Artful magic... or is it magical art?

The Drawing Lesson (aka "The Living Statue") (1903)
Starring: Jehanne d'Alcy and Georges Méliès

Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A sorcerer (Melies) causes chaos during a life-drawing class.

"The Drawing Lesson" is a fun visual romp from Georges Melies, a stage magician turned filmmaker who pioneered a whole host of special effects and film editing mainstays. We are treated to a mixture of two of the most common elements in his film--sorcery and/or stage magic performed via the wonders of in-camera editing and doube-exposure, and a setting that feels like a fairy tale come to life.

If this is the first Georges Melies film you have seen, it's an excellent introduction to his work. Take a couple minutes to check it out. If you like quirky, comedic short films, I am certain you will enjoy it.

How do you cage the devil? Apparently, you don't....

Satan in Prison (1907)
Starring: Georges Méliès and Jehanne d'Alcy
Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

After being imprisoned in an empty room for his many evils, Satan (Méliès) uses magic to improve his conditions of confinement.

 

I have a new favorite Georges Méliès film. This one has a story, is energetic and lots of fun... and, given the techniques that Georges Méliès was working with, the effects are amazing. (For those may not know,  Méliès was a stage magician turned filmmaker. He was one of the very first to make extensive use of special effects in his films--in fact, building them pretty much to show off cinematic trickery and illusions. Without his work, the big-budget superhero extravaganzas everyone loves so much, would not exist.)

In addition to being a fun romp, almost every trick photography and illusion-created-via-editing is pretty much seamless and better and more believable than a lot of new-fangled digital effects that you'll see in contemporary films made with less care and enthusiasm for both the creative process and entertaining the audience. 

But don't just take my word for it. Take five minutes and watch this fun flick right now by clicking below. I looked at several different versions available on YouTube for embedding in this post and I went with the one that was most complete and with the sharpest visual quality. It does not have a music soundtrack, however, so if you prefer your silent movies without complete silence, you should watch this version.

Use the Melies Method to never again be lonely!

Over 120 years ago, French filmmaker and showman Georges Méliès discovered the perfect way to stave off loneliness and to make sure you could have companionship any time and anywhere. He used the emerging technology of film to record his methods and share them with the world for all time.

Study Méliès methods as he demonstrates them in this short video. If you master them, you will never be lonely again, no matter what! Méliès demonstrates not just one, not just two, but three methods by which you can create company from thin air, in the comfort of your own home/prison during the next Covid lockdown!

The Duplicate Illusionist and the Living Head (aka "The Triple Conjurer") (1900)
Starring: Georges Méliès and Jehanne d'Alcy
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

(In all seriousness, "The Duplicate Illusionist and the Living Head" is one of Georges Méliès best "performance" shorts. I always prefer those of his films that have a bit more plot to them instead of ones that are little more than showcases for his at-the-time cutting edge and dazzling special effects. This one, though, has effects that are so smoothly done and so alive with Méliès's creativity and exuberance that it's impossible not to love it. (I am sure you fell in love with it, too, if you spent the minute or so it lasts. Let me know! (Also, if you DO master the technique of conjuring companions from thin air by watching this film, let me know that, too.)