Finished this tonight after watching it over the past few days. At almost seven hours long, and divided into 10 parts averaging about 30-40 minutes each, it wasn't really sensible to watch it in one go. And due to the episodic nature of it all and the way it is a little repetitive at points, I wouldn't recommend a marathon session at all.
That repetition is the only real complaint I have. It's okay for each part to hit similar beats, but there is a lot of hidden identities, kidnappings, and last-minute escapes, to the point where you sometimes wonder why some characters don't learn from them when it all keeps on happening.
But in other ways the series does find ways to shake things up and keep things fresh. There were a few twists and turns I didn't see coming, there was one character who I was sure it was so obvious faked their death because it happened off screen... and it turned out nope, they really died, and in general, the series is surprisingly willing to knock off supporting characters and replace them.
There's also some good action and stunts for the time it was made, and seeing crime elements play out in a really early film (that would go on to influence others) was a lot of fun, especially because crime films are one of my favourite genres. For those interested in silent movies, the action/crime genre's origins, or epic movies, Les Vampires is easy to recommend, and overall, the problems I had with it at times were pretty minimal.
That repetition is the only real complaint I have. It's okay for each part to hit similar beats, but there is a lot of hidden identities, kidnappings, and last-minute escapes, to the point where you sometimes wonder why some characters don't learn from them when it all keeps on happening.
But in other ways the series does find ways to shake things up and keep things fresh. There were a few twists and turns I didn't see coming, there was one character who I was sure it was so obvious faked their death because it happened off screen... and it turned out nope, they really died, and in general, the series is surprisingly willing to knock off supporting characters and replace them.
There's also some good action and stunts for the time it was made, and seeing crime elements play out in a really early film (that would go on to influence others) was a lot of fun, especially because crime films are one of my favourite genres. For those interested in silent movies, the action/crime genre's origins, or epic movies, Les Vampires is easy to recommend, and overall, the problems I had with it at times were pretty minimal.