title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: Universal later scrapped the sequel, and instead opted to reissue "The Phantom of the Opera" with a new synchronized score and sound effects track, as well as a few new dialog sequences. Directors Ernst Laemmle and Frank McCormick reshot a little less than half of the picture with sound during August 1929. The footage reused from the original film was scored with music arranged by Joseph Cherniavsky, and sound effects. Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry reprised their roles for the sound reshoot, and Edward Martindel, George B. Williams, Phillips Smalley, Ray Holderness, and Edward Davis were added to the cast to replace actors who were unavailable. Universal was contractually unable to loop Chaney's dialogue, so another character was introduced who acts as a messenger for the Phantom in some scenes. Because Chaney's talkie debut was eagerly anticipated by filmgoers, advertisements emphasized, "Lon Chaney's portrayal is a silent one!"


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: The sound version of "Phantom" opened on February 16, 1930, and grossed another million dollars. This version of the film is lost because it was burned in a fire in 1948, although the soundtrack discs survive.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: The success of "The Phantom of the Opera" inspired Universal to finance the production of a long string of horror films through to the 1950s, starting with the base stories of "Dracula" (1931), "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Mummy" (1932), "The Invisible Man" (1933) and "The Wolf Man" (1941), and continuing with numerous sequels to all five films.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: Although this particular adaptation is often considered the most faithful, it contains some significant plot differences from the original novel.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: In the movie, M. Debienne and M. Poligny transfer ownership of the Opera to M. Montcharmin and M. Richard, while in the novel they are simply the old and new managers.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: The character of Ledoux is not a mysterious Persian and is no longer a onetime acquaintance of the Phantom. He is now a French detective of the Secret Police. This character change was not originally scripted; it was made during the title card editing process.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: The Phantom has no longer studied in Persia in his past. Rather, he is an escapee from Devil's Island and an expert in "the Black Arts".


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: As described in the "Production" section of this article, the filmmakers initially intended to preserve the original ending of the novel, and filmed scenes in which the Phantom dies of a broken heart at his organ after Christine leaves his lair. Because of the preview audience's poor reaction, the studio decided to change the ending to a more exciting chase sequence. Edward Sedgwick was hired to provide a climactic chase scene, with an ending in which the Phantom, after having saved Ledoux and Raoul, kidnaps Christine in Raoul's carriage. He is hunted down and cornered by an angry mob, who beat him to death and throw him into the Seine.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: The finest quality print of the film existing was struck from an original camera negative for George Eastman House in the early 1950s by Universal Pictures. The original 1925 version survives only in 16mm "Show-At-Home" prints created by Universal for home movie use in the 1930s. There are several versions of these prints, but none of them are complete. All are from the original domestic camera negative.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: Because of the better quality of the Eastman House print, many home video releases have opted to use it as the basis of their transfers. This version has singer Mary Fabian in the role of Carlotta. In the reedited version, Virginia Pearson, who played Carlotta in the 1925 film, is credited and referred to as "Carlotta's Mother" instead. Most of the silent footage in the 1929 version is actually from a second camera, used to photograph the film for foreign markets and second negatives; careful examination of the two versions shows similar shots are slightly askew in composition in the 1929 version. In 2009, ReelClassicDVD issued a special edition multi-disc DVD set which included a matched shot side-by-side comparison of the two versions, editing the 1925 Show-At-Home print's narrative and continuity to match the Eastman House print.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: For the 2003 Image Entertainment–Photoplay Productions two-disc DVD set, the 1929 soundtrack was reedited in an attempt to fit the Eastman House print as best as possible. However, there are some problems with this attempt. There is no corresponding "man with lantern" sequence on the sound discs. While the "music and effect" reels without dialogue seem to follow the discs fairly closely, the scenes with dialogue (which at one point constituted about 60% of the film) are generally shorter than their corresponding sequences on the discs. Also, since the sound discs were synchronized with a projection speed of 24 frames per second (the established speed for sound film), and the film on the DVD is presented at a slower frame rate (to reproduce natural speed), the soundtrack on the DVD set has been altered to run more slowly than the originally recorded speed. A trailer for the sound reissue, included for the first time on the DVD set, runs at the faster sound film speed, with the audio at the correct pitch.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: On November 1, 2011, Image Entertainment released a new Blu-ray version of "Phantom", produced by Film Preservation Associates, the film preservation company owned by David Shepard.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: On January 10, 2012, Shadowland Productions released "The Phantom of the Opera: Angel of Music Edition", a two-disc DVD set featuring a newly recorded dialogue track with sound effects and an original musical score. The film was also reedited, combining elements from the 1925 version with the 1929 sound release. A 3D anaglyph version is included as an additional special feature.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: It is uncertain for what purpose the negative used to strike the Eastman House print was produced, as it includes footage from the 1929 sound reissue, and shows few signs of wear or damage.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: For unknown reasons, an opening prologue showing a man with a lantern has been added—using a single continuous take—but no corresponding title cards or dialogue survive. This shot seems to have been a talking sequence, but it shows up in the original 1925 version, shorter in duration and using a different, close-up shot of the man with the lantern. Furthermore, the opening title sequence, the lantern man, the footage of Mary Fabian performing as Carlotta, and Mary Philbin's opera performances are photographed at 24 frames per second (sound film speed), and therefore were shot after the movie's original release. It is possible that the lantern man is meant to be Joseph Buquet, but the brief remaining close-up footage of this man from the 1925 version does not appear to be of Bernard Siegel, who plays Buquet. The man who appears in the reshot footage could be a different actor as well, but since there is no close-up of the man in this version, and the atmospheric lighting partially obscures his face, it is difficult to be certain.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: While it was common practice to simultaneously shoot footage with multiple cameras for prints intended for domestic and foreign markets, the film is one of few for which footage of both versions survives (others include Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill, Jr." and Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush"). Comparisons of the two versions (both in black and white and in color) yield:


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: "International sound versions" were sometimes made of films which the producing companies judged not to be worth the expense of reshooting in a foreign language. These versions were meant to cash in on the talkie craze; by 1930 anything with sound did well at the box office, while silent films were largely ignored by the public. International sound versions were basically part-talkies, and were largely silent except for musical sequences. Since the films included synchronized music and sound effect tracks, they could be advertised as sound pictures, and therefore capitalize on the talkie craze in foreign markets without the expense of reshooting scenes with dialogue in foreign languages.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: To make an international version, the studio would simply replace any spoken dialogue in the film with music, and splice in some title cards in the appropriate language. Singing sequences were left intact, as well as any sound sequences without dialogue.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: The surviving sound discs of "The Phantom of the Opera" belong to the domestic release, but do not synchronize with the dialogue portions of the film, which have been abbreviated on the Eastman House print. However, there is no record of the content of the international version of "The Phantom", nor even of the existence of such a version. Furthermore, for international sound versions, one negative was generally made for all of Europe, sent overseas, and not returned. Additionally, the Eastman House print shows no signs of negative wear that would be consistent with that of a negative printed for multiple countries.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: During the transition to sound in 1930, it was not uncommon for two versions of a picture, one silent and one sound, to play simultaneously (particularly for a movie from Universal, which kept a dual-format policy longer than most studios). One possibility is that the Eastman House print is actually a silent version of the reissued film, made for theaters not yet equipped with sound.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: However, according to trade journals of the time, no silent reissue was available. "Harrison's Reports", which was always careful to specify whether or not a silent version of a movie was made, specifically stated that "there will be no silent version." Furthermore, by 1930, fewer exhibitors were booking completely silent films, and this had forced all of the major studios to add soundtracks and dialogue sequences to all of their major releases that had previously been intended for release as silent pictures. Studios no longer expended much time or money on silent versions, which were meant to be shown in rural areas where theaters could not yet afford the conversion to sound. Nevertheless, if the extant print is a silent version, it would explain why Universal still had it and also the lack of wear on the negative from which it was struck.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: According to "Harrison's Reports", when the film was originally released, it contained 17 minutes of color footage; this footage was retained in the 1930 part-talking version. Technicolor's records show 497 feet of color footage. Judging from trade journals and reviews, all of the opera scenes of "Faust" as well as the "Bal Masqué" scene were shot in Process 2 Technicolor (a two-color system). Prizmacolor sequences were also shot for the "Soldier's Night" introduction. Until recently, only the "Bal Masqué" scene survived in color; however in 2020, color footage of the ballet scene surfaced on YouTube. In the scene on the rooftop of the opera, the Phantom's cape was colored red, using the Handschiegl color process. This effect has been replicated by computer colorization in the 1996 restoration by Kevin Brownlow's Photoplay Productions.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: As with many films of the time, black-and-white footage was tinted various colors to provide mood. These included amber for interiors, blue for night scenes, green for mysterious moods, red for fire, and yellow (sunshine) for daylight exteriors.


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: In 1998 "The Phantom of the Opera" was added to the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". It was included, at No. 52, in Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments".


title: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)

text: In the United States, the film is in the public domain because Universal did not renew the copyright in 1953.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: Le Bal des Débutantes, also known simply as "le Bal" (or, previously, the "Crillon Ball"), is a debutante ball and fashion event held annually in November in Paris, bringing together between 20 and 25 debutantes aged 16 to 22 from many countries, together with their parents and a similar number of young men. It started as a social event and was first held in the Orangery of the Château de Versailles on 10 July 1958.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The ball was started as a social event, and was first held in the Orangery of the Château de Versailles on 10 July 1958. There were fifty debutantes; all were American. For the ball of 1959, permission to use the Orangery came from André Malraux; the event was financed by the fashion and perfume houses of Paris. A hundred and fifty young women took part.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The ball was revived in 1992, organised by Ophélie Renouard as a fashion event by invitation. From 1992 to 2012, it took place every year at the Hôtel de Crillon, and thus was often called the "Crillon Ball". It is now sometimes referred to simply as "le Bal".


title: Bal des débutantes

text: "Le Bal" took place in 2013 and 2014 at Hôtel Raphael and in 2015 was held in the Palais de Chaillot, which overlooks the Eiffel Tower. Le Bal was held at The Peninsula Paris in 2016 and 2017, and in 2018 and 2019 at the Shangri La Hotel in Paris.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: From the beginning the event has raised money for charities. Since 2009, it has supported , an organization which provides education for girls in Southeast Asia.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: Since 2015, it has also supported Seleni, a non-profit organisation that finances research in healthcare for adolescent mothers.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The criteria for invitation as a débutante are an attractive appearance, intelligence, and famous parents. The débutantes often come from families known in entertainment, business, or politics.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: As "le Bal" is also a couture event, the gowns are fashion show dresses and "le Bal"'s team endeavors to find the most suitable ones.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: From 2000 to 2003, "le Bal" welcomed a winner from a contest held by the French magazine "Jalouse" each year. Each one was chosen based on a submitted application.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The majority of the participants must familiarize themselves with wearing haute couture dresses, trading common teen fashion items for "heels, tiaras and haute couture gowns worth up to £30,000 each".


title: Bal des débutantes

text: In interviews, the débutantes usually speak of the pleasure of wearing couture dresses, the charity aspect of the event, and the opportunity to meet girls from different countries.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: Each débutante is escorted by a "cavalier". He may be by a young man of her own choosing, such as a brother, cousin, friend, or boyfriend. However, nearly half of the débutantes, particularly those travelling from abroad, don't bring their own cavaliers; they rely instead on the organizers of "le Bal" to find a cavalier. The organizer, Renouard, has stated that choosing the cavaliers based on their ages, the language they speak, their heights, and possibly their backgrounds usually produces an optimal match for the débutantes.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: Le Bal tries their best to not have more than two French girls every year. Many débutantes are part of the European aristocracy, including princesses and duchesses. Ophélie Renouard says she favors Italian girls for their sophisticated look.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: Many others are daughters of actors and industry tycoons, such as Ava Philippe, Jane Li, Annabel Yao, Stella Belmondo, True Whitaker, Ella Beatty, Viola Mikkelsen, Sophia-Rose Stallone, or Scout LaRue. Others are famous in their own right, such as ballerinas and young prodigies: a few years ago, Lauren Marbe, the daughter of a cab driver in the UK whose IQ exceeded Einstein’s, and in 2015, Olivia Hallisey, an American high schooler who won the first prize of the Google Science Fair for inventing a test for the Ebola virus.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The ball introduces the world of high fashion to its invited débutantes, who are usually the daughters of well-known families. It can also be seen as an opportunity for fashion houses to achieve brand exposure.<ref name="https://www.tatlerasia.com/"></ref>


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The young women wear haute couture dresses by European designers and overseas fashion houses. They all wear jewelry from the same jeweler. Some couture houses have produced special ball gowns for the event. In 2003, Carolina Herrera made one for Diana Mellon, and in 2014 Danish designer Jesper Hovring made a dress for Viola Mikkelsen. In 2018, the Indo-French fashion house Lecoanet Hemant made a gown for Princess Ananya Raje Scindia of Gwalior. Jet Li's daughter Jane Li was dressed by Dior in 2019.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: In 2008, French actor Jean Rochefort's daughter Clémence made her debut wearing a Nina Ricci ball gown. Anna Cleveland van Ravenstein, on the other hand, had been modeling for Chanel for years before "Uncle" Karl Lagerfeld helped her to pick out a vintage gown for le Bal.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The ball takes place on a Saturday, but preparations include meeting the débutantes, their families and their cavaliers in advance.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: On the eve of "le Bal", a Friday, the débutantes come together for the first time. Makeup and hair styling sessions start at 9:00am: with By Terry for makeup and with Alexandre de Paris for hair. After this, the débutantes put on their dresses, long gloves, shoes, and jewels, and there are individual and group photo sessions which last for the rest of the day. On Friday evening, the débutantes' fathers and cavaliers are offered a waltz class with two dance teachers.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: The débutantes are introduced in alphabetical order on the arms of their cavaliers by journalist and author Stéphane Bern. Then the dinner is served. After dinner, the débutantes who are the most followed by the media open "le Bal", followed by all of the fathers with their daughters.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: This opening dance is followed by a waltz with all of the fathers and débutantes. The fathers then cede their daughters to the cavaliers, and the waltz is replaced with contemporary music with a live band. The debs then return their dresses and their jewels. The débutantes and their cavaliers finish the evening out clubbing.


title: Bal des débutantes

text: Coverage often emphasizes the cachet of the event and its elegance. It has been claimed that ""Le Bal" has really maintained its exclusivity; all the top designers participate, and there have never been any sleazy photographs of the débutantes."


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: The Russian Orthodox Cross (or just the Orthodox Cross by some Russian Orthodox traditions) is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the other way (upwards) found since the 6th century in the Byzantine Empire. The Russian Orthodox cross has three horizontal crossbeams, with the lowest one slanted downwards. Nowadays it is a symbol of the Russian Orthodox Church and a distinctive feature of the cultural landscape of Russia. Other names for the symbol include the "Russian cross", and "Slavonic" or "Suppedaneum cross".


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: The earliest cross with a slanted footstool (pointing upwards, unlike the Russian cross) was introduced in the 6th century before the break between Catholic and Orthodox churches, and was used in Byzantine frescoes, arts and crafts. In 1551 during the canonical isolation of the Russian Orthodox Church, Ivan the Terrible, Grand Prince of Moscow, first used this cross, with the footstool tilted the other way, on the domes of churches. From this time, it started to be depicted on the Russian state coat of arms and military banners. In the second half of the 19th century, this cross was promoted by the Russian Empire in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a symbol of its Russification policy.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: One variant known as the Russian cross has only two horizontal crossbeams with the lower one slanted; another is the cross over crescent variant. Some Russian sources distinguish the Russian Orthodox cross from the Orthodox cross. In Unicode the symbol (☦) is denoted as "Orthodox cross". The same USVA headstone emblem is called "Russian Orthodox cross".


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: Sometimes it is also called the Byzantine cross. Alternatively, "Byzantine cross" is also the name for a Latin cross with outwardly spreading ends, as it was the most common cruciform in the Byzantine Empire. Other crosses (patriarchal cross, Russian Orthodox cross, etc.) are sometimes as Byzantine crosses, as they also were used in Byzantine culture.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: Sometimes it is also called just Orthodox cross. At the same time the various Orthodox churches use different crosses, and any of them may be called an "Orthodox cross". Moreover, there are no crosses universally acknowledged as "Orthodox" or "Catholic": each type is a feature of local tradition. The cross has also been referred to as the "Eastern Cross," and "has a special place in Ukrainian religious life" and has been used by Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic churches. For example, this particular cross is also claimed to be Kievan and "Ukrainian" by Ukrainian Catholics and Orthodox Christians.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: The topmost of the three crossbeams represents Pilate's inscription which in the older Greek tradition is "The King of Glory", based on John's Gospel; but in later images it represents . The middle crossbeam is the main bar to which the victim's hands are fixed, while the bottom crossbeam represents the footrest which prolongs the torture. In many depictions, the side to Christ's right is higher, slanting upward toward the penitent thief St. Dismas, who according to the apocryphal tradition was crucified on Jesus' right, but downward toward impenitent thief Gestas. It is also a common perception that the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ's right hand-side, and downward, to Hell, on Christ's left. The cross is often depicted in icons "of the crucifixion in historic Byzantine style."


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: One variation of the Russian Cross is the 'Cross over Crescent', which is sometimes accompanied by "Gabriel perched on the top of the Cross blowing his trumpet." Didier Chaudet, in the academic journal "China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly", writes that an "emblem of the Orthodox Church is a cross on top on a crescent. It is said that this symbol was devised by Ivan the Terrible, after the conquest of the city of Kazan, as a symbol of the victory of Christianity over Islam through his soldiers".


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: Another variation is the monastic "Calvary Cross", in which the cross is situated atop the hill of Calvary, its slopes symbolized by steps. To the viewer's left is the Holy Lance, with which Jesus was wounded in his side, and to the right, the pole topped by a hyssop sponge with which he was given vinegar. Under Calvary are Adam's skull and bones; the right-arm bone is usually above the left one, and believers fold their arms across their chests in this way during Orthodox communion. Around the cross are abbreviations in Church Slavonic. This type of cross is usually embroidered on a schema-monk's robe.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: The Russian (Orthodox) cross (☦) is widely used by the Russian Orthodox Church, and has been widely adopted in the Polish Orthodox and the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Churches, which received their autonomous status from the Patriarch of Moscow in 1948 and 1951 respectively. It is also sometimes used by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (e.g. in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese). "Though commonly associated with the Russian Orthodox Church, this [cross] is found also in the Greek and Serbian Orthodox churches" and is also used by Eastern Rite Catholic Churches.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: This cross is also found in Byzantine frescoes in churches now belonging to the Greek and Serbian Orthodox churches.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: The slanted cross with three horizontal crossbeams existed already in the 6th century, long before the Great Schism. However, it was used only in church paintings, arts and crafts, and never on church domes. There are old frescoes depicting this type of cross in the regions of modern Greece and Serbia. One Byzantine icon featuring the three-bar cross, with the slanted crossbeam for the feet of Christ, is an 11th century mosaic of the resurrection. The three-bar cross "existed very early in Byzantium, but was adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church and especially popularized in Slavic countries."


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: At the end of the 15th century this cross started to be widely used in Muscovy when its rulers declared themselves the "Third Rome", successors of Byzantium and defenders of Orthodoxy. In 1551 at the council of the canonically isolated Russian Orthodox Church, the Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan the Terrible decided to standardize the cross on Russian church domes to distinguish Muscovy from the "Lithuanian, Polack cross". This was the first time the Russian Orthodox Cross was used on church domes. Between 1577–1625, the Russian Orthodox cross was depicted between the heads of a double-headed eagle in the coat of arms of Russia. It was drawn on military banners until the end of the 17th century.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: In 1654, the Moscow council, erasing the vestiges of the canonical isolation of 1448-1589, coordinated Russian Orthodox liturgy with that of other Orthodox churches. At this council, Patriarch Nikon ordered the use of the Greek cross instead of Russian Orthodox cross. These reforms provoked the Raskol schism. Replacement of the Russian Orthodox cross by Greek cross was caused by Russian disrespect for the second one. Soon, however, the Russian Orthodox Church began to use the Russian Orthodox cross again. According to the Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom Stefan, the Russian Orthodox cross was worn by Czar Peter I (1672-1725), who transformed the Moscow Patriarchate into the Most Holy Synod.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Russian Orthodox cross was promoted by the Russian Empire and USSR in Belarus, Poland and Ukraine as a part of Russification policies. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the Russian Orthodox Church replaced many traditional Greek Orthodox crosses in Belarus with Russian Orthodox crosses. This suggests that it was understood as an nationalist Russian symbol rather than a religious Orthodox one.


title: Russian Orthodox cross

text: The Russian Orthodox cross is depicted on emblems of several Russian ultra-nationalist organizations such as Brotherhood of Russian Truth and Russian National Unity.


title: Les Vampires

text: Les Vampires is a 1915–16 French silent crime serial film written and directed by Louis Feuillade. Set in Paris, it stars Édouard Mathé, Musidora and Marcel Lévesque. The main characters are a journalist and his friend who become involved in trying to uncover and stop a bizarre underground Apache gang, known as The Vampires (who are not the mythological beings their name suggests). The serial consists of ten episodes, which vary greatly in length. Being roughly 7 hours long, it is considered one of the longest films ever made. It was produced and distributed by Feuillade's company Gaumont. Due to its stylistic similarities with Feuillade's other crime serials "Fantômas" and "Judex", the three are often considered a trilogy.


title: Les Vampires

text: Fresh from the success of Feuillade's previous serial, "Fantômas", and facing competition from rival company Pathé, Feuillade made the film quickly and inexpensively with very little written script. Upon its initial release "Les Vampires" was given negative reviews by critics for its dubious morality and its lack of cinematic techniques compared to other films. However, it was a massive success with its wartime audience, making Musidora a star of French cinema. The film has since come under re-evaluation and is considered by many to be Feuillade's "magnum opus" and a cinematic masterpiece. It is recognised for developing thriller techniques, adopted by Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang, and avant-garde cinema, inspiring Luis Buñuel, Henri Langlois, Alain Resnais, and André Breton. It is included in the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die".


title: Les Vampires

text: Philippe Guérande (Édouard Mathé), a reporter working for the newspaper "Mondial" who is investigating a criminal organisation called the Vampires, receives a telegram at work stating that the decapitated body of the national security agent in charge of the Vampire investigations, Inspector Durtal, was found in the swamps near Saint-Clement-Sur-Cher, with the head missing. Being turned down by the local magistrate (Thelès), he spends the night in a nearby castle owned by Dr. Nox (Jean Aymé), an old friend of his father, along with Mrs. Simpson (Rita Herlor), an American multimillionaire who desires the property. After waking up in the night, Philippe finds a note in his pocket saying "Give up your search, otherwise bad luck awaits you! – The Vampires", and discovers a mysterious passage behind a painting in his room. Meanwhile, Mrs. Simpson's money and jewels are stolen in her sleep by a masked thief, but Philippe is suspected of the crime. Philippe again visits the magistrate, who now believes his case, and they trick Dr. Nox and Mrs. Simpson into waiting in an anteroom. At the castle, Philippe and the magistrate find the head of Inspector Durtal hidden in the passage in Philippe's room. Back in the anteroom, they find that Mrs. Simpson is dead and that Dr. Nox has vanished. Her pocket contains a note from the Grand Vampire saying that he has murdered the real Dr. Nox and is now assuming his identity.


title: Les Vampires

text: Grand Vampire in disguise as Count de Noirmoutier, reads that ballerina Marfa Koutiloff (Stacia Napierkowska), who is engaged to Philippe, will perform a ballet called "The Vampires". To prevent her from publicizing the Vampires' activities and to deter Philippe, he gives Marfa a poisoned ring before her performance, which kills her onstage. Amidst the panicking crowds Philippe recognizes the Grand Vampire and follows him to an abandoned fort and is captured by the gang. They agree to interrogate Philippe at midnight and execute him at dawn. Philippe finds that the Vampire guarding him is one of his co-workers, Oscar-Cloud Mazamette (Marcel Lévesque). They decide to work together and capture the Grand Inquisitor when he arrives at midnight. They bind and hood the Grand Inquisitor, and set him up for execution in place of Phillipe. At dawn the Vampires arrive for the execution, but the police raid the lair. The Vampires escape, but as they flee they mistakenly execute their own Grand Inquisitor, who turns out to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.


title: Les Vampires

text: While faking illness to get off work, Philippe tries to decode a red booklet that he lifted from the Grand Inquisitor's body, which contains the crimes of the Vampires. He discovers that his house is under surveillance by the Vampires, so he leaves in disguise. Following clues in the booklet he arrives at "The Howling Cat" night club. Performing there is Irma Vep (Musidora), whose name Philippe sees is an anagram for vampire. After her act, the Grand Vampire assigns Irma to retrieve the red booklet. As Philippe returns home Mazamette arrives, along with a poison pen he stole from the Grand Vampire. A few days later, Irma arrives at their house disguised as a new maid, but Philippe recognizes her. She tries to poison him, but fails. His mother (Delphine Renot) leaves to meet her brother after receiving word that he has been in a car accident, but it turns out to be a trap and she is captured by the Vampires. While Philippe is asleep, Irma lets another Vampire into his home but he shoots them. They escape, however, because his gun was loaded with blanks. In a shack in the slums, Philippe's mother is held by Father Silence (Louis Leubas), a deaf-mute, and is forced to sign a ransom note, but she kills him with Mazamette's poison pen and escapes.


title: Les Vampires

text: The Grand Vampire, under the alias of a real estate broker "Treps", meets Juan-José Moréno (Fernand Herrmann), a businessman, who asks for an apartment with a safe. The Grand Vampire puts Moréno into an apartment whose safe is rigged to be opened from the rear through the party wall of an apartment belonging to Irma Vep and the Grand Vampire. However, the case Moréno places inside contains the Vampires’ black attire. Later, in disguise as bank secretary "Juliette Bertaux", Irma learns that a man called Mr. Metadier has to bring ₣300,000 to another branch. In the event that he is unable to make the delivery, Irma will. Soon afterward, Mr. Metadier is murdered by the Vampires and his body thrown from a train. When Irma is about to take the money for him a spectre of Mr. Metadier appears and takes it instead. The Grand Vampire pursues the spectre, who escapes down a manhole. Later that day, Mme. Metadier appears at the bank, saying she hasn’t seen her husband in days. They also find out that the money hasn’t been delivered. Philippe learns of this and goes to the bank in disguise. Recognizing the secretary as Irma, he finds her address and a few hours later sneaks in, using Mazamette as a ploy. Irma and the Grand Vampire open the safe from their side, only to find Metadier's body and the money. Philippe tries to capture them but is knocked down and they escape. Philippe calls the police just as Moréno enters and finds his safe opened from the other side. He walks through and is caught by Philippe. Moréno is revealed to be another criminal in disguise, and claims not to have killed Metadier, but to have found his body by the train tracks where the Vampires had dumped it. Moréno found Metadier's letter of authority on his corpse, took Metadier's body home, disguised himself as Metadier, put the body in his safe, assumed Metadier's identity, took the money, and put it too in his safe. The upshot is that the money is now in the Vampires' possession. The police arrive and arrest Moréno.


title: Les Vampires

text: The examining magistrate from Saint-Clement-Sur-Cher relocates to Paris and is assigned to the Vampire case and the Moréno affair. After being summoned to the magistrate, Moréno commits suicide using a concealed cyanide capsule. His body is left in his cell, but during the night he wakes up, very much alive. He kills the night-watchman and takes his clothes, escaping from the prison. He is noticed by Mazamette, who is suffering from insomnia. The following morning, Moréno is found to have escaped. While writing an account of the events, Philippe is pulled out of his window by the Vampires and whisked into a large costume box. He is driven away and the box is unloaded, but incompetently, and it slides down a large flight of stairs. The Vampires retreat and Philippe is let out by two bystanders. He visits the costume designer Pugenc whose name and box number (13) are on the costume box, just missing Moréno and his gang who have bought police uniforms for a scheme of their own. Philippe learns from Pugenc that the costume box was to go to Baron de Mortesalgues on Maillot Avenue, and realizes that "Mortesalgues" must be another alias of the Grand Vampire. Later, Moréno confronts Philippe in a café, but when Philippe calls for the nearby policemen, they turn out to be part of Moréno's gang and he is again captured. Meanwhile, Mazamette breaks into Moréno's hideout. Philippe is taken there to be hanged by the gang, unless he can give them means to revenge themselves against the Vampires. He tells them that Baron de Mortesalgues is the Grand Vampire, and they spare him, tying him up. Mazamette appears and frees him. That evening, the Grand Vampire, in disguise as Baron de Mortesalgues, holds a party for his "niece", who is Irma Vep in disguise. The party attracts many members of the Parisian aristocracy. "Mortesalgues" reveals that at midnight there will be a surprise; but the "surprise" is a sleeping-gas attack on the guests. The Vampires steal all of the guests' valuables while they are unconscious. The Vampires flee with the stolen items on the top of their car, but Moréno, forewarned by Philippe, robs the Vampires and sends Philippe a letter telling him that, for the moment, they are even. Mazamette visits Philippe; he is angry with their lack of progress and wants to quit. Philippe opens a book of "La Fontaine's Fables" and points to the line, "in all things, one must take the end into account", and Mazamette's resolve is renewed.


title: Les Vampires

text: Fifteen days have passed since the events at Maillot. Moréno is looking for clues to lead him to the Vampires, and reads in a paper that a Fontainebleau notary has been murdered by them; as he happens to possess a gaze with a terrible hypnotic power, he takes control of his new maid, Laura, to turn her into his slave. Meanwhile, Philippe and Mazamette happen to see a newsreel on the murder inquest, in which they spot Irma Vep and the Grand Vampire. They cycle to Fontainebleau to investigate. En route they spot an American tourist, Horatio Werner, riding fast into the forest, and follow him. He places a box under one of the boulders, and they take it. The Grand Vampire, who is staying in the Royal Hunt Hotel under the pseudonym of Count Kerlor, along with Irma in disguise as his son, Viscount Guy, reads in a paper that George Baldwin (Émile Keppens), an American millionaire, has been robbed of $200,000. Whoever can capture the criminal, Raphael Norton, who has fled to Europe with the actress Ethel Florid, will be awarded the unspent balance of the loot. "Kerlor" notices that Mr and Mrs. Werner, who are staying at the hotel, are distressed by this notice, and concludes that Mr. Werner is Raphael Norton. Philippe and Mazamette arrive at the hotel and find that the Vampires are based there. In a different hotel they force open the box and find Baldwin's stolen money inside. Moréno comes to the Royal Hunt in disguise. While the Grand Vampire tells the hotel guests a story, Irma breaks into the Werners' suite, finding a map leading to the box in the forest. When she leaves, she is captured and chloroformed by Moréno, who takes the map. While his gang take Irma away, he dresses his hypnotized maid, Laura, as Irma and tells her to give the Vampires the map. Once one of the Vampires (Miss Édith) follows the map to get the treasure, Moréno's gang ambushes her, only to find that Philippe has already taken it. Moreno demands that the Grand Vampire ransom Irma Vep. In the early morning, the police raid the hotel and find that Werner is actually Norton, so Philippe and Mazamette win the money. Moréno falls in love with Irma and decides not to return her to the Grand Vampire. Instead, he hypnotizes her and causes her to write a confession of her involvement in the murders of the Fontainbleau notary (in this episode), Metadier (episode 4), the ballerina Marfa Koutiloff (episode 2), and Dr. Nox (episode 1). The Grand Vampire comes to meet Moréno, but Moréno by hypnotic command compels Irma to kill him. The episode ends with the now-wealthy Mazamette informing a dozen adoring journalists that "although vice is seldom punished, virtue is always rewarded".


title: Les Vampires

text: A mysterious man (Louis Leubas) arrives at Moréno's home, and shows that he knows that the Grand Vampire's body is inside a trunk. Moréno tries to get rid of him, but he is paralysed by a pin in the man's glove. The man reveals himself to be the true Grand Vampire, Satanas, and that the first was a subordinate. While at a cabaret called the "Happy Shack", Moréno and Irma receive a note from Satanas saying they will see proof of his power at two o'clock. At two he fires a powerful cannon at the "Happy Shack", largely destroying it. Meanwhile, Philippe decides to visit Mazamette, but he is out "chasing the girls." He hides as Mazamette arrives home, drunk, with two women and a friend, who he later chases out angrily at gunpoint. The next morning, Irma and Moréno go to Satanas’ home to surrender, and Satanas offers them the chance to work with him, informing them that American millionaire George Baldwin is stopping at the Park Hotel. Satanas wants Baldwin's signature. One of Moréno's accomplices, Lily Flower (Suzanne Delvé), goes to the Park Hotel and poses as an interviewer from "Modern Woman" magazine and through trickery gets Baldwin to sign a blank piece of paper. Afterwards, Irma enters and dupes Baldwin into recording his voice saying "Parisian women are the most charming I've ever seen, all right!" Lily Flower brings Baldwin's signature to Moréno's home, and Moréno writes out an order (over Baldwin's signature) to pay Lily Flower $100,000. Moréno's gang seize the hotel telephone operator of Baldwin's hotel; Irma takes her place by using a forged note. When the bank cashier calls Baldwin to confirm that he has given a very large draft to an attractive Parisian woman, Irma intercepts the call, and plays the recording she made of Baldwin's voice, and the cashier is persuaded. While Lily Flower is taking the money, Mazamette comes in, recognising her as his old squeeze from the "Happy Shack", and follows her, seeing her hand the money to a man in a taxi – Moréno! Moréno gives Satanas the money, but he is given it back as a present. Philippe and Mazamette capture Lily Flower at her home and make her call Moréno and tell him to come, but when he and Irma arrive they fall into a trap and are caught by the police.


title: Les Vampires

text: Irma, sentenced to life imprisonment, has been sent to St. Lazarus’ prison. A transfer order is sent to the prison to send Irma to a penal colony in Algeria. On the day of her departure, Irma finds out that Moréno has been executed. Satanas follows Irma's transportation route, stopping at a seaside hotel in disguise as a priest. At the port, he gives some religious comfort to the prisoners, but Irma's copy contains a secret message saying "the ship will blow up" and giving her directions on how to safeguard herself. Satanas destroys the ship with his cannon. Meanwhile, Philippe finds through the red codebook that the explosive shell that landed on the "Happy Shack" came from Montmartre, and Mazamette goes to investigate. His son, Eustache Mazamette (René Poyen), is sent home from school for bad behaviour, so they go to "investigate" together. They find some men loading boxes into a house, and notice one of the top hat cases contains a shell. Later, reading that no survivors have been found from the exploding ship, Satanas visits Philippe to avenge Irma's death. Satanas paralyses Phillipe with the poisoned pin in his glove and leaves a bomb in a top hat to kill him off. Mazamette arrives and throws the top hat out the window just in time. At Satanas’ home, Eustache is used as a ploy to hide Mazamette in a box, but Satanas sees this through a spy-hole. Satanas threatens Eustache, but Eustache shoots at Satanas, and the police raid the building and arrest him. After the action, they find that Mazamette's nose has been broken by Eustache's shot. Meanwhile, Irma is shown to have survived the blast on the ship, and is on her way back to Paris as a stowaway under a train. She is helped by the station staff and police, pretending that she is in "one of those eternal love stories beloved by popular imagination." She makes her way to the Vampire hangout, the "Howling Cat" nightclub, where she performs, and is rapturously greeted by the Vampires. Upon hearing of the arrest of Satanas, one of the Vampires, Venomous (Frederik Moriss), appoints himself the new chief. By Satanas’ orders, they mail him an envelope containing a poisoned note, which he eats to commit suicide.


title: Les Vampires

text: Irma is now a devoted collaborator of Venomous, who is set on getting rid of Philippe and Mazamette. He learns that Philippe is engaged to Jane Bremontier (Louise Lagrange), and the following day Irma and Lily Flower rent an apartment above hers. Irma's maid, a Vampire also, hears that Philippe and Jane's engagement party will be catered for by the famous Béchamel House. Venomous cancels their catering order, and on the day of the party the Vampires appear instead. Jane's mother (Jeanne Marie-Laurent) gives the concierges one bottle of the Vampires' champagne as a present, and just as dinner is served the male concierge, Leon Charlet, drinks it, is poisoned and dies. His wife stops the party guests from drinking their champagne just in time, and the Vampires make a hasty escape. A few days later, Mazamette and Philippe's mother pick up Jane and her mother in the night in order to take them to a safe retreat near Fontainebleau. Irma, who tries to fill the getaway car with soporific gas, is spotted by Mazamette, but Irma gasses him, and he is taken away asleep while Irma hides in a box on the car. Mazamette is dumped on the street and taken to the police station, believed to be drunk. When he wakens, he calls Philippe to warn him, but Irma slips out of the box and gets away in the car before Philippe can catch her. Irma jumps off the car near the Pyramid Hotel, and calls Venomous to meet her there, but Philippe has also arranged to meet Mazamette there. Philippe spots Irma at the Pyramid Hotel, captures her and ties her up. Philippe and Mazamette leave Irma in Mazamette's car and attempt to ambush Venomous, but Irma honks the car horn to warn him. Venomous saves Irma and drives off in Mazamette's car, so Philippe and Mazamette chase him in his. Venomous leaps off; Philippe chases Venomous on foot, following him onto the top of a moving train, but Venomous gets away. Mazamette, enraged at the police for not letting him help Philippe on the train, hits one of the officers, who arrest him. At the police station, Philippe and Mazamette carry on so dramatically that the police decide not to book Mazamette, who is after all a famous philanthropist. But the Vampires are still on the loose.


title: Les Vampires

text: A few months have passed, and Philippe and Jane are now married. Augustine Charlet (Germaine Rouer), widow of the poisoned concierge, is hired by the Guérandes to be their chamber maid. Augustine, still tormented by the mysterious poisoning death of her husband, receives an advertising circular for a psychic, Madame d’Alba of 13 Avenue Junot, and decides to consult her. Madame d’Alba, a Vampire, hypnotises Augustine and instructs her to unlock the door of Philippe's apartment at 2 am. Mazamette, who has taken an attraction to Augustine, awakens that night and sees her descend the stairs to unlock the door. The Vampires enter, tie her up, and feed poisonous gas into the Guérandes’ room. Mazamette shoots at them and they flee, and Augustine explains her actions. As they go to the police, Venomous tries to break in through a bedroom window, but Jane shoots at him. When she looks out the window she is lassoed down and carried away. At daybreak, the police raid Avenue Junot; however Irma and Venomous escape through the roof and a bomb is left behind. Augustine is recaptured by the Vampires during their escape. Mazamette shoots at the getaway car, causing an oil leak. Philippe follows the trail to the Vampires’ lair and discovers Augustine and Jane, to whom he passes a gun before leaving. Returning at night, he sets up an escape during the celebration of Irma's marriage to Venomous. At daybreak, the police prepare for a massive raid as the party continues. The police burst in and a running gun battle ensues, ending when the remaining Vampires (save Irma) are driven out onto the balcony which Philippe earlier rigged and are killed in the fall. Irma prepares to kill Jane and Augustine, but Jane shoots her dead. A few days later Mazamette makes a proposal of marriage to Augustine, which she accepts. The film ends with the two couples (Philippe and Jane, and Mazamette and Augustine) standing side by side.


title: Les Vampires

text: The genre of crime serial was common at the time, and Feuillade had had a big success with his previous work, the serial "Fantômas". It is suspected that production of "Les Vampires" began when Gaumont learned that rival company Pathé had acquired the rights to release the serial "The Mysteries of New York", known in America as "The Exploits of Elaine", and felt they had to fend off competition. Another American serial, "The Perils of Pauline", had become massively popular since the release of "Fantômas".


title: Les Vampires

text: The idea of the criminal gang was possibly inspired by the Bonnot Gang, a highly advanced anarchist group who went on a high-profile crime spree in Paris during 1911–1912. Feuillade wrote the script himself, but did it in a very simplistic way, usually writing the premise and relying on the actors to fill in the details. Later episodes were more scripted, however. The style has been compared to that of a pulp magazine (which it was later serialized as.) In an essay on the film, Fabrice Zagury stated "...Feuillade's narrative seldom originates from principles of cause and effect... Rather it unwinds following labyrinthine and spiral-shaped paths." None of the episodes employ the cliffhanger mechanic, popularised by "The Perils of Pauline".


title: Les Vampires

text: The film was mostly shot on location in Paris, and is said to have been strenuous, some actors having to leave due to the wartime efforts. It was shot inexpensively, evidenced by the utilization of painted flats for doors, re-use of furniture in the film's sets, and its reliance on stock footage for more elaborate shots such as a ferry exploding in "The Thunder Master". The episodes were also produced very quickly; estimations have been made that there would have been a three- to four-month period between the filming of an episode and the release. Feuillade makes little use of popular cinematic techniques, most of the film consisting of long takes with stationary cameras with the occasional use of a close up to show plot details such as photos or letters. This was done to give the film a more "real look". Due to a lack of scripting by Feuillade many of the scenes were improvised on the days of shooting. Musidora, a former acrobat, did all her own stunts. Work on the film was done at the same time as of his later serial "Judex".


title: Les Vampires

text: The film employs tinting to describe the lighting: amber for daylight interiors, green for daylight exteriors, blue for night and dark scenes and lavender for low-lit areas (such as nightclubs or dawn). It is noted for its length, just under 400 minutes, and is considered one of the longest films ever made. At the time of its release it was the second longest film ever made, behind the 1914 Christian film "The Photo-Drama of Creation" (480 mins.)


title: Les Vampires

text: "Les Vampires" was serialised in French cinemas as ten episodes of differing length, the first two appearing on 13 November 1915 and the last on 30 June 1916. The film was first shown in Mexico on 24 May 1917 and has an American release at approximately the same time. The rediscovered film made its début in the US at the 1965 New York Film Festival.


title: Les Vampires

text: Despite World War I limiting the audience for the film (unlike Feuillade's earlier work "Fantômas") it was a huge success in France, massively outshining the original competition from Pathé and the serial "The Mysteries of New York". Much of the film's success is said to have been from the inclusion of Musidora as the antagonist Irma Vep, who fit well with the archetypes of "vamp" and "femme fatale", often being compared to Theda Bara. The police force, however, condemned the series for its apparent glorification of crime and dubious morality. Some of the episodes were temporarily banned, but these bans were retracted after a personal appeal from Musidora.


title: Les Vampires

text: A 7-volume novelization of "Les Vampires" by Feuillade and George Meirs was published in 1916 by Tallandier (as 4 paperbacks followed by 3 magazine-size issues).


title: Les Vampires

text: Early advertising for "Les Vampires" was done mysteriously; in November 1915, the walls of Paris were plastered with street posters that depicted three masked faces with a question mark as a noose, and the questions "Qui? Quoi? Quand? Où…?" ("Who? What? When? Where…?") to advertise the first two episodes (released on the same day). Subsequent posters were made for the later episodes. The morning newspapers printed the following poem:


title: Les Vampires

text: Musidora saw a noticeable raise in her public profile after the film's release, becoming a star of French cinema. She was able to concentrate her career on directing and writing her own films. Édouard Mathé and Marcel Lévesque enjoyed lengthy film careers as a result of their performances. The three leads, as well as many other cast members, were re-cast by Feuillade to appear in his other serials such as "Judex", "Tih Minh", "Barrabas" and "Parisette".


title: Les Vampires

text: "Les Vampires", like other Feuillade crime serials, was generally despised by critics of the time. A reviewer for the magazine Hebdo-Film said: "That a man of talent, an artist, as the director of most of the great films which have been the success and glory of Gaumont, starts again to deal with this unhealthy genre [the crime film], obsolete and condemned by all people of taste, remains for me a real problem." Vilified by those who wished to elevate the cultural status of film in France, "Les Vampires" was criticised for being "old-fashioned and inartistic", lacking the artistry of films such as "The Birth of a Nation" by D. W. Griffith, also first released in 1915. Feuillade, conscious of his film's lack of appeal to critics, once said "A film is not a sermon nor a conference, even less a rebus, but a means to entertain the eyes and the spirit." However, it did receive some underground praise, French poets André Breton and Louis Aragon calling it "the reality of this century. Beyond fashion. Beyond taste."


title: Les Vampires

text: Since its original release, some critics, among them Richard Abel, Noël Burch, Francis Lacassin, Annette Michelson, and Richard Roud, have re-interpreted the film. It is now arguably Feuillade's most famous work, and his most critically revered. Rotten Tomatoes reports 96% among 23 critics. While Mathé and Lévesque as the leads have been called pallid and hammy respectively, many critics have praised Musidora for her performance, being described as acting with "voluptuous vitality". In 1987, film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum called it "one of the supreme delights of film." In 2003, "Slant Magazine" gave it four stars, calling it "remarkably attuned to the morality of the time" and "exhilarating". It also commented: "its Machiavellan reflection of a complacent bourgeois order on the brink of collapse makes this realist master-work". In a later review, for the 2012 Blu-ray Disc version, the magazine gave further praise to the film, commenting on the film's stripped down, proto-thriller execution, giving it a highly modern nature, as well as its surreal disorder, stating that at times "the film's fidelity to realism seems to halt in mid-somersault, with blood rushing to its brain." "Time Out" gave the film 5 stars, but did note that "if shown, as it often is, in one great unnatural marathon, it can be sheer torture."


title: Les Vampires

text: Glenn Erickson of DVD Savant gave a highly positive review, highlighting its graphic approach to sensuality and violence. Jamie S. Rich of DVD Talk also gave a positive review, summarizing that ""Les Vampires" is a real treat. It's pulp fiction brought to life on a cinema screen, [with] over six hours of colorful criminals, wooden do-gooders, and outrageous acts of malice and evil." He also added, however, that the length of the film and out-dated aesthetics are the film's downfall. Josh Hurtado of Twitch Film called it a "six and a half hour joyride of thrilling cinema," while Sean Axmaker, writing for Turner Classic Movies called it "a strange and wonderful masterpiece of elegant beauty and cinematic surprises." Rianne Hill Soriano of Yahoo! Movies said that "for its historical and cinematic contexts as one of the most instrumental works in the evolution of filmmaking both as an art form and an industry, "Les Vampires" is a valuable addition to a cinephile's movie collection."


title: Les Vampires

text: In 2002, the film came out joint 30th on the "Sight and Sound" 'Critics' Top Ten Poll' and 78th on "The Village Voice"s '250 Best Films of the 20th Century' list. In 2010, The Guardian named it the 25th "Greatest Horror Film of All Time". It is included in the books "AFI Desk Reference", "National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films", "1000 Essential Films", "The Village Voice Film Guide" and "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die".


title: Les Vampires

text: The film is said to have established the genre of crime thriller, creating cinematic thriller techniques used later by Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang. The use of gadgetry such as cannons and bombs was also adopted by Lang in films such as "Dr. Mabuse the Gambler" and "The Spiders". It is also said to have inspired experimental filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel and French New Wave directors such as Alain Resnais and Georges Franju. Some have called it an early example of a gangster film.


title: Les Vampires

text: Olivier Assayas' 1996 movie "Irma Vep", with a story line of a director's attempt to remake "Les Vampires", is both an homage to the innovative nature of the original film and a critique of the then current state of French cinema. In 2022, this was remade as an American miniseries by Assayas himself. The play "The Mystery of Irma Vep" is also inspired by the film, as is the Brazilian adaptation "Irma Vep – She's Back!"


title: Les Vampires

text: "Les Vampires" is referenced in the 1974 French film "Celine and Julie Go Boating", where the title characters dress in costumes resembling Irma Vep's black bodysuit, and the 2009 war film "Inglourious Basterds", where advertising posters can be seen in an office. The début self-titled album by American punk group Black Lips features an image of Irma Vep as the album cover. French electronic music duo Château Flight released a soundtrack to the film in 2006.


title: Les Vampires

text: In Kim Newman's "" story collection, Professor Moriarty is portrayed as dealing with "Les Vampires" several times. He provides them with a skull purported to be that of Napoleon Bonaparte, intended for use as a drinking vessel.


title: Les Vampires

text: On 16 May 2000, the film was released on DVD in the US by Image Entertainment on two discs, with music by Robert Israel. Additional features to this version are the short films "For the Children" (a wartime fundraiser starring the cast of "Les Vampires") and "Bout de Zan and the Shirker" (a comedy featuring René Poyen), as well as a supplementary essay on the film "The Public Is My Master" by Fabrice Zagury. Gaumont released a special French restored edition on 22 March 2006. Containing 4 discs, it also includes a documentary on Feuillade titled "Louis Feuillade at Work", a featurette on the serial's restoration and a 32-page booklet. On 24 March 2008 Artificial Eye released a 3 disc UK edition, which includes five short films and a new musical accompaniment by Éric le Guen. On 14 August 2012 a Blu-ray Disc version was released by Kino International on two discs, remastered from the Cinémathèque Française 35mm film restoration, with a musical score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and a trailer for "Fantômas".


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: The 1995–96 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth season of the competition, since its formation in 1992. Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the Premier League from 22 to 20, only two clubs were promoted instead of the usual three, Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Manchester United won the Premier League and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, while Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United qualified for the UEFA Cup. Liverpool also qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as runners-up of the FA Cup which was won by Manchester United.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Liverpool and Aston Villa emerged as possible title contenders early in the season, while Middlesbrough's early promise saw them occupy fourth place in late October, but an injury crisis saw their league form slump, and they could only manage a 12th-place finish. Most of the campaign was a two-horse race between Manchester United and Newcastle United. The two sides played on 27 December, with Newcastle 10 points ahead in the league. A 2–0 home win for Manchester United cut the gap to seven points, and two days later they beat Queens Park Rangers 2–1 to reduce the gap to just four points. But a 4–1 defeat at Tottenham on New Year's Day and a 0–0 draw with Aston Villa allowed Newcastle to establish a 12-point lead in January.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Manchester United and Newcastle met again in early March, and a goal by Eric Cantona gave Manchester United a 1–0 away win and cut the gap to a single point. With one game left of the season, Manchester United led the Premier League by two points, having taken lead of the league halfway through March and stayed on top ever since. In case of the two clubs being tied for first place, the Premier League made preliminary preparations for a championship play-off match at Wembley. For Newcastle to win their first title since 1927, they had to win against Tottenham and hope that Middlesbrough beat their Mancunian rivals. But the Premier League title went to Old Trafford as Manchester United won 3–0 and Newcastle could only manage a 1–1 draw with Tottenham.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Despite the arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal never looked like serious title challengers, their best chance of success coming in the League Cup, where they reached the semi-finals, losing on away goals to Aston Villa. However, the North London side still qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fifth.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Aston Villa won the Coca-Cola sponsored League Cup competition this season, beating Leeds United 3–0 at Wembley.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Title holders Blackburn recorded the lowest ever finish by a Premier League title-holder by finishing 7th. This record was matched by Manchester United in 2013–14 and broken by Chelsea in 2015–16 and again by Leicester City in 2016–17.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Six days after clinching their third league title in four seasons, Manchester United became the first team to complete a second league championship and FA Cup double when a Cantona goal gave them a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup final.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: The Premier League relegation places went to Bolton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City. Bolton had spent a large proportion of their first Premier League season bottom of the table. Manchester City failed to beat Liverpool on the final day of the season, consigning them to the final relegation place on goal difference behind Southampton and Coventry City.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Blackburn Rovers, the 1994–95 Premier League champions, finished bottom of their group in the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the first round, with Liverpool and Leeds United both being knocked out at the second round. Everton were beaten in the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The only English team still in European competition after Christmas were Nottingham Forest, who reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.


title: 1995–96 FA Premier League

text: Twenty teams competed in the league – the top eighteen teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers, returning to the top flight after two and fifteen years respectively. This was also Bolton's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, ending their top flight spells of one, nine, one and three years respectively.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Dodge Avenger is a front-wheel drive, mid-sized sedan that was marketed by Dodge. The Avenger made its North American debut in 1994 for the 1995 model year as a coupe that was produced until 2000. The model name was reintroduced to the market as a four-door sports sedan starting in 2007 for the 2008 model year.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The 2014 model year marked the end of Avenger production as the mid-sized models for both the Dodge and Chrysler brands were consolidated into the new Chrysler 200 introduced for the 2015 model year while Dodge received the new compact Dart.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Introduced as a two-door sedan but called a coupe in North America, the Dodge Avenger was built from 1994 until 2000 in a similar size and price class as the Dodge Daytona, which was discontinued in February 1993.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Avenger, along with the similar Chrysler Sebring sedan, was built by Diamond Star Motors (DSM), a joint venture between Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors, on a version of the Mitsubishi Galant platform (which also spawned the similar Mitsubishi Eclipse). Chrysler sold its equity stake to Mitsubishi in 1993, and Diamond-Star Motors was renamed Mitsubishi Motors Manufacturing America (MMMA) on July 1, 1995. Avengers and Sebring coupes built from 1994 until 1996 both have DSM markings in their engine compartments.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Avenger was built on a wheelbase and used either a 2.0 L inline-four engine (the Chrysler 420A) or a Mitsubishi-designed 2.5 L V6. The four-cylinder was coupled to either a five-speed manual transmission, shared with the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon, or a four-speed automatic. The V6 engine was only available with the A604 automatic transmission. The Avengers featured a fully independent double wishbone suspension and variable-speed rack-and-pinion steering.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: A DOHC 16-valve 2.0 L I4 engine (140 hp, of torque) is standard. A SOHC 24-valve 2.5 L V6 engine and an automatic transmission (155 hp, of torque) are made optional on the ES. Fog lamps and ABS are optional on the ES.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Power and torque ratings for the V6 are increased (163 horsepower, . torque), and the ES coupes had new seat fabric.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Standard were 16-inch wheels and the license plate was moved from the decklid to the rear bumper. The front and rear fasciae were redesigned. A Sport model was introduced (in addition to the base and ES). The Avenger Sport package consisted of exclusive 16-inch aluminum wheels and a body-color spoiler. This appearance package was available on the base model.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: A body-color rear spoiler, P215/50HR17 tires, and 17-inch cast-aluminum wheels were added for the ES. The V6 is also standard for the ES, as well as rear disc brakes.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: An on-board recycling vapor recovery system, "cafe latte" exterior color, and a black and gray interior color combination are added.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Next-generation driver and front passenger airbags are added, as well as a new exterior color: Shark Blue. The V6 engine and automatic transmission are standard on all models in mid-year, as well as several options. An antilock braking system (ABS) was used in all ES models until 1999.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: In 2000, the V6 and automatic transmission combination were made standard on all Avengers, and ABS was made an "option" for ES models. The four-cylinder engine was no longer available. Standard features that had previously been optional included power windows and locks. Base models added cruise control and 4-wheel disc brakes. The ES coupes now come with standard leather upholstery, keyless remote entry, and a power driver's seat.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The coupe did not achieve high sales numbers, so in 2000, the Avenger was discontinued. It was replaced by the Dodge Stratus coupe for 2001. This model was also made at the former Diamond Star plant by Mitsubishi, using the Eclipse platform and architecture, though the Stratus sedan was engineered and built by Chrysler.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Dodge Avenger nameplate was reused in February 2007 as a 2008 model year sedan to replace the Dodge Stratus, whose coupe version had replaced the original Avenger in 2001.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Like its Dodge Journey stablemate, the Avenger's exterior was styled by Chrysler's Ryan Nagode. The interior was styled by Ben S. Chang.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Avenger was officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on September 28, 2006, as a concept car. It was launched in Europe and was sold in the United Kingdom, filling a gap in the Chrysler range that was left by the Neon's demise four years earlier. It was also launched in Australia, although with only the 2.4 L engine. The Avenger was discontinued in that market in 2010 due to slow sales. The 2007-2014 models were sold in New Zealand.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: In the US, the Avenger was launched with a 30-second television advertisement, "Tuned Up", that debuted Sunday, March 4, 2007, during NHL hockey, an ad in which a lab technician discovers he can play "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple on the Avenger's transmission. Another television spot likened the Avenger to the "superhero" vehicle for the everyman, depicting a driver piloting his Avenger through Gotham-like streets and alleys, speaking to the MyGig entertainment system in distinctly Batman-reminiscent tones, to arrive home, pull into a two-car garage, and open the rear door to a sleeping child in the rear car seat.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: According to some reports, the Avenger, along with the redesigned Chrysler Sebring, shares a DaimlerChrysler/Mitsubishi Motors platform called JS, which used the Mitsubishi GS as a starting point. The base engine in the SE and SXT trim levels were the 2.4 L GEMA I4 naturally aspirated "World Engine", a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai. Additional engines included an optional 2.7 L V6 in the SXT and a standard 3.5 L V6 in the R/T trim level. In addition to the 2.4 L World Engine and the V6s, export vehicles were offered with the 2.0 L naturally aspirated World Engine, as well as a 2.0 L turbocharged diesel (Pumpe-Düse) made by Volkswagen. As a 2008 model, the Dodge Avenger came to showrooms in February 2007.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Features on the new Avenger included optional heated/cooled cup holders and Dodge's new "Chill Zone", a feature that comes standard on all Avenger models, which can store up to four 12-US-fl oz cans in the glove box and chill them to 40°F.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Avenger competed directly with the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fusion, with the 2007 and later Chrysler Sebring being aimed at the higher-priced American cars such as the Mercury Milan, Pontiac G6, and Saturn Aura.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: In the 2009 model year, like its Caliber, Charger, Grand Caravan, Journey, and Nitro models, the "AVENGER" badge at the trunk lid's left was repositioned to the right side to make way for "DODGE" at the left.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Following Fiat's takeover of Chrysler Group, marketing of the Avenger was discontinued in the United Kingdom, but sales continued in the Republic of Ireland and Western Europe until late 2009. This new version continued with SE and SXT trim levels and is not badged the same way as North American or the South American versions, although sales continued there until late 2009 following Fiat's takeover of Chrysler Group.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: For the 2011 model year, the Avenger received its first major overhaul since its 2008 reintroduction. Exterior changes include slightly revised sheet metal with a new crosshair grille displaying the new Dodge logo on the lower right corner of the grille, a sleeker bumper cut design, and standard LED combination taillights. Changes to the interior are more noticeable with a completely redesigned dashboard and instrument panel featuring an available 6.5-inch navigation/media center screen. Higher-quality soft-touch plastics for dashboard, door, and trim panels replace the old materials, which were criticized for their poor fit and finish quality, as well as being unpleasant to the touch. The seats receive better cushioning and higher-grade upholstery. Two-tone interior color combinations were available.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: Mechanically, the 2011 Avenger came standard with the existing 2.4 L GEMA I4, although it was now paired with a six-speed automatic, as well as the option of the previous four-speed. Also available was the new 3.6 L "Pentastar" V6, which generates and of torque. The suspension was revised to improve handling and ride quality. Trim level designations were replaced by Express, Mainstreet, Lux, and Heat models.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Dodge Avenger was ranked the "Most American Made" sedan by the American University's Kogod School of Business 2013 Made in America Auto Index.<ref name="kogodnow.com/autoindex/"></ref> The Dodge Avenger also has an overall rating of 6.7.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The 2008 through 2013 Avenger, also sold as the Chrysler Sebring from 2008 until 2010, and the Chrysler 200 from 2011 through 2013, received an overall "Good" rating by the IIHS indicating no significant injuries. In the small overlap test, the car received an overall "Acceptable" rating due to marginal dummy kinematics and slight intrusion into the passenger compartment. In the side test, the Avenger earns a "Good" rating, however, rib fractures would be possible for the driver. In the roof strength evaluation, it earns a "Good" rating, as well as its head restraints and seats.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Avenger earned the "Top Safety Pick" award in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 as well as earned the "Top Safety Pick+" award in 2013.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The discontinuation of the Dodge Avenger was announced by the automaker in early 2014, along with the end of the Chrysler 200 convertible model. The final 2014 model year Avengers were produced during first quarter 2014.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The first-generation Dodge Avenger body style was widely used in the National Hot Rod Association and earned the most prominence driven by Darrell Alderman and Scott Geoffrion from 1994 until 2000 as the "Dodge Boys".


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The coupe was used for the 1994 and 1995 incarnations of the International Race of Champions. Although Dodge was IROC's car of choice since 1990, Dodge dropped out of this racing series after the 1995 season.


title: Dodge Avenger

text: The Avenger replaced the Charger as Dodge's car for the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season. It appeared in Dodge Avenger grille, headlights, and taillights as the standard "spec" Car of Tomorrow (CoT) model. It got its first win with former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Newport is an American brand of menthol cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The brand was originally named for the seaport of Newport, Rhode Island.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Newport was launched in 1957 by the Lorillard Tobacco Company. The cigarette originated within Ireland and was introduced to the culture mostly for the male drinkers of the time. The spinnaker present on all packs since the late 1950s is meant to capitalize on the association with sailing.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: The original Newport had a white filter and a hint of mint; both were gone in 1969 and thus the white filter was replaced by a standard filter. The Newport Classic full flavor cigarettes were promoted for many years as a cigarette that allows you to ""Enjoy a full flavor menthol, without drowning out pure tobacco taste"".


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In the mid-1980s, Newport began an advertising campaign that targeted African Americans in urban areas. In two years, Newport became the fifth most popular cigarette on the market. Because of this, Newport has gained a commanding share of the African-American market; a 2005 survey stated that 49.5% of all cigarette sales to African-Americans were Newport cigarettes. Newport has been the second best-selling cigarette brand in the United States since 1996, trailing only Altria's Marlboro brand.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: A 2004 study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that the percentage of teen Newport smokers doubled between 1989 and 1996. Researcher Karen Gerlach indicated that Newport made the most significant progress with the Hispanic and White American teen markets in those years. A 1998 Massachusetts Department of Public Health report indicated that Newport's alongside unfiltered Camel cigarettes contained the highest levels of nicotine in cigarettes on the market. In the following six years, Lorillard Tobacco increased the amount of nicotine in Newport by 10%.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In 2015, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company acquired Newport and the entire Lorillard Tobacco Company for $27.4 billion. Until June 2016, ITG Brands continued to make Newport's for Reynolds in the former Lorillard plant in Greensboro, North Carolina.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Newport comprises about 35 percent of menthol cigarette sales in the U.S. It has been the most popular mentholated cigarette brand sold in the United States since 1993.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Lorillard advertised Newport in various ways. TV advertisements were created in the 1960s to promote the brand.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Once TV advertisements were banned in the United States, Lorillard advertised the brand through poster advertisements. The Newport ads in this theme range from 1980 to present day and feature the ""Newport Pleasure"" or ""Alive with Pleasure"" campaign slogans. The latter slogan provides the viewer with a subconscious health claim. Additionally, the pleasure aspect of these campaigns weighs an important part of youth targeting, portraying Newport cigarettes as fun and enjoyable and, subconsciously, sexy and sexual.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Newport is mainly sold in the United States, but also was or still is sold in Antigua, British Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Finland and Singapore.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: A lawsuit against the Lorillard Tobacco Company alleged that in the late 1960s, company vans were used to make regular trips to housing projects where free Newport cigarettes were given to children.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Evidence showed that the deceased plaintiff died of lung cancer, but that she started smoking at age nine after receiving free Newport cigarettes near the black playground in Boston.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld $35 million of damages against Lorillard Tobacco Company while reversing other issues of damages.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Lorillard increased its African American market budget by 87% over 1968 due to increased efforts marketing its menthol cigarette, Newport, to the African American market. Government surveys in 2011 revealed that menthol cigarettes dominated 30% of the overall market, and over 80% of black smokers prefer menthol as opposed to 22% of non-Hispanic white smokers. In 2016, it was reported that Newport was the brand of choice for nearly 60% of black smokers.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In September 2016, it was reported that R.J. Reynolds was specifically targeting black teenagers and young adults to sell Newport cigarettes.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Reynolds American Inc., the parent firm that owns Newport, was pushing the brand on people in their 20s — with pop-ups at music festivals like Las Vegas' Electric Daisy Carnival, a notorious destination for teen-partiers, which was recently pressured to raise its age requirements. Dubbed ""Newport Pleasure Lounges"", the air-conditioned party trucks were replete with games like digital darts. Newport's could be purchased in these lounges for $1 per pack. Reynolds had set aside $50 million for such initiatives in 2016.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine had discovered that menthol cigarette manufacturers created very direct marketing campaigns designed to attract young black smokers. Far from being a catchall effort, Reuters says these campaigns were concerted attacks on African-American teens: ""A recent analysis of the data found school neighborhoods were increasingly likely to have lower prices and more advertising for Newport cigarettes as the proportion of African-American students rose. The same was true of neighborhoods with higher proportions of children aged 10 to 17.""


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In May 2010, a report was written where the popular sport shoe company Nike copied the Swoosh logo from Newport. The comparison was made, because Newport was introduced in 1957 and used a logo they call the ""spinnaker"", while Nike was formed on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. in 1978. The Nike swoosh is a logo design created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, over a decade after Newport cigarettes were launched.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In 2006, Lorillard and Nike sued graphic designer Ari Saal Forman after he released his Ari Menthol 10s shoes, which combined the design of the Nike Air Force 1 with Newport's spinnaker and colors. According to Forman, the shoes were "dedicated to the two brands who have taken the most and given the least." As a result of the lawsuit, Forman is not legally allowed to own a pair of Menthol 10s.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In December 2016, it was reported that R.J. Reynolds would start selling marijuana cigarettes called ""Newport Nirvana"".


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: However, Newport did not develop marijuana cigarettes which would be available for purchase in 2017. In November 2016, a site called "TMZWorldNews" published an article reporting that the cigarette brand Newport planned to introduce marijuana cigarettes dubbed the ""Newport Nirvana"". However, Snopes reported that "TMZWorldNews" is a fake news website appropriating the combined brandings of popular gossip site "TMZ" and the national newscast "ABC World News Tonight". None included a disclaimer warning readers its content consisted entirely of falsehoods.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Newport cigarettes come in several varieties: Full Flavor, Medium, and Lights. In the United States, in June 2010, "Medium" and "Lights" were re-branded into "Blue" and "Gold" respectively. On the box, the words "Menthol Box" for shorts and "Menthol Box 100s" for 100s were replaced simply with "Cigarettes." Each variety is sold in 85mm soft packs (king size), 80mm hard packs (box), and 100mm soft and hard packs. They are available in standard packs of 20 cigarettes, as well as the more unusual 25s, containing 25 cigarettes. Prior to the signing of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in the late 1990s, they were sold in packs of ten as well.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Due to the FDA Tobacco Regulations, the terms "Full Flavor," "Medium," "Light," "Mild" and "Ultra-Light" have been discontinued. New names for Newport Cigarettes are as follows:


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: Non-menthol Newport in Full Flavor and Lights were sold in United States during the mid- to late 1990s, possibly as late as 2002; however, they were discontinued until November 2010 in which they re-released them in order to keep up with the non-menthol cigarette smokers in America. The packs are identical in design to standard menthol Newports except the turquoise-colored area is red on the Full Flavors and mustard-yellow on the Lights. Newport Slim 120s (introduced 1998), Newport "Stripes" and Newport "M-Blend" were other varieties that have also been discontinued.


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In some Latin American markets, such as tourist areas of the Dominican Republic, British American Tobacco has released some limited edition varieties and outer packaging's including:


title: Newport (cigarette)

text: In July 2017, R.J. Reynolds announced they would introduce new flavors called Newport Platinum. It would be released in two variants: Newport Platinum (King Size and 100s) and Newport Platinum Blue (also King Size and 100s).


title: Jemima Rooper

text: Jemima Rooper (born 24 October 1981) is a British actress. Having started as a child actress in television series, she has appeared in numerous film and theatre roles.


title: Jemima Rooper

text: Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea and the Godolphin and Latymer School. While working on "The Famous Five", she passed eight GCSEs with A* and A grades. From there she went to MPW sixth form college where she got three A-grade A levels. Rooper bought her first home at the age of 19.


title: Jemima Rooper

text: Rooper expressed a wish to be an actress at the age of nine and contacted an agent. Her first professional roles were in the 1993 film "The Higher Mortals" and the 1994 film "Willie's War". In 1996, she appeared in all episodes as George in Enid Blyton's "The Famous Five".


title: Jemima Rooper

text: After several small roles in British TV series, Jemima took the role of Nicki Sutton in the popular Channel 4 teenage series "As If", which successfully ran for three years. Her next appearance was in the supernatural drama "Hex" where she played a lovable lesbian ghost named Thelma. "Hex" aired on Sky One and ran for two series between 2004 and 2005.


title: Jemima Rooper

text: Rooper made her Hollywood debut in "The Black Dahlia". In 2008 she starred in the TV series "Lost in Austen" In 2013 she played a role as Medusa in "Atlantis (TV series)". Also guest starred in "Agatha Christie's Poirot". She also played a lead role in "Her Naked Skin", a new play at the National Theatre. In December 2010, Rooper was cast in the musical "Me and My Girl" at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, alongside Miriam Margolyes. Having been featured in films including "The Railway Children," "A Sound of Thunder", "Kinky Boots", "One Chance" and "The F Word" (as the on-screen sister of Daniel Radcliffe's character) since 2003, she has since appeared in numerous guest roles on British series including "Father Brown".


title: Jemima Rooper

text: Rooper was seen on stage in "One Man, Two Guvnors", which was favourably reviewed. She has since appeared in "Blithe Spirit" and "Breeders" in the West End.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2014.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: "Columba decaocto" was the scientific name proposed by the Hungarian naturalist Imre Frivaldszky in 1838 who described a Eurasian collared dove. The type locality is Plovdiv in Bulgaria. It is now placed in genus "Streptopelia" that was introduced in 1855 by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The Burmese collared dove ("S. xanthocycla") was formerly considered a subspecies of the Eurasian collared dove, but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021. Two other subspecies were formerly sometimes accepted, "S. d. stoliczkae" from Turkestan in central Asia and "S. d. intercedens" from southern India and Sri Lanka. They are now considered junior synonyms of the nominate subspecies ("S. d. decaocto").


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The Eurasian collared dove is closely related to the Sunda collared dove of Southeast Asia and the African collared dove of Sub-Saharan Africa, forming a superspecies with these. Identification from the African collared dove is very difficult with silent birds, with the African species being marginally smaller and paler, but the calls are very distinct, a soft purring in the African collared dove quite unlike the Eurasian collared dove's cooing.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: the specific epithet is Greek for "eighteen". The number comes from a Greek myth. A maid who worked hard for little money was unhappy that she was only paid 18 coins a year and begged the gods to let the world know how little she was rewarded by her mistress. Thereupon Zeus created this dove that has called out "Deca-octo" ever since.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: It is a medium-sized dove, distinctly smaller than the wood pigeon, similar in length to a rock pigeon but slimmer and longer-tailed, and slightly larger than the related European turtle dove, with an average length of from tip of beak to tip of tail, with a wingspan of , and a weight of . It is grey-buff to pinkish-grey overall, a little darker above than below, with a blue-grey underwing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey and tipped white below; the outer tail feathers are also tipped whitish above. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is red, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown iris can be seen around the black pupil. The eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow. The two sexes are virtually indistinguishable; juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris. The subspecies "S. d. xanthocycla" differs in having yellow rather than white eye-rings, darker grey on the head and the underparts a slightly darker pink.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The song is a "goo-GOO-goo". The Eurasian collared dove also makes a harsh loud screeching call lasting about two seconds, particularly in flight just before landing. A rough way to describe the screeching sound is a "hah-hah."


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: Eurasian collared doves cooing in early spring are sometimes mistakenly reported as the calls of early-arriving common cuckoos and, as such, a mistaken sign of spring's return.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The Eurasian collared dove is not migratory, but is strongly dispersive. Over the last century, it has been one of the great colonisers of the bird world, travelling far beyond its native range to colonise colder countries, becoming a permanent resident in several of them. Its original range at the end of the 19th century was warm temperate and subtropical Asia from Turkey east to southern China and south through India to Sri Lanka. In 1838 it was reported in Bulgaria, but not until the 20th century did it expand across Europe, appearing in parts of the Balkans between 1900 and 1920, and then spreading rapidly northwest, reaching Germany in 1945, Great Britain by 1953 (breeding for the first time in 1956), Ireland in 1959, and the Faroe Islands in the early 1970s. Subsequent spread was 'sideways' from this fast northwestern spread, reaching northeast to north of the Arctic Circle in Norway and east to the Ural Mountains in Russia, and southwest to the Canary Islands and northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt, by the end of the 20th century. In the east of its range, it has also spread northeast to most of central and northern China, and locally (probably introduced) in Japan. It has also reached Iceland as a vagrant (41 records up to 2006), but has not colonised successfully there.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: In 1974, fewer than 50 Eurasian collared doves escaped captivity in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas. From the Bahamas, the species spread to Florida, and is now found in nearly every state in the U.S. as well as in Mexico. In Arkansas (the United States), the species was recorded first in 1989 and since then has grown in numbers and is now present in 42 of 75 counties in the state. It spread from the southeastern corner of the state in 1997 to the northwestern corner in five years, covering a distance of about at a rate of per year. This is more than double the rate of per year observed in Europe. As of 2012, few negative impacts have been demonstrated in Florida, where the species is most prolific. However, the species is known as an aggressive competitor and there is concern that as populations continue to grow, native birds will be out-competed by the invaders. However, one study found that Eurasian collared doves are not more aggressive or competitive than native mourning doves, despite similar dietary preferences.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: Population growth has ceased in areas where the species has long been established, such as Florida, and in these regions recent observations suggest the population is in decline. The population is still growing exponentially in areas of more recent introduction: up to 2015, the Eurasian collared dove experienced a greater than 1.5% yearly population increase throughout nearly the entirety of its North American range. Carrying capacities appear to be highest in areas with higher temperatures and intermediate levels of development, such as suburban areas and some agricultural areas.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: While the spread of disease to native species has not been recorded in a study, Eurasian collared doves are known carriers of the parasite "Trichomonas gallinae" as well as pigeon paramyxovirus type 1. Both "Trichomonas gallinae" and pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 can spread to native birds via commingling at feeders and by consumption of doves by predators. Pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 is an emergent disease and has the potential to affect domestic poultry, making the Eurasian collared dove a threat to not only native biodiversity, but a possible economic threat as well.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: Eurasian collared doves typically breed close to human habitation wherever food resources are abundant and there are trees for nesting; almost all nests are within of inhabited buildings. The female lays two white eggs in a stick nest, which she incubates during the night and which the male incubates during the day. Incubation lasts between 14 and 18 days, with the young fledging after 15 to 19 days. Breeding occurs throughout the year when abundant food is available, though only rarely in winter in areas with cold winters such as northeastern Europe. Three to four broods per year is common, although up to six broods in a year has been recorded. Eurasian collared doves are a monogamous species, and share parental duties when caring for young.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The male's mating display is a ritual flight, which, as with many other pigeons, consists of a rapid, near-vertical climb to height followed by a long glide downward in a circle, with the wings held below the body in an inverted "V" shape. At all other times, flight is typically direct using fast and clipped wing beats and without use of gliding.


title: Eurasian collared dove

text: The Eurasian collared dove is not wary and often feeds very close to human habitation, including visiting bird tables; the largest populations are typically found around farms where spilt grain is frequent around grain stores or where livestock are fed. It is a gregarious species and sizeable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain (its main food) as well as seeds, shoots and insects. Flocks most commonly number between 10 and 50, but flocks of up to 10,000 have been recorded.


title: Iván Duque

text: Iván Duque Márquez (; born 1 August 1976) is a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the president of Colombia from 2018 to 2022. He was elected as the candidate from the Democratic Centre Party in the 2018 Colombian presidential election. Backed by his mentor, former president and powerful senator Alvaro Uribe, he was elected despite having been relatively unknown a year before the election. He ran on a platform that included opposing Juan Manuel Santos' peace agreement with the FARC guerilla group. After Duque's term came to an end, he was succeeded by Gustavo Petro on 7 August 2022, after Petro won the runoff round in the 2022 Colombian presidential election.


title: Iván Duque

text: Duque was born in Bogotá to a wealthy political family originally from the Colombian town of Gómez Plata, Antioquia. He is the son of Juliana Márquez Tono (political scientist) (1950–) and Iván Duque Escobar (1937–2016), a powerful local political leader who was Governor of Antioquia, auditor in the United Nations, Minister of Mines and Energy, and head of the National Registry of Civil Status in the Government of Andrés Pastrana. Duque's siblings are Andrés and María Paula Duque.