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Ballerinas in Hell: A Georges Melies Album

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The subtitle of this unusual DVD is "A Georges Melies Album", and it contains an hour's worth of short silent films which, despite now being 100 years old, is as surprising, fascinating and fresh as if it were brand new. Frenchman Georges Melies was a true pioneer of early cinema, forging ahead in his own direction and laying the foundation for fantasy, science fiction and special effects in films. Already very artistic as a child, he later became absorbed in theatrical magic shows late in the 19th century, and when fellow Frenchmen, the famous Lumiere brothers, produced some of the first short moving pictures, Melies was quick to adapt his talents for art and magic to this new medium. He even made his own camera to suit his needs and ideas for the type of magic tricks he wanted to capture on film. His early films often looked like stage shows with the added element of special effects made possible with camera and film. They are very busy, with elaborate and detailed backdrops, props and actors who are always moving and doing things, often dressed as imps, wizards, fairies or other fanciful beings. Melies designed the artwork, wrote the script, produced and supervised, and usually played a lead role in the dozens of short films he made early last century, which is already something to admire in itself. The tricks and special effects are nearly as seamless and perfectly choreographed as today's effects, and while they are basic and simple compared to our day, they still make for fascinating and enjoyable viewing. While there is little actual story to follow, the viewer is more captivated by the constantly active visual display in each film, not in the least also due to the overall unfamiliar look (to us today) which might seem strange and bizarre to some viewers at first. It also helps to keep in mind the age of the films, what kind of theatrical shows were common at that time, and how Melies paved the way for many film makers to follow.

The films on this DVD are not the very best of his work, but they do contain a few special items such as his most famous film, "A Trip to the Moon" a 1902 Sci-Fi with backdrops and props you might find in an old-fashioned fairytale book. There are two films with hand-painted color, giving it an unusual washed-out watercolor look, and most of the 8 films on this DVD are currently not available elsewhere. For anyone not familiar with Melies or early cinema, however, I'd recommend "Landmarks of Early Film Vol 2, The Magic of Melies" on the Image Entertainment label which features nearly 20 films in much better quality, including a nice introductory documentary on Melies. In comparison, "Ballerinas in Hell" does not have the same good, clear picture quality, and the few title cards in some of the films are in original French with no English subtitles. Overall, the quality is not too bad though, especially considering the age of the films. For the serious early film enthusiast and collector of Melies's work this DVD will be a treat, but otherwise I'd recommend the aforementioned Image DVD instead.