Les Vampires (1915)

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Les Vampires

2519
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Wins 49%
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Directed By Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade Starring Musidora Musidora  •  Édouard Mathé Édouard Mathé  •  Marcel Lévesque Marcel Lévesque  •  Jean Aymé Jean Aymé  •  Fernand Herrmann Fernand Herrmann Genres Action Thriller  •  Action  •  Crime Thriller  •  Crime  •  Foreign Language Film  •  Serial  •  Silent Film  •  Thriller Studios &
Franchises
Kino International  •  They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?  •  1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die  •  Artificial Eye  •  Gaumont  •  Quentin Tarantino's Cinematic Influences  •  Alamo Drafthouse 100  •  Time Out: Paris's 100 Best French Films  •  Slant Magazine's 100 Essential Films
Other Titles The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris Release Info 1915-11-13T00:00:00Z November 13, 1915
B&W  •  399 minutes NR Rated NR
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MOST RECENT MATCHUP DISCUSSION

Les Vampires vs. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Les Vampires Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans VS.

RebLazar11 said on 6/11/2012

"Les Vampires est fantastique, mais SUNRISE est mon film préféré de tous les temps !" more ►

Read all 1 comments ►

see all the most recent matchups for this movie ►

MOST POPULAR MATCHUP DISCUSSION

Les Vampires vs. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Les Vampires Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans VS.

RebLazar11 said on 6/11/2012

"Les Vampires est fantastique, mais SUNRISE est mon film préféré de tous les temps !" more ►

Read all 1 comments ►

see all the most popular matchups for this movie ►

Comments (2)

 
Celldweller7

Celldweller7 on 1/10/2017 Reply  · 

A very intriguing story, that is probably over-long by today's standards. Vampires contains some amazing images and Irema Vep is astonishing.

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topichtennis

topichtennis on 7/19/2022 Reply  · 

Even though the title seems to promise us vampires, there's not a single bloodsucker in this nearly 7 hour film. Les Vampires is broken up into 10 episodes, ranging anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes, and focuses on a Parisian mafia style gang called "The Vampires" and their criminal exploits that are constantly foiled by a newspaper reporter, Philippe Guérande.

Now when it comes to the silent era, I tend to like the more artsy movies, the films that feel like poetry such as Le Roue or Greed or Faust. But there's a style and a bizarreness to Les Vampires that really drew me in. The violence in the movie really took me by surprise. There's a decapitated head in the first few minutes, plenty of shoot outs, a portable cannon, and poisonous pens and rings and gloves. There's also some surprisingly seemingly supernatural elements as well, especially when it appears that two characters come back from the dead.

I only really have two issues with the entire film. Firstly, the plot kinda runs out of steam around episode 9. The last two episodes feel a bit redundant, as both episodes involve weddings that get disrupted. And, secondly, the main character Philippe Guérande is so bland and uninteresting. The movie actually shines with its supporting cast. There's Father Silence who is deaf and mute so he can't hear the screams of the people he tortures. There's Venomous a master of all things poison. There's Oscar-Cloud Mazamette the bumbling sidekick that seems to actually do more than the main character. But the real star of the movie is Irma Vep played by the mesmerizing Musidora. She somehow starts out as this ruthless, heartless gang member, and somehow by the end she becomes the most empathetic character. She is the second in command of the gang, she watches three of her lovers get killed, she'son a boat that gets blown up, and she gets hypnotized and used by a rival gang. She's the real tragic figure of the movie.

Overall a solid watch with something for everybody. It's a little thrilling, a little comedic, and a little exciting. If you have 7 hours to kill check it out. I'm kind shocked that they haven't remade it as like a 10 part Netflix show.

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