MisterWhiplash
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.
gavin6942
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.
oldskoolsi
It's a cheesy, Empire style comparison to compare Les Vampires to 24 but, for me, there are many similarities. First of all it is episodic, although there is only 10 in Les Vampires.However the big thing that I noticed about Les Vampires was the pace of it all. Whilst I have watched and enjoyed many silent films, often the pace seems to be a lot more leisurely than I would like. With Les Vampires it's pretty much full steam ahead. This means, that you don't have time to think about the actual story which can be quite illogical, over a chapter and particularly over the whole film. Characters die and retrun to life, plus the most unbelievable oc-oncidences occur (just like 24!).I really enjoyed Les Vampires though, it rockets along and is great fun. If you enjoy silent films I would definitely recommend watching this.+
tedg
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.
