Customer Reviews

Melies the Magician

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I hate complain when anyone bothers to release rarities has enjoyable as George Melies collections, but the images are too tightly cropped! There looks to be about a 20-25% picture loss on these prints compared to the Blackhawk Films prints or even the Kino Melies DVD I own. I've never seen the explorers in Trip To The Moon climb into the rocket off screen!? It's a great collection, the documentary is very good, and I still think it's worth owning, but I don't get the framing which will probably bug anyone who has seen these films elsewhere.

I bought this DVD because I am a fan of silent era films and especially people like Melies and Winsor McCay. Sadly though, this DVD is utterly ruined. Someone thought it was a good idea to super-impose a gawd-awful white logo in the lower left hand side of the film, creating a distraction and a nuisance. I recommend against buying this DVD because it will encourage others to pull this nonsense. Would you like to see a beautiful restoration of Star Wars with a nasty Lucasfilms logo on top of it??? Didn't think so.

This DVD seems to have missed its target audience completely. The biography of Melies, designed for those not familiar with his work, is far too long to hold the interest of a casual viewer. The dramatized format of the DVD and the presentation of the films in the context of a story, however, will seem obtrusive to anyone who has bought this for the original documents. The only saving grace is that 15 of Melies' films are captured in a way which reminds the viewer exactly why Melies was such a genius. The lack of technology available forced him to manipulate film to create optical illusions, whereas the modern day Steven Spielbergs and James Camerons can simply send their works off to multimillion dollar digital editing studios. Melies background as a magician is apparrent, because he uses many of the tricks he learned in the theater to make films which can only be described as magical. If you're a fan of silent films or the avante-garde, then by all means pick this up. However, if you have only a cursory interest in the genre, then you may want to spend your money elsewhere.

Personally, I enjoyed this DVD, especially the rare Melies color films. A joy to watch. Also his very early film with his four heads talking on a table. The color tinted films are quite delightful too.

As for the narration, Melies granddaughter (whose voice you hear) made it clear that in the days before titles were used in silents, people like Melies verbally narrated the action in such films to their audiences. Gives you a kind of "you are there" feel.

But in either case, lovers of Disney and fantasy films in general should flock to this, as Meleis was the grand master who strarted it all. Great to watch with kids too (aside from the hanging scene in "Blue Beard").

While history books about cinema praise Melies for his innovations, his films are quite hard to find. There are not a lot of collections out there, but this is probably the best one (to at least start with) because it gives a wider variety of Melies' films than David Shepard's Landmarks of Early Film Vol. 2 DVD (the picture quality is better on that disc, but it seems that other than a few exceptions, it only targets the 'conjuring' films - great films, poor variety). Melies the Magician showcases his narratives, conjuring, and 'gag' filmshas a 2 hour documentary as well, and a highlight of that is all the clips from films not included in this DVD.

The films on this set are well restored, and look very good. They are presented as if we are in the audience watching a festival, which can be a bit annoying, but overall, the films are well shown.

The cropping, as mentioned before, is a pain. There are better editions of some of these films out there.

The documentary is a puzzler. It is REALLY well done, and covers a lot of ground. It leaves nothing out. And perhaps that is why I can't get though it without falling asleep. It's interesting, it's fascinating, it's well done, and it's a sleep aid for me. Odd.

Georges Melies was truly a pioneer of movie special effects. A magician, artist, musician, producer, director, and actor, Melies made over 500 short films from the late 1890s to the early 1900s, all of them containing fantastic trick effects that are still eye-popping. Efforts like FOUR TROUBLESOME HEADS (1898), THE ONE-MAN BAND (1900), A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902), and THE MUSIC LOVER (1903) burst with giddy invention and infectious charm.

MELIES THE MAGICIAN is a 1997 documentary that celebrates his life and art and details the impact he had on the movie industry worldwide; it's a perfect introduction to the work of this influential French filmmaker. MELIES' MAGIC SHOW presents 15 restored Melies films that give evidence to the range of his amazing accomplishments. For serious film buffs and historians, this is a must-see collection.

Georges Melies was a 50-year-old boy caught up in magic, splendor, and fantasy. A one-time Paris magician, he saw the Lumiere Bros. first early flicks and fell in love. With Film. This very excellent documentary explores Melies joys and tortures. One of the earliest film pioneers, his cinema genius introduced the stop-motion, animation, and trick photography years before anyone else. This DVD includes 15 complete films(some in beautiful color), narration by his French fans(including relatives), and a splendid documentary with ancient 35mm cameras and props. A true work of love, the DVD explains how greed and negligence allowed this classic artist to fail and drop into poverty. Rescued by French film societies, Melies was restored to prominence and allowed to retire in luxury. A man who maybe saved the early film industry from failure, Melies is really only appreciated by his home country of France today. No wonder. His film production career was stalled and damaged by American movie piracy and the demonic Edison trust. A must-see for any genuine cinephile.

I'm very new to the silent film experience. This collection was a good introduction for me, firstly because of the diverse array of films by Melies. Secondly, because of the not so subtle side narratives, for a newcomer this eased the transition to silent film. But, I can see how someone who is accustomed to Melies work, and life could be bothered by the narration. All in all, it is a good introduction.

All I can tell is that the documentary is boring, and the form how the short films are articulated with the structure of the presentation makes me wanna cry, because for starting, the short films are played with the voice of an old lady who's explaining the film (i believe i can understand it by myself), and this voice over is un-remouvable. And the editor sometimes puts plans of the pianist playing, letting me the impression that film has not passed completely. The only thing good is the films of this visionaire.