Les Vampires
Les Vampires (Louis Feuillade, France, 1915)
Without question one of the most stunning achievements of the early silent era, Feuillade’s ten part serial pushes the boundaries of what was technically possible in 1915, whilst concocting a suspenseful, sexy crime drama that remains completely engrossing throughout its epic length. Between 1913-1914, Feuillade had already directed the Fantomas serial, but ‘Les Vampires’ was more ambitious, released in ten separate episodes between 1915-1916. Filmed during the midst of the first World War, ‘Les Vampires’ is set in a desolate, dystopian, almost empty Paris. The eponymous vampires are a crime organisation who’ve established a vice-like stranglehold over the city, specialising in theft, murder and blackmail, targeting all social classes without discrimination. At their heart is the striking proto-femme fatale Irma Vep (Musidora, who’d also perform in the director’s ‘Judex’ – note the anagram!) but their control of the city is challenged by a plucky journalist, Philippe (Édouard Mathé). A stylish blend of drama, action and dark humour, there’s some astonishing location shooting and stuntwork (Musidora was a trained acrobat who did all her own stunts) and at this specific time, it’s difficult to say that anything filmed globally was comparable to what Feuillade achieved with ‘Les Vampires’.
[...] first of Feuillade’s ambitious serial films (followed by ‘Les Vampires’ and ‘Judex’), ‘Fantomas’ is seriously considered by some critics and silent [...]
Fantomas « Into Great Silents said this on May 22, 2010 at 10:18 am |