Fun with Religion and Trick Photography

The Temptation of St. Anthony (1898)
Starring: Georges Méliès and Jeahanne d'Alcy
Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Spirits try to make St. Athony (Méliès) to give into lustful, and even blasphemous, desires.

I've seen "The Temptation of St. Anthony" described as the first religious film. I don't know if that is factually accurate, but given the innovative filmmaker who made it, as well as the time at which it was made, it makes sense. 

Although this is one of Georges Méliès' early films, and he was still perfecting his techniques, it is also among his best. The pacing is perfect and the trick photography involving spirits appearing and disappearing is very well done. The bit where Christ is replaced on the cross by one of the tempting spirits is particularly impressive--and I can only imagine what the reaction of audiences must have been ca. 1900.

This is one of the best Méliès pieces I've seen yet--and if all religious films were as much fun as this, they'd be more popular both with their target audience and the population at large. There are only two things that make me give it a rating of a Low Nine, and one may just amount to nit-picking.

First--and most nitpicky--while I love the excitement and enjoyment of creation that oozes from every frame of many of these early Méliès films, actress Jeahanne d'Alcy (as the primary spirit trying to lead St. Anthony astray) almost seems to be having too good a time. She got such a big grin on her face at times that it seems like she's trying keep from laughing. It runs a little contrary to the whole temptress role that she is playing.

Second, as the film comes to a close, I feel that it's unclear exactly where the spirits that were tempting St. Anthony came from. My natural assumption is that they were evil in nature, but the final few moments of the film seem to indicate they may well have been angelic in nature. While Divine Mysteries are all fine and good, I'm not a fan of them in movies, not even religious ones.

How about you take a minute--because that's about all it will take--to watch "The Temptation of St. Anthony" and let me know what you think. Were angels trying to set up the pious man, or was he staving off demons? It's embedded below, right here in this post.