Thursday, April 9, 2020

A man gets his due 'In the Witch's Home'

In the Witch's Home (aka "The Bachelor's Paradise") (1901)
Starring: Uncredited Actors
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating:  Seven of Ten Stars

A wealthy man pays a witch to create the perfect woman for him.


"In the Witch's Home" is another of pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès trick-photography showcases. Unlike some of this other films, which are just about showing off special effects illusions, this one provides a plot along with the movie magic.

Story-wise, Méliès covered this same ground in 1900's "The Wizard, the Prince, and the Good Fairy", but, while the cinematic trickery in that one was focused on clothing transforming and characters appearing and disappearing in-frame, this one is built around a centerpiece of one woman turning into several, with a couple of very effective physical transformations thrown in at the end. This film is less chaotic in its execution than Méliès's previous similar effort, and the effects are also more convincing. Additionally, the ending to this one is more satisfying to 21st Century viewers.

You can watch "The Bachelor's Paradise" right here, embedded below via YouTube.




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