Irma Vep (1996)

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas (written by)

Release Date:

30 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Rene Vidal, a director in decline, decides to remake Louis Feuillade's silent serial "Les Vampires."...

Plot Keywords:

Anagram | Actress | Journalist | Director | Cat Burglar

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Maggie Cheung	...	Herself
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	René Vidal
Nathalie Richard	...	Zoé
Antoine Basler	...	Journalist
Nathalie Boutefeu	...	Laure
Alex Descas	...	Desormeaux
Dominique Faysse	...	Maïté
Arsinée Khanjian	...	L'américaine
Bernard Nissile	...	Markus
Olivier Torres	...	Ferdinand / Moreno
Bulle Ogier	...	Mireille
Lou Castel	...	José Mirano
Jacques Fieschi	...	Roland
Estelle Larrivaz	...	La standardiste
Balthazar Clémenti	...	Robert, assistant
Lara Cowez	...	Script supervisor
Dominique Cuny	...	Grip
Jessica Doyle	...	Jessica, Roland's Friend
Sandra Faure	...	Vendeuse, sex-shop
Catherine Ferny	...	Policewoman
Maryel Ferraud	...	Make-up Woman
Filip Forgeau	...	Camera Operator
Nicolas Giraudin	...	Unit Manager
Valerie Guy	...	Valerie, in Mireille's apartment
Laurent Jacquet	...	Electrician
Philippe Landoulsi	...	Inspector
Smaïl Mekki	...	Kermor, unit manager
Maurice Najman	...	Maurice, Roland's Friend
Yann Richard	...	Kevin
Jérôme Simonin	...	Property Man
Alexandra Yonnet	...	Lili, Markus's Friend
Pierre Amzallag	...	Emergency Doctor
Françoise Clavel	...	René's Wife
Françoise Guglielmi	...	Producer
Odile Horion	...	Zoë's Assistant
François-Renaud Labarthe	...	TV Cameraman
Alain Martin	...	Boy at Cafe Des Oiseaux
Guy-Patrick Sainderichin	...	TV Dignitary
Willy Martin	...	Bellboy

Directed by
Olivier Assayas

Writing credits
Olivier Assayas		(written by)

Produced by
Georges Benayoun	....	producer
Françoise Guglielmi	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Eric Gautier

Film Editing by
Luc Barnier

Casting by
Pierre Amzallag

Art Direction by
François-Renaud Labarthe

Set Decoration by
Yann Richard

Costume Design by
Françoise Clavel

Makeup Department
Isabelle Nyssen	....	makeup artist
Nancy Tong	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Sylvie Barthet	....	production manager
Ivan Fegyveres	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alice de Andrade	....	assistant director
François-Renaud Labarthe	....	assistant director
Jérôme Tardieu	....	second assistant director (as Jerôme Tardieu)

Sound Department
William Flageollet	....	sound mixer
Laurent Lévy	....	foley artist
Olivier Marlangeon	....	foley artist
Marie-Christine Ratel	....	sound editor
Philippe Richard	....	sound engineer
Marie-Christine Ruh	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Grégoire Delage	....	special effects
Olivier Zenenski	....	special effects

Stunts
Michel Julienne	....	stunt consultant
Leslie Rain	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
François Berroir	....	gaffer
Jean-Luc Bezeau	....	grip
Xavier Cholet	....	electrician
Stéphane Fontaine	....	first assistant camera
Sophie Lemaire	....	assistant camera
Sophie Lemaire	....	clapper loader
Michel Michau	....	electrician
Isabelle Weingarten	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jessica Doyle	....	costume designer: Irma Vep

Editorial Department
Tina Baz	....	assistant editor
Nabila Daniault	....	color timer
Raymond Terrentin	....	color timer

Other crew
Edmée Doroszlai	....	script supervisor
Philippe Letode	....	location scout

Thanks
Claire Denis	....	thanks
Christopher Doyle	....	thanks
Stanley Kwan	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Dacia Films
• Canal+ (participation)

Distributors

• Cinema Mondo (1998) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Good Movies (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Herald Film Company (Japan) (theatrical)
• NFM Distributie (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Zeitgeist Films (1997) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (DVD)
• Prime Time Entertainment (1997) (Netherlands) (video)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Vampire (France) (trailer title)
Irma Vep (Argentina) [es]

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | UK:15 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:11

Company:

Dacia Films

Trivia:

The title is the anagram of "vampire".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jose drinks his beer at the restaurant, he finishes it off. But then in the next shot he refinishes the same beer before the waiter brings him a new one.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Les vampires (1915)

Soundtrack:

Bonnie and Clyde

Surprisingly entertaining

I just watched Irma Vep last night. And I have to say that I enjoyed watching this movie for many reasons. Evidently Maggie is one of the reasons. Beautiful of course and good actress to boot. But beyond that, we have a lot of other things that kept my interest alive all along. This movie presents a self examination of French movie making, thereby justifying the accusation of "nombrilisme" (narcissism) by the reporter interviewing Maggy. This seems to be one of the themes here. A close look at the movie making process in France where a certain lack of coordination seems to be the rule, where a director launches the movie making only based on a whim. And in this case, it's the idea of having Maggie Cheung play the main role of a character in a remake of a 1915 silent movie. What really becomes interesting is the way she gets into the role and really becomes Irma. But I will leave you to discover how and when. At any rate, the movie has the funny effect to make you wonder if French movie making is in that bad a state that it can come up with such an interesting product.