1915 - Les Vampires (4)

Ooop, here comes a long one. Actually this a series of shorter films all contributing to making a big picture.

Title: Les Vampires
Instructor: Louis Feuillade
Year: 1915
Runtime (My version): 440 minutes (7+ hours!), according to the book, I think my version is actually like 5-10 minutes shorter.

Seen: Spring / Summer 2009

How i got this: I got this on a video site hosting abandoned movies, took me forever to find btw. Was thrilled to find it online, as the dvd was like almost a hundred bucks.

Plot Outline: Phillipe Guérande, a parisian reporter combats a sinister gang of criminals known as The Vampires.

First impression: This is so long, how on earth am I going to sit this through?
But on second thought: This is such a positive experience, albeit long, it kept me interested.

General comments: Okay, this must have been the first movie to do a lot of things. Like having people shoot a cannon out of an apartment, having people climb drain pipes and a lot of other cool stuff. It really continued to amaze me with its creativity. Lots of crazy plans in this one folks. This is guaranteed to make you laugh at points, just because it does everything with such a fresh attitude.

You never know what's coming and that made me like this series. The plot, albeit maybe a bit thin at points, is entertaining and fresh.

The settings are nice, and fits into the story. Strangely though, there almost doesn't seem to be anyone on the streets. This is probably meant to make the viewer feel that all of Paris is suffering and afraid of the crimes commited by the vampires.


As the series progresses, the episodes become better and better, so be prepared to give this an extra chance when watching.

The villains are brutal in Les Vampires, they kill without mercy, but are met with no mercy either, this actually is quite a heartless movie when dealing with villains/ the enemy. Maybe this fits nicely into the context of France being involved in WW1 at the time. I don't know if I'm right, but it seems plausible.


About the acting, well, it wouldn't work in a movie from today, but back then looking into the camera at certain intervals seemed ok. I don't know if it's for the good or worse, but it's there...


Oh, and there's a poisenous pen! Yeah I know, it's so fresh!


Music: Nice piano music.

Pictures: Many a cunning stunts in this one is what makes the pictures stand out, apart from the stunts, they are quite ordinary.

Essentially this is: A firstmover in many ways, I think, and a humourus, yet a cold and merciless series.

Why you should see this: This was so fresh!
Why you shouldn't see this: 95 years can be a real killer of freshness, maybe also in this case for some of you.

Honorable mention: Mazamette, he made me laugh and smile many times, maybe he's not for everyone, but I liked him.

Final rating: 70% Appealing and creative, but still not perfect.