Introduced by Steven Kovács Jon Mirsalis on Piano Episode 1: La Tête coupée (The Severed Head) (40 mins) Episode 2: La Bague qui tue (The Fatal Ring) (18 mins) Episode 3: Le Cryptogramme rouge (The Red Cryptogram) (50 mins) Episode 4: Le Spectre (The Ghost) (40 mins) (Total running time: 148 mins, Intermission) The surrealists were the first to acclaim Louis Feuillade's 1915-1916 weekly serial Les Vampires for its combination of fantasy, realism, comedy and anarchy; "for love and sensuality" (Robert Desnos) and a singularly poetic use of the urban landscape. Later, André Bazin, dean of film theoreticians, would place it at the top of his "best ten" list, and Alain Resnais would claim Feuillade as one of his gods. Having nothing to do with vampires, the intricately woven narrative of Les Vampires-full of mysterious disappearances, false identities and a thousand and one twists of plot-revolves around a gang of criminals who hold all France ransom through a series of brilliantly executed crimes. The ingenious Vampire Gang, led by the fetching Irma Vep (Musidora), confound the bourgeoisie as they rob it of jewels and cash. The gang members take on different personae to fit the crimes: thus the diabolically beautiful Ms. Vep is variously seen as a maid, a typist, a Mademoiselle and a Viscount; The First Grand Vampire (Jean Ayme) as Dr.Nox, the Count of Noirmoutier, Big Jules, and Monseiur Treps, a real estate agent, to name just a few of the disguises. The Vampire Gang are clearly the heroes of the serial; Philippe Guerande (Edouard Mathé), the Le Mondial reporter who tracks them down, is but a clever straightman for their exploits. Coming just after Feuillade's Fantomas serial (1913-14) and before Judex (1917), Les Vampires remains one of the most convincing commentaries on the fascination of evil ever to reach the screen. Nor was Feuillade's salute to anarchy lost on his contemporaries: a great furor of protest arose against his glamorization of crime-and Surrealist André Breton dubbed the film "a masterpiece of 20th Century art." Despite its renown, Les Vampires is rarely seen outside the Cinémathèque Française in Paris. When PFA presented the serial in 1983, in the only available version, which was 16mm without intertitles, Les Vampires found an enthusiastic, even ecstatic American following. The Cinémathèque Française undertook the restoration of Les Vampires in 1985-86 and the result is the spectacular 35mm print, French intertitles in place, which we present on three consecutive Fridays this month. The screenings will feature piano accompaniment by Jon Mirsalis and live English translation. Tonight's screening is introduced by Steven Kovács, author of From Enchantment to Rage: The Story of Surrealist Cinema and Chair, San Francisco State University Department of Film. Missed an episode? Synopses of each chapter are available at PFA. Advance tickets for all PFA programs may be purchased at the Box Office.