Product Details

• Actors: Georges Méliès
• Directors: Georges Méliès
• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kino Video
• VHS Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303081037
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,200 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Decades before the term "special effects" was coined, audiences of the newborn cinema were witnessing spectacular screen illusions, courtesy of the medium's first master magician: Georges Méliès. The films collected on this disc offer an unparalled view of Méliès's career, introducing the viewer to the rich body of work that lies beyond A Trip to the Moon (1902), which is featured in Volume One of The Movies Begin.

Such films as The Eclipse (1907) and Long Distance Wireless Photography (1908) not only demonstrate Méliès's astounding employment of double exposure, makeup, editing, and theatrical trickery but provide mesmerizing insight into the social context of his work, which blended Victorian approaches to astronomy, superstition, and feminine beauty with the unnatural wonders of 20th century technology and heavy doses of slapstick. The centerpiece of the collection is The Impossible Voyage (1904), a fantastic tale of an around-the-world expedition, presented with the authentic frame-by-frame hand-coloring and narration penned by Méliès himself.

Georges Méliès: Cinema Magician is a documentary on the filmmaker's life, integrating rare photographs, early drawings, and numerous clips, charting his rise from shoe factory worker to proprietor of Paris's mystical Théatre Robert-Houdin, where Méliès learned the skills to become a cinematic illusionist and developed an interest in the supernatural, exquisitely represented in The Mysterious Retort (1906) and The Black Imp (1905). 103 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific artist -- poor business man, June 20, 2007

By 

V. N. Dvornychenko (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Movies Begin, Vol. 4 - The Magic of Méliès [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video provides 14 shorts created by Georges Melies between about 1904 and 1914. Conspicuously absent is his most famous work, "Trip to the Moon" ("Le Voyage dans la Lune") of 1902. However, this last work is contained in other, easily available, anthologies.



The selections presented show several aspects of Melies's work:

1) His love of slapstick

2) His fascination with magic and fantasy, and

3) His interest in science fiction.



Melies manages to combine all three in the following works found in this anthology:

1) The Eclipse

2) Long Distance Wireless Photography

3) The Impossible Voyage



The first depicts an eclipse of the sun, albeit presented in a highly suggestive manner. The second is of interest as one of the earliest depictions of television. It turns out that Melies's television has a mind of its own, as well as incorporating elements of Star Trek's holodeck and teleporter.



The "Impossible Voyage" is the most ambitious of the three. It appears to have been inspired by Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days," though there is more fantasy here than science. It is hand-colored and thoroughly entertaining.

As the above shows, Melies had an abiding interest in science, especially astronomy, and science fiction. It is of interest to note that his scientists tend to be absent-minded, eccentric, and even buffoonish. They are unable to function without the help of down-to-earth assistants (e.g., telescope carriers). This is very reminiscent of Swift's "flappers" in the "La Puta" section of "Gulliver's Travels."



This anthology concludes with a fascinating biography of Georges Melies. Not only did he write and direct his movies, but he frequently starred in them. When he does appear in his movies his slapstick antics are so outrageous that it is difficult to associate them with the serious movie producer. Also, not well recognized is that he was an excellent graphic artist, especially a cartoonist.

Perhaps because of his artistic temperament, Melies went bankrupt in later life, had to cease his movie making, and ended his life in poverty.

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows the early days of modern day Video, July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Movies Begin, Vol. 4 - The Magic of Méliès [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Truely an exquisite masterpiece portraying the early days of full motion video.