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Irma Vep (1996)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 35
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 2,698

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Movie Info

Written and directed by Olivier Assayas, Irma Vep tells the story of has-been French filmmaker Ren� Vidal (Jean-Pierre L�aud). In an attempt to reinvigorate his career, Vidal decides to remake Les Vampires, the classic silent serial featuring the adventures of jewel thief Irma Vep. Playing herself, actress Maggie Cheung is cast as the lead, joining Vidal on a chaotic set where he gets little respect from the rest of the cast and crew. Speaking no French, Cheung finds herself fending off the

Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Directed By: Olivier Assayas , Olivier Assauas

Written By: Olivier Assayas

In Theaters: Sep 28, 1996 Wide

On DVD: Mar 31, 1998

Cast

Maggie Cheung
Maggie
Jean-Pierre L�aud
Rene Vidal
Nathalie Richard
Zoe
Antoine Basler
Journalist Who Loves Jo...
Lou Castel
Jose Mirano
Arsin�e Khanjian
American Woman
Philippe Landoulsi
Inspector
Jacques Fieschi
Roland
Fran�oise-Renaud Labarthe
TV Cameraman
Bulle Ogier
Mireille
Guy-Patrick Sainderi
TV Dignitary
Alex Descas
Desormeaux
Pierre Amzallag
Emergency Doctor
Fran�oise Clavel
Rene's Wife
Filip Forgeau
Camera Operator
Francoise Guglielmi
pr
Nathalie Boutefeu
Laure
Dominique Faysse
Maite
Maryel Ferraud
Make-up Woman
Smail Mekki
Kermor Unit Manager
Jessica Doyle
Jessica Roland's Friend
Estelle Larrivaz
Switchboard Operator
Olivier Torres
Ferdinand Moreno
Balthazar Cl�menti
Robert Assistant
Lara Cowez
Script Supervisor
Dominique Cuny
Grip
Sandra Faure
Sex Shop Salesperson
Catherine Ferny
Policewoman
Nicolas Giraudin
Unit Manager
Val�rie Guy
Valérie In Mireille's ...
Odile Horion
Zoé's Assistant, Zo�'s...
Laurent Jacquet
Electrician
Bernard Kissile
Markus
Alain Martin
Boy At "Café Des Oisea...
Willy Martin
Bellboy
Maurice Najman
Maurice Roland's Friend
Yann Richard
Kevin
J�r�me Simonin
Property Man
Alexandra Yonnet
Lili Markus' Friend
Natalie Richard

Critic Reviews for Irma Vep

All Critics (35) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (3) | DVD (6)

Irma Vep's director, Olivier Assayas, evinces a love of the process that's nearly as palpable as Truffaut's.

March 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Slate

| Comment

David Edelstein

Slate

Top Critic

Slender but appealing.

March 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

David Rooney

Variety

Top Critic

Minor but witty.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top Critic

As effortless as a shrug and boasts a film buff's dream cast.

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

A film of such spontaneity, freshness and breezy chaos that you feel as if it were assembled from happy accidents and inspired, seat-of- the-pants improvisation.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Edward Guthmann

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Scripted in ten days and shot in less than a month, the film unravels like a delirious piece of automatic writing, though in this case the sinister implications apply to a very different world -- our own.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Light, playful, and self-reflexive, Assayas' film is a mi or work but it's enjoyable and boasts a graceful performance from Maggie Cheung.

August 1, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Alternately dreamy and scratchy, Assayas's meta-satire still beguiles.

January 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

Slant Magazine

The post-modern compulsions on display here may bring movies together, but they also keep people apart.

January 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

Slant Magazine

A wonderful tribute to filmmaking that could only be made in France, it has delightful performances and a low-budget style -- like the film it parodies -- which work beautifully.

March 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

A delightfully nonchalant movie, complete with some nice satirical barbs aimed at contemporary French film culture, and fine performances throughout.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Amusing satire on French cinema and the insanity that is filmmaking.

October 14, 2005 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com

| Comment

Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

We just love to make movies about movies to deconstruct them, to see what's behind them.

March 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Cheung, slinking around the corridors of her hotel in her sheath of shiny black latex to the dissonant chords of Sonic Youth, is an instant icon of everything cool.

July 30, 2003 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

Ken Fox

TV Guide's Movie Guide

Like many French products, it's quirky but not all it's cracked up to be.

May 13, 2003 Comment

Hollywood Bitchslap

One of the few movies about making movies that captures the kinetic madness of the process. Maggie Cheung, playing herself, floats like a bemused Buddha through the maelstrom, offering a welcome sense of grace and normalcy.

April 30, 2003 Comment

Andrea Chase

Killer Movie Reviews

Love of film is the magical point of the film.

April 11, 2003 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Irma Vep

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Burned out new wave director, played by one-time Truffaut alter ego Jean-Pierre Léaud, decides to remake Louis Feuillade's french melodrama, Les Vampires, with the Hong Kong starlet Maggie Cheung as the black-latex-clad leader of a gang of jewel thieves.Amusing behind-the-scenes look at the French film industry

May 31, 2008

El Hombre Invisible

Super Reviewer

A movie about a failed movie that ends up being a failed movie...gee...what paradox. Save yourself an hour and thirty minutes and just skip to the 55 min mark which is the only worth while scene in the film; the lovely Maggie Cheung in a rainy, Blade Runner-esque rooftop scene. Other than her drop-dead gorgeousness and

July 1, 2010

Brett Warren

Super Reviewer

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