Les Vampires

Les Vampires comes to Blu-ray and DVD on August 14th, in a 2-disc set containing all ten chapters (more than 6 1/2 hours) of Feuillade’s serial. The SRP for the Blu-ray is $39.95, while the SRP for the DVD is $34.95. Both are currently available for prebook.This edition features a musical score compiled and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

The undisputed master of the espionage serial, Louis Feuillade (Fantomas) crafted films with labyrinthine plots and unforgettable characters that influenced multiple generations of filmmakers.  

Comprised of ten episodes, and clocking in at nearly seven hours in duration, Les Vampires is an unqualified masterpiece.  It follows journalist Philippe Guerande (Edouard Mathe) in his efforts to expose a vast criminal organization known as the Vampires.  Joined by a comical sidekick, Mazamette (Marcel Levesque), and often competing against a rival gang lord (Fernand Herrmann), Guerande dethrones a succession of the Vampires’ Grand Masters.  But most evasive of all is the Vampires’ muse, a seductive assassin who performs her job with deadly grace: Irma Vep (Musidora). 

Authorized by the Gaumont Studios, this edition was mastered in HD from the 35mm restoration produced in 1996 by the Cinematheque Francaise, under the supervision of Feuillade’s grandson, Jacques Champreux.