A lady (Carl) walks through town, unaware that her beauty and all the distracted men are causing chaos in her wake.
The teaser summary above pretty much sums up the entirety of "A Very Fine Lady", aside from a little bit of business at the end when the cops step into restore order in an amusing way.
This straight-forward film has withstood the passage of time exceptionally well, with all of its jokes working as well now, more than 110 years later, than they did when the film was made. Take a few minutes to brighten your day by checking it out.
(Heck, this film could even do with a remake--it's been a while since Benny Hill remade it on a near-weekly basis!)
A traveler rents a room already inhabited by a playful demon. It turns out that there truly is no rest for the wicked, as the imp does not appreciate having a roommate.
"The Black Imp" shares many similar elements as "The Apparition", which was made and released in 1903. First, both have hotel guests who is tormented by a supernatural being. Second, said victims are deserving of the torment, because they both sexually harasses the hotel maid. Third, both guests at first seem unfazed by objects and people teleporting about, transforming and appearing or disappearing in the room. (As I said in my review of "The Apparition", France of early 20th century must have been a very different place than it is today.)
All in all, "The Black Imp" feels like a remake of "The Apparition", with Melies applying lessons learned since 1903 and getting more elaborate with the stop-motion effects and other trick photography methods. Comparing the two films is interesting, as well as fun, as they are near-plotless vehicles for showing off Melies' exploration of cinematic magic--and the joy of creation and discovery of special effects techniques is palpable.
Once "The Black Imp" gets going, it's a non-stop sequence of rapid-fire effect shots, including a very impressive bit where the hotel guest suddenly finds himself in midair and then plummets to the floor. The effects are so seamless that I wonder how Melies pulled it off... and it made me wonder why he didn't use a similar technique in later films to, for example cause the Moon Maiden in "The Dream of an Opium Fiend" (1908), Having the Moon Maiden float from her perch to the floor instead of using a step ladder would have been much more impressive.
I've embedded "The Black Imp" below. If you have five minutes, you should check it out. The acting is a bit hammy (to put it mildly) but even though it's 115 years old, it's lots of fun and the special effects are impressive.
The Dream of an Opium Fiend (1908) Starriing: Jeanne d'Alcy and an otherwise anonymous cast
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
An upper-class drug addict's opium-enduced fantasy turns bizarre and nightmarish.
"The Dream of an Opium Fiend" is one Georges Méliès many "dream sequence" films. Although I prefer the ones where it's unclear if what's happening is a dream or if the main character has been transported to a weird world or is being visited by supernatural beings, I still rank this one among the best of this particular type of Méliès. The trick photography is expertly executed, the mechanical effects are excellently done, and the acting is hilarious. The storyline of the dream is both funny and frightening, something that's befitting of it being a drug-induced hallucination.
I might have given this film a Nine or even a Ten rating if not for the odd choice of having the beer-stealing Moon Maid descend from her perch on a step ladder instead of by floating. The sudden appearance of the ladder is amusing, but I feel like her descent would have been more impactful if it had taken place through less mundane means.
If you've liked other Méliès films I've written about and featured here on the blog, I think you'll like this one, too. As usual, it's embedded below. It ends rather suddenly, so I think what's survived to this day is missing whatever the original ending was. Still, it's an enjoyable few minutes.
Here's a little flick from the cinematic special effects pioneer Georges Méliès that may help you get in the proper mood this Halloween season!
The Monster (1903)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
A necromancer in Ancient Egypt shows off to a friend, summoning spirits and restoring life and beautiful youth woman who's long been dead.
"The Monster" is one of hundreds of showcases that Georges Melies made for his brand of cinematic wizardry during the early years of filmmaking. At roughly two-and-a-half minutes in length, this is an uncomplicated film, but it features some impressive (for the time) and well-executed special effects, and a nice little twist at the end.
(If you've seen several other of Melie's films, there won't be many surprises here, but if you're a fan of his work, you'll still enjoy yourself.)
Check out "The Monster" right here, in this post, embedded below via YouTube.
Pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès was making special-effects laden fantasy films and horror comedies when most of his contemporaries could barely conceive of using film for anything but documentary purposes. The film I'm offering as Halloween warm-up viewing today sees him deploying nearly his entire bag of tricks in a three-minute supernatural romp.
The Apparition (aka "The Ghost and the Candle") (1903)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
A lecherous old man (Méliès) gropes a maid and is subsequently haunted by a vengeful female ghost.
This is another one of those Méliès films where too much blather from me will ruin the fun of watching it, so all I'll say is that the early 20th century must have been a very different time than today, since the main character in this short film isn't phased by a candle that moves on its own, nor seems to find a woman solidifying from a cloud of smoke strange at all.
But why don't you take a few minutes to watch "The Apparition"? It's bound to put a smile on your face while getting you ready for the tricks and treats that are coming our way later this month!
The Genii of Fire (1908) Starring: Anonymous Actors Director: Georges Méliès Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
In ancient Persia, a wealthy couple trespasses in a temple for the worship of fire genies... and are punished for it.
"The Genii of Fire" is another great fantasy film from Georges Méliès, a guy who was making better movies before they'd even been fully invented than most filmmakers working today. He had been making these short films for over a decade at this point, and it shows.
In this film, Méliès stages complex scenes involving a dozen actors interacting with each other as well as facilitating the film's effects which are a mix of the now-expected appearing and disappearing creatures and items, with some very nice pyrotechnics thrown in. It's rare that I am impressed with performances from actors in a Méliès film, but here we have an exception. While there are a few moments of what I assume is unintentional comedy, we are also treated to a bit where the cultists arrive in the temple, find the couple checking it out, and have an absolutely hilarious "what the hell are these two idiots doing here?" reaction. What makes the reaction funny is that it is subtle--there's none of the over--emoting or mugging or any of the typical early silent movie "acting techniques" but just good, solid acting.
"The Genii of Fire" would be a solid Ten if Méliès had come up with a better way to end it. On the one hand, it's nice to see some honest-to-God story structure since so many of his films are, at best, vignettes, but on the other hand... well, I don't want to spoil anything for those who rightly take a few minutes to watch this great little film.
Starring: Georges Méliès and Jeahanne d'Alcy Director: Georges Méliès Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
The accidental decapitation of an evil cook (Méliès) is only the beginning...
A couple weeks ago, I posted about "The Temptation of St. Anthony", a film that has been described as the first religious movie. Upon watching "The Cook's Revenge", from the same filmmaker, I wonder if he can also be credited with making the first straight-up horror movie?
Georges Méliès was the first filmmaker to recognize the medium's use for telling fantastic stories and creating scenes and events that could not be created without the use of various forms of trick photography. Severed heads that continue to talk (or otherwise behave in bizarre ways) was a mainstay in many of his films, but I've yet to see any of them be quite as gruesome and horrific as what we have in the film embedded below.
What do you think? Is this film that opens with a cook trying to force his sexual attentions upon a waitress and ends with a brutal murder the first horror film? It's surreal and darkly comedic, as are many of Méliès's films, but the action here is something that would be perfectly at home in one of the "Evil Dead" films or series episodes. It's not even a minute long, so how about your check it out below and tell me what you think, either in the comments section, or on my Facebook page.
(aka "The Mysterious Retort" and "The Alchemist and the Demon") (1906)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
An aged mystic (Méliès) drifts off to sleep in his workshop, and his magic still malfunctions and creates spirits--but not the kind you drink.
"Parafaragamus the Alchemist, or The Infernal Horn" is one of the many fantasy shorts that Georges Méliès created during the first decade of the 20th century to showcase his groundbreaking cinematic special effects. It's not the best example of his work--what little story we have here doesn't make a lot of sense, and he did better and more elaborate effects in films--but it only runs roughly three-and-a-half minutes, so it's okay for what it is. (The overall message--mess with the demons, you'll get the horns--but there's not much else going on... except perhaps for the clever bit where Melies shows that something good MIGHT have come from the experiment if only the old man had been awake.)
Despite my negativity above, I do have say that like all of Méliès' fantasy-oriented shorts, it holds up better to modern sensibilities than do the ones where he's just replicating stage illusions, or using film to create elaborate magic tricks that would been impossible to do live on stage. I think the film is also remarkable in the way it manages to both be goofy and grim at the same time.
As is my habit with these silent shorts, I make them available for you watch in the same post as my review. While there may be better examples of Melies work out there, I think this one is still worth the few minutes of your day it will take you to watch it. (And if you disagree with my estimation, be sure to leave your your take on it in a comment below.)
The Crazy Composer (1906)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars
A composer suffering from a creative block is visited by Muses and other magical creatures that rekindle his creativity... or is he?
It may be over 100 years old, but I suspect more than a few of those of you out there who work in creative fields can relate to the "crazy composer" in this film. Heck, these days, we can probably all relate to this film's title character, in the sense that we're all going a little stir-crazy with the global pandemic keeping many of us housebound. It's even worse now that the weather is turning good in many places.
Another thing that makes me strongly recommend watching "A Crazy Composer" is that it's the best Méliès film that I've watched so far. The large cast of energetic dancers and musicians perform their bits with flawless precision, and the special effects trickery is so precisely executed that it's clear why Méliès is more than deserving of being called "The Father of SFX". As this film unfolds, the cast on screen keeps growing and the dance numbers keep getting more elaborate and funnier... and the execution remains flawless.
As good as the film itself is, the modern musical score that is featured in the version I've embedded below makes the viewing experience eve better. It's PERFECT and absolutely hilarious, and it proves that these films are so much better served when someone takes the time to actually score them instead of just using some random muzak trck.
I can't recommend "A Crazy Composer" strongly enough. Whether you're homebound, stuck working more than you'd like, or not working at all, due to the current global crisis, I think the four or so minutes you'll devote to this film will brighten the rest of your day tremendously.
The Devil's Money Bags (aka "The Treasures of Satan") (1902)
Starring: Uncredited
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
A burglar tries to steal sacks of money from an enchanted chest and pays dearly.
"The Devil's Money Bags" is another fun mini-fantasy film from pioneering special effects artist Georges Méliès. Like most of Méliès films, this one serves up some light-hearted fun with its photographic trickery... but unlike most of his films, this one takes a gruesome and downright terrifying turn at the end. Hell... this 100+ year-old movie is more chilling than a lot of horror movies that get made today.
Take a few minutes out of your day and check out this great little piece of horror film history, right now via the embedded YouTube vide below!
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.
Soap Bubbles (1906)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Come one, come all! Witness a performance by the magician (Méliès) who eschews smoke and mirrors in favor of smoke and bubbles!
"Soap Bubbles" is a straight-ahead showcase for Georges Méliès trick photography-created special effects. There's no narrative framework for the movie magic here, as the viewer is treated to a literal performance by a stage magician. I imagine that audiences in 1906 were awestruck by what they saw unfold on the screen, since special effects were still quite rare in films. For the modern viewer, this may be a little hokey, and if you've already seen several of Méliès's films there won't be any surprises here. Still, the effects hold up nicely, given that "Soap Bubbles" is over 110 years old, and there's really only one that I found myself disappointed with.
I invite you to take a few minutes to check out "Soap Bubbles" below, especially if you're new in these parts. Georges Méliès was a pioneer in the area of special effects, and I feel he deserved to be remembered and that movie lovers should continue to watch his work.
It may be 120 years old, but "How He Missed His Train" is as relevant and important as ever. After all, we've all had mornings like the poor fellow in the film, and we've all had to call into work with this exact explanation as to why we were going to be late. We have, haven't we? I can't be the only one...
How He Missed His Train (1900)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
(This is an impressive and hilarious bit of trick photography filmmaking from the father of special effects. It's both simple and complex and it's near-flawless in execution. Even better, I'm sure it's relatable to anyone who's gotten up on the "wrong side of the bed.")
The Grandmother's Story and the Child's Dream (aka "Grandmother's Story") (1908)
Starring: André Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Four of Ten Stars
An angel descends and whisks away a child (André Méliès) to a magical land of living toys and fairies. Or was it all a dream?
"The Grandmother's Story and the Child's Dream" (1908) is one of Georges Méliès lesser efforts. It's slow to get started, it's got sloppy blocking, and the trick photography is less precise than is the standard set by other films. I think the main problem here is that it was under-rehearsed, with its large cast not hitting their marks quite right and not standing still enough for Méliès in-camera special effects to work properly. That more rehearsal was needed also seems evident in how some of the fairies seem clumsy or listless, and how an adult actor yanks the "dreaming child" back to his mark in one scene.
It's a shame the performers in this film weren't steadier, because I like every idea present, I like the visualizations of the fairy-realm, and, other than the slow start, I appreciate that Méliès lets this film unfold at a less frenetic pace than many of his other works.
As always with these Méliès reviews, I encourage you to take a few mintues to check out the movie for yourself, right here in this post. You might find my take completely wrong--in which case I hope you'll let me know in a comment below.
The Christmas Dream (1901)
Starring: Uncredited Actors
Directed by Georges Méliès
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A child dreams about more than just fairies and sugar plums on Christmas Eve.
"The Christmas Dream" consists of a series scenes of Yuletide merriment and magic, as dreamed by a child. Some of them are standard Christmas scenes (such as church bells being rung and a sumptuous feast for rich nobles being shared with a beggar). some are variations on standard Christmas imagery (angels delivering presents by dropping them down chimneys, and dancing fairies magically turning a wintery landscape into a Christmas tree), and others are just plain strange (such as some sort of weird Christmas parade with Punch & Judy-style jesters and a line of can-can dancers; I think maybe it's the 12 Days of Christmas song brought to life, but I'm not sure).
There’s no plot to speak of in this film, just lots of Christmas cheer. For a Méliès film, it's also very light on special effects, with only a couple simple (compared to what he does in other films) tick photography shots. It's not his most remarkable work, but it's worth checking out if you're in the mood for something with a different sort of Christmas Spirit. What's more, you can watch it in this very post, by clicking below!
The "?" Motorist (1906)
Starring: Anonymous
Director: Walter R. Booth
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Then there was that time Harry Potter's great-grandparents took their newly enchanted automobile for a spin in Muggles territory...
At the dawn of the British film industry, there was basically only one person who was making sci-fi/fantasy movies... and that was Walter R. Booth. He made dozens of wild short films that were full of fantastic concepts, special effects, and characters speeding around in cars and aircraft, or, in the case of this film, cars that become aircraft.
In "The '?' Motorist", a couple out for a drive have a very literal run-in with a police officer. While attempting to escape pursuit, they drive their magical car up the side of a building, onto the clouds over the city, and... well, to more distant locales. It's a special-effects laden romp that is still lots of fun and surprising in its weirdness even though its more than 110 years since it was first released. While some of the effects are weak by modern standards (and may even have disappointed audiences in the day), it barely matters because of how extremely whacky the action is. The only real flaw in the film is a bizarre editing choice where a crash seems to happen twice, or scenes take place in a poorly thought-out order, but that could just as easily be an artifact of bad restoration as incompetent choices on the part of Booth. It's hard to tell with something this old.
"The '?' Motorist" is only one of a small handful of Booth's films that are known to survive to present day. I enjoyed this one so much that I will have to seek out the other remaining pictures and post about them here. In the meantime, I want to share my joy of discovery with all you, via YouTube, by embedding the complete film below. I hope you find Booth's film as entertaining as I did--for me, it was three minutes of pure fun!
The Sealed Room (1909)
Starring:Arthur V. Johnson, Marion Leonard, Henry B. Walthall, and Mary Pickford
Director: D.W. Griffith
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
When the king (Johnson) discovers his queen (Leonard) is using the room he had built for their private enjoyment to carry on with a bard (Walthall), he vents his hurt and anger in an extreme way.
"The Sealed Room" is a short film loosely based on (or, perhaps more accurately, inspired by) Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado". It's a nicely done chiller, with the story being told almost entirely through miming and action, with intertitles only being used to establish context. There are a couple points that are are pounded home with heavy hammer blows where a tap would have been sufficient, but, overall, we've got just the right amount of emoting going on here to get the message across.
One thing I found particularly entertaining about this film was that there were bits of business going on, aside from the main action in a scene, that were crucial in setting up things that followed. (The queens affair with the bard, for example, is established almost immediately... as well as how brazenly they carry it on. But it happens quickly, and it's in a scene where the viewer's main focus is on the king.) I also appreciated the comedic elements in the film, since they were also very subtle.
And I absolutely adore the way the scenes are framed. They feel very much like they are Flemish paintings brought to life.
Director D.W. Griffith was one of the pioneers of cinema, and he is best known for his feature length works. However, I am finding that I like his short films far better. I've embedded "The Sealed Room" in this post, so you can check it out for yourself... whether you want to put on your Film Snob Hat, or just get in a Halloween sort of mood. I think this film serves either purpose equally!
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Starring: Justus Barnes, Gilbert 'Broncho Billy 'Anderson, George Barnes, Mary Snow, and Tom London
Director: Edwin S. Porter
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
A gang of murderous outlaws successfully rob a train, but are later pursued by an equally blood-thirsty possee.
"The Great Train Robbery" is one of those "historically important" films that anyone but scholars and critics or the hardest of the hardcore film buffs "need" to see. While I have been aware of the film since at least my days as a wee film student in college, I don't recall actually watching it before now. So... have I missed much?
Well, yes and no.
In the "no" department, the film has all the exaggerated, hyped up gestures by the actors that make early silent movies (and bad late ones) so hilarious to watch. (There isn't a lot of that here, but there's enough to make me chuckle when I should be feeling shocked ) I am also not sure I accept the notion that this was the "first narrative film", but maybe years of writing roleplaying game scenarios has lowered the bar in mind as to what qualifies as a narrative; To my eye, there seems to be just as much of a structured plot in "The Astronomer's Dream" from 1898 as there is in this film.
On the "yes" side, I think it's safe to say that this is the first Western movie, and there are a number of tropes that we find here for the first time. From a pure entertainment perspective, the action is also very fluid and holds up nicely... and there's a level of violence that I found startling--shocking even--for a film of this age. In fact, the action--the prelude to and the train robbery itself, the posse chasing the bandits, and the climactic shoot-out--are all so well-staged and filmed that the ten minutes spent watching this movie seem a fraction of even that short time span.
If you are into silent movies--or just well-made films in general--I highly recommend you take ten minutes out of your day to watch "The Great Train Robbery. There are many versions it available for viewing on YouTube and elsewhere, but the one I've chosen to imbed in this post features an excellent original musical score by Andreas Brink.
By the way, you'll notice shocks of color while watching this. These have apparently been present on the film since the earliest releases. For me, some of these were very effective while others were more distracting than mood-enhancing for me.
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