
Director: Louis Feuillade
Producer: Gaumont
Screenplay: Louis Feuillade
Photography: ?
Music: Robert Israel
Cast: Musidora, Edouard Mathe, Marcel Levesque, Jean Ayme, Fernand Herrmann, Stacia Napierkowska
Oscar: No
Oscar Nomination: No
Budget: ?
Revenue: ?
Reason it’s Significant:
- A landmark step forward for both the surrealist movement and thriller movies in general
- Musidora’s break out role
- Showcases some absurdly dangerous stunt-work, that is essentially unheard of in this day and age
Coming in at roughly 8 hours and taking me 3 days to successfully watch, this 10 part movie serial was a titan of a film to get through. But believe me when I say that it was VERY well worth it. Before having started this list of movies, I would have been hard pressed to believe that a silent film could keep me as on the edge of my seat as this one did. This is a movie full of so many plot twists, cliff hangers, trap doors, hidden passages, booby traps, re-emerging “dead” characters, and INGENIOUS villains, that I was kept constantly wondering what was going to happen next throughout the entire series.
Contrary to what the title may lead you to believe, this is NOT a movie about paranormal vampires. The plot essentially revolves around a huge underground criminal organization known as “The Vampires” who arise in Paris to spread anarchy by killing, robbing, and kidnapping the upper class citizens and important political figures of the city. A young journalist named Philippe and his bumbling side-kick Mazamette make it their personal mission to help the police bring down the shadowy organization, while competing with a more stereotypical criminal ring lead by Philippe’s arch-nemesis, who also have an interest in destroying the vampires. Along the way, they cross with the vampire’s most dangerous member; a femme fatale named Irma Vep (An oh so clever anagram for “Vampire”. Hur dur) who, while not the leader of the vampires, uses her seductive abilities to be a puppet master of sorts behind the organization, making her the most dangerous of the many villains Philippe encounters on his quest, and the true antagonist of the story.
The two main protagonists are great fun to behold. The character of Mazamette is HILARIOUS and literally had me rolling at some parts. Clearly inspired by Charlie Chaplin, he provides a much needed element of comic relief in what is otherwise a fairly dark tale. He really steals the show here, and for good reason. The sense of comedic timing in his performance is shockingly modern. As for Philippe himself, he is a very likeable protagonist and is a spitting image of Sherlock Holmes. Using truly ingenious tactics, he is always able to keep one step ahead of his deadly adversaries, preferring to use his mind rather than violence to outwit them, but able to rely upon either. This is a good thing, because the villains in this film are just insane. They pull off ingenious plots and take daring risks that never ceased to keep me wondering what was going to happen. I literally gasped at a few parts, particurally at one scene where I genuinely thought the protagonist was going to die. They just never lay off the surprises. And speaking of dying, the stunt work in this film is incredible! People climb up buildings like spiders, leap across roof tops, stow-away on the top of moving cars, swing out of windows on ropes, jump onto moving trains and much, much more without ANY safety equipment or (in most cases) stunt actors! You can really tell that there are no ropes or wires keeping these guys in place, they are in genuine danger 9 times out of 10. This is stuff you just won’t see anymore.
But if I have one complaint with the movie, it’s this: The lack of a single strong villain. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great villains in this movie, most all of them with a cool James Bond-esque gimmick or special ability that makes them unique, but none of them are around throughout the entire serial, as they are dispatched, appear, and re-appear at different intervals throughout the story. The only absolute constant is Irma Vep. But, without giving anything away, she doesn’t really get a satisfying conflict with Philippe. Essentially, I think I would have liked to see a Moriarty to Philippe’s Sherlock. But that’s a fairly minor complaint against a serial that is a truly entertaining from start to finish.
Producer: Gaumont
Screenplay: Louis Feuillade
Photography: ?
Music: Robert Israel
Cast: Musidora, Edouard Mathe, Marcel Levesque, Jean Ayme, Fernand Herrmann, Stacia Napierkowska
Oscar: No
Oscar Nomination: No
Budget: ?
Revenue: ?
Reason it’s Significant:
- A landmark step forward for both the surrealist movement and thriller movies in general
- Musidora’s break out role
- Showcases some absurdly dangerous stunt-work, that is essentially unheard of in this day and age
Coming in at roughly 8 hours and taking me 3 days to successfully watch, this 10 part movie serial was a titan of a film to get through. But believe me when I say that it was VERY well worth it. Before having started this list of movies, I would have been hard pressed to believe that a silent film could keep me as on the edge of my seat as this one did. This is a movie full of so many plot twists, cliff hangers, trap doors, hidden passages, booby traps, re-emerging “dead” characters, and INGENIOUS villains, that I was kept constantly wondering what was going to happen next throughout the entire series.
Contrary to what the title may lead you to believe, this is NOT a movie about paranormal vampires. The plot essentially revolves around a huge underground criminal organization known as “The Vampires” who arise in Paris to spread anarchy by killing, robbing, and kidnapping the upper class citizens and important political figures of the city. A young journalist named Philippe and his bumbling side-kick Mazamette make it their personal mission to help the police bring down the shadowy organization, while competing with a more stereotypical criminal ring lead by Philippe’s arch-nemesis, who also have an interest in destroying the vampires. Along the way, they cross with the vampire’s most dangerous member; a femme fatale named Irma Vep (An oh so clever anagram for “Vampire”. Hur dur) who, while not the leader of the vampires, uses her seductive abilities to be a puppet master of sorts behind the organization, making her the most dangerous of the many villains Philippe encounters on his quest, and the true antagonist of the story.
The two main protagonists are great fun to behold. The character of Mazamette is HILARIOUS and literally had me rolling at some parts. Clearly inspired by Charlie Chaplin, he provides a much needed element of comic relief in what is otherwise a fairly dark tale. He really steals the show here, and for good reason. The sense of comedic timing in his performance is shockingly modern. As for Philippe himself, he is a very likeable protagonist and is a spitting image of Sherlock Holmes. Using truly ingenious tactics, he is always able to keep one step ahead of his deadly adversaries, preferring to use his mind rather than violence to outwit them, but able to rely upon either. This is a good thing, because the villains in this film are just insane. They pull off ingenious plots and take daring risks that never ceased to keep me wondering what was going to happen. I literally gasped at a few parts, particurally at one scene where I genuinely thought the protagonist was going to die. They just never lay off the surprises. And speaking of dying, the stunt work in this film is incredible! People climb up buildings like spiders, leap across roof tops, stow-away on the top of moving cars, swing out of windows on ropes, jump onto moving trains and much, much more without ANY safety equipment or (in most cases) stunt actors! You can really tell that there are no ropes or wires keeping these guys in place, they are in genuine danger 9 times out of 10. This is stuff you just won’t see anymore.
But if I have one complaint with the movie, it’s this: The lack of a single strong villain. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great villains in this movie, most all of them with a cool James Bond-esque gimmick or special ability that makes them unique, but none of them are around throughout the entire serial, as they are dispatched, appear, and re-appear at different intervals throughout the story. The only absolute constant is Irma Vep. But, without giving anything away, she doesn’t really get a satisfying conflict with Philippe. Essentially, I think I would have liked to see a Moriarty to Philippe’s Sherlock. But that’s a fairly minor complaint against a serial that is a truly entertaining from start to finish.
I have only found the first episode of this so far, but i have really enjoyed it.
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