There’s no doubt that Louis
Feuillade’s 1915 serial epic Les Vampires
is one of the most daunting tasks facing anyone trying to tackle the 1001
list. Listed at various lengths that
differ between sources, this ten part silent feature runs at least 399 minutes,
or just shy of seven hours. Obviously,
you’ve got to be committed to the task to take on this movie. However, I found that during the roughly
twelve hours (including breaks) that it took me view the picture, I was
rewarded in ways I had not anticipated.
It had been almost 9 months since I last reviewed a silent film, and
though I’ve seen several in the interim, I was struck once again as I prepared
to write this review by the power that these films have. To watch a silent film, particularly works
from 1915 or earlier, is to watch the language of cinema being born. Why does a dissolve mean what it means? These earlier pioneers had to figure that out
for themselves, and to view the results of their experiments can be a joy.
It would be useless to attempt to
describe the plot of Les Vampires, as
it contains so many twists, turns, minor characters, and major developments
that any such venture would be futile.
It should suffice to write that it concerns the exposing of a secret
society of the criminal underground by a Parisian investigative reporter named Philippe
Guérande (Édouard Mathé). Throughout the
ten episodes, Guérande plunges into the depths of “The Vampires” to discover
that their power and controlling influence goes far beyond even what some of
the members are aware of. He exposes and
disposes of several of the groups “Grand Masters,” but perpetually squares off
against the cunning and elusive Irma Vep (see how those letters can be rearranged),
a sinister henchwoman if there ever was one.
Vep is played by the acrobat Musidora, who performed all of her own
dangerous stunts for the film, and garnered considerable stardom from the
role.
The lengthy cast of characters
spends much of the film’s considerable runtime chasing one another across Paris
rooftops and through deserted allies, and while these scene to become a bit
tedious, they are also notably fun to watch.
There’s even an early moving traintop scuffle. Interspersed with these chases are a number
of instances in which characters, both good and bad and for various reasons,
find themselves stuffed in a trunk or locked in a safe. Yes, this too gets a bit tiresome and confusing,
but these gags do carry much of the film’s suspense—the 1001 text is
quick to point out that Feuillade didn’t quite understand how to employ a
cliffhanger.
Still, Les Vampires, with its labyrinth of trap doors and secret
compartments is visually and conceptually ahead of its time. Some of the sets give James Bond villains’ lairs
a run for their money, and watching a caper that’s nearly a hundred years old
provides a great deal of context for the crime genre. Consider this next time you’re watching a
contemporary police procedural. Look at
how often the plot relies on the use of cells phones in a film like The Departed (2006). Now consider that not all of the primary sets
in Les Vampires even have telephones,
and observe closely how the phone conversation that is included in the film is
shot. Characters split the screen, as
they do often in 1950s films, but there is also a third shot of a bridge that occupies
the middle of the frame. Both telephones
and movies were new enough in 1915 that a shot had to be included that dictated
the spacial relationship of the characters who were speaking over the wire. That’s the development of cinema. We don’t need a third image filling the
screen between Leo and Matty Damon because we all know what is being implied. 1915 audiences wouldn’t have had a clue as to
what to think of a cell phone.
Les
Vampires really is a film of a different time. It’s a movie of calling cards and gentlemen
in hats, and character’s have names like Venomous and Satanas Though perhaps not as thrilling to contemporary
audiences as it was to those of its day, this movie undoubtedly influenced the development
of the thriller genre. I can’t say I’m
eager to restart this movie again anytime soon, but I can say that I enjoyed
the seven hours I spent with it. The
English-language graphics version that is currently up on Youtube isn’t seamless,
but it’s a damn fine effort.
Language:
Silent
Runtime:
399 Minutes
Available
@Youtube.com
Grade:
3 Hats Off
0 comments:
Post a Comment