Georges Méliès
- Directing
- December 8, 1861 · Paris, France
- January 21, 1938
Biography
Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 - January 21, 1938), full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French illusionist and filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. One of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, tracking shots, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his work, Méliès pioneered effects that would define cinematic special effects for decades to come. A prolific innovator in the use of special effects, Méliès accidentally discovered the substitution stop trick in 1896, a method of creating seamless disappearing and/or appearing effects used throughout both films and television for decades to come. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality through cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the first "Cinemagician". Two of his best-known films are A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904). Both stories involve strange, surreal voyages, somewhat in the style of Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early science fiction films, though their approach is closer to fantasy. Méliès was also an early pioneer of horror cinema, which can be traced back to his Le Manoir du diable (1896). In early 1909 Méliès stopped making films to protest Thomas Edison's Motion Pictures Parents Company monopoly, and presided over the first meeting of the International Filmmakers Congress in Paris. Further financial hardships created by his opposition to Edison and diminishing influence, Méliès disappeared from public life. By the mid-1920s he made a meager living as a candy and toy salesma in Paris, with the assistance of funds collected by other filmmakers. Although he was recognized for his contributions in cinema, Méliès spent most of his later years in poverty before being accepted into La Maison du Retraite du Cinéma, the film industry's retirement home in Orly.
Known for
Filmography
- Satans Sacrilegious Saga · Devil
- Alcoléa & cie Documentary
- Méliès: Tales of Terror · The Melomaniac, Director
- The Méliès Mystery · Self
- El hombre que quiso ser Segundo · Self
- The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès · Self
- The Extraordinary Voyage · Self
- Georges Méliès: The First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) · Various Roles, Director
- The Magic of Méliès · Self / Various Roles (archive footage)
- Cinematógrafo 1900 · Self
- ORG · Thanks
- Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma · Self
- Violons d'Ingres · Self, Additional Photography
- Gala Méliès · Self, Director
- The Voyage of M. Bourrichon · Director
- The Knight of the Snow · Devil, Director
- Cinderella or The Glass Slipper · Prince's Messenger, Director
- The Conquest of the Pole · Le professeur Mabouloff, Screenplay
- The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen · Director
- The Diabolical Church Window · Director
- Hypnotist's Revenge · Director
- Whimsical Illusions · The Magician, Screenplay
- The Diabolic Tenant · Le locataire diabolique, Producer
- The Spider and the Butterfly · Director
- The Doctor's Secret · Director
- The Living Doll · Director
- The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess · Director
- Pharmaceutical Hallucinations · Director
- The Fortune Favors the Brave · Gnome, Director
- Moitié de polka · Director
- The Fairy Dragonfly · Director
- Incident from Don Quixote · Director
- The Duke's Good Joke · Director
- A Tricky Painter’s Fate · Director
- Honeymoon in a Balloon · Director
- The Wonderful Charm · Director
- The Old Footlight Favorite · Director
- The Helping Hand · Director
- Grandmother's Tale and Child's Dream · Director
- The Magic of Catchy Songs · Director
- Fun With the Bridal Party · Director
- French Cops Learning English · The Police Inspector, Director
- Two Talented Vagabonds · Director
- Les infortunes des patineurs · Passerby, Director
- Oriental Black Art · Director
- The Hotel Mix-Up · Director
- Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler · The Roman, Director
- Two Crazy Bugs · Director
- The Indian Sorcerer · The Fakir, Director
- Les malheurs d'un photographe · Director
- His First Job · Director
- The Forester's Remedy · Director
- The Mystery of the Garrison · Director
- Not Guilty · The Old Farmer, Director
- Buncoed Stage Johnnie · Director
- Mishaps of the New York-Paris Auto Race · Director
- A Love Tragedy in Spain · Director
- The Little Peace Maker · Director
- Hunting the Teddy Bear · Director
- The Broken Violin · Director
- Up-to-Date Clothes Cleaning · Director
- Pranks With a Fake Python · Director
- Sideshow Wrestlers · Director, Writer
- The Miser · Director
- The New Lord of the Village · Le fantôme de César, Director
- Why That Actor Was Late · Director
- Why That Actor Was Late · Director
- Curiosity Punished · Director
- A Fake Diamond Swindler · Director
- A Lover's Hazing · Director
- A Mistaken Identity · Director
- In the Barber Shop · Director
- The Prophetess of Thebes · Director
- Long Distance Wireless Photography · Director
- A Night With Masqueraders in Paris · Director
- The Dream of an Opium Fiend · Director
- The Genii of Fire · Director
- Justinian's Human Torches · Director
- Humanity Through the Ages · Director
- Excursion to the Moon · Original Film Writer