I really like the effects that Georges Melies created and his use of editing scenes together, like in his film An Impossible Voyage, where the footage of the train (a lifesize set) splices with a scene that uses a model. I also really like the super imposed shots like the rocket ship landing in the eye of the face in the moon in A Trip to the Moon (pictured above). This has become an iconic image and Melies' style of sets, which are almost like backgrounds in an animation film, have inspired a lot of subsequent films, and even music videos. For example, this video by The Smashing Pumpkins for their song Tonight Tonight is a direct tribute to the work and style of Melies:
Georges Melies was also the subject of Martin Scorsese's Oscar winning movie Hugo, which (with a little artistic licence) tells the story of how a young boy discovers the past of the man who runs a toy stall at a train station in Paris. This man turns out to be Georges Melies. It is a beautifully shot film, very much in keeping with the fantastical world that Melies tried to create with his own films. In Hugo there are scenes portraying Melies working on his films. One of the extras that feature on my DVD of Hugo is an interesting film The Cinemagician: Georges Melies. This recounts the career of Melies and shows excerpts from Melies' films along with interviews with his great-great-granddaughter, and people involved with the film Hugo.
There is a really interesting Official website dedicated to Melies at: http://www.melies.eu/English.html
There are lots of other websites that feature articles on Melies. The following article is taken from earlycinema.com website:
Maries Georges Jean Méliès was born in Paris in 1861 and from a very early age he showed a particular interest in the arts which led, as a boy, to a place at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where Méliès showed particular interest in stage design and puppetry.
In 1884, Méliès continued his studies abroad, in London at the request of his parents - they insisted he learn English after which they intended him to work at his father’s footwear business. While in London, he developed a keen interest in stage conjury after witnessing the work of Maskelyne and Cooke.
On his return to Paris he worked at his father’s
factory and took over as manager when his father retired.
His position meant that he was able to raise enough money
to buy the famous Theatre Robert Houdin when it was put up
for sale in 1888.
From that point on Méliès worked
full time as a theatrical showman whose performances revolved
around magic and illusionist techniques which he studied while
in London as well as working on his own tricks.
When the Lumière brothers unveiled their Cinématographe
to the public on December 28 1895 Méliès was
a member of the audience. What he witnessed clearly had a
profound effect upon him. After the show he approached the
Lumière Brothers with a view to buying their machine - they
turned him down.
Determined to investigate moving pictures, Méliès
sought out Robert Paul in London and viewed his camera - projector
building his own, soon afterwards. He was able to present
his first film screening on April 4th 1896.
Méliès began by screening other
peoples films - mainly those made for the Kinetoscope but
within months he was making and showing his own work, his
first films being one reel, one shot views lasting about a
minute.
Méliès’ principle contribution
to cinema was the combination of traditional theatrical elements
to motion pictures - he sought to present spectacles of a
kind not possible in live theatre.
In the Autumn of 1896, an event occurred which
has since passed into film folklore and changed the way Méliès
looked at filmmaking. Whilst filming a simple street scene,
Méliès camera jammed and it took him a few seconds
to rectify the problem. Thinking no more about the incident,
Méliès processed the film and was struck by
the effect such a incident had on the scene - objects suddenly
appeared, disappeared or were transformed into other objects.
Méliès discovered from this incident
that cinema had the capacity for manipulating and distorting
time and space. He expanded upon his initial ideas and devised
some complex special effects.
He pioneered the first double exposure (La caverne
Maudite, 1898), the first split screen with performers acting
opposite themselves (Un Homme de tete, 1898), and the first
dissolve (Cendrillon, 1899).
Méliès tackled a wide range of
subjects as well as the fantasy films usually associated with
him, including advertising films and serious dramas. He was
also one of the first filmmakers to present nudity on screen
with “Apres le Bal”.
Faced with a shrinking market once the novelty
of his films began to wear off, Méliès abandoned
film production in 1912. In 1915 he was forced to turn his
innovative studio into a Variety Theatre and resumed his pre-film
career as a Showman.
In 1923 he was declared bankrupt and his beloved
Theatre Robert Houdin was demolished. Méliès
almost disappeared into obscurity until the late 1920’s when
his substantial contribution to cinema was recognised by the
French and he was presented with the Legion of Honour and
given a rent free apartment where he spent the remaining years
of his life.
Georges Méliès died in 1938 after
making over five hundred films in total - financing, directing,
photographing and starring in nearly every one.
Melies, Inspiration and Illusions - http://www.classichorror.free-online.co.uk/TML/melies.htm
Georges Melies A Biography: http://www.aclassicmovieblog.com/2012/04/georges-melies-brief-biography.html
No comments:
Post a Comment