Georges Méliès

Lucifers fall from grace

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Upon a visit to UVM's Lane Series in the Spring of 2022, Jean-Francois Alcolea offered to conduct a workshop to UVM film students and others on his piece, "Right in the Eye". A group of students from FTS 141 Video Production, teamed up to document the day and Jean-Francios' magical performance. They all left with a smile.

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A compilation of three short trick films by Georges Méliès: El melómano (1903) (The Melomaniac aka The Music Lover)(1903), El monstruo (1903) (The Monster) (1903) and El verdugo turco (1904) (The Terrible Turkish Executioner) (1904).

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A documentary that details the process of restoring 270 of the 520 lost films of pioneering director Georges Méliès, all orchestrated by a Franco-American collaboration between Lobster Films, the National Film Center, and the Library of Congress.

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The extraordinary life of cinema pioneer Segundo de Chomón.

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A look back at the life, style and influences of the famed filmmaker Georges Méliès and an examination of his role in the story of "Hugo."

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An account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing story of the copy in color of his masterpiece A Trip to the Moon (1902), unexpectedly found in Spain and restored thanks to the heroic efforts of a group of true cinema lovers.

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A comprehensive landmark collection celebrating the foundational work of French illusionist and cinema pioneer Georges Méliès. Painstakingly assembled from archival holdings worldwide by film preservers Eric Lange and David Shepard, this 5-disc collection spans Méliès' entire cinematic career across 173 rare, original silent films—ranging from his debut, Playing Cards (Partie de cartes, 1896), to his final production, Voyage de la famille Bourrichon (1913). Showcasing masterpieces like A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune, 1902) alongside hand-tinted prints and special effects marvels, the set captures the birth of narrative trick photography, fantasy, and cinematic showmanship.

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A walk through the life and work of the brilliant French filmmaker Georges Méliès (1861-1938), pioneer of special and visual effects.

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Tribute to Segundo de Chomón. Semi-documentary featuring short films and appearances by actors who explain his works, such as Inma de Santis, Jesús Gúzman, and Ana Mariscal.

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Produced for television by Claude-Jean Philippe, the « Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma », recounts the history of French cinema from its birth to the beginning of the 1960s. With commentary read by Jean Rochefort.

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Shows hobbies of people who do an ordinary job in the day. Made for New York Fair.

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Lost in the streets of Paris, Georges Méliès is looking everywhere for the Salle Pleyel. On the wall he sees an enormous Gala poster bearing his picture. He dives head first into the poster.

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One of the last films Georges Méliès made. By now, he was under contract for his former rival Pathé, where he made a few of his most lavish productions, including this one. Here, Méliès performed in front of the camera as the Devil […]. His incarnation of Satan this time is a sprightly antagonist who kidnaps a princess by locking her in a cage and taking off through the sky in a dragon-pulled carriage. […]

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A science fantasy film that deals with an extraordinary race to the north pole by rival parties of balloonists. Based on the novel "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" by Jules Verne.

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Here we have an old scholar/alchemist brooding over a book, challenged by the devil, and going through the familiar sorcery to create a woman by throwing pieces of clothing against a stain-glass church window, like a jigsaw puzzle (and later in reverse). The woman also multiplies herself five-fold so as to match a similar paravent.

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In this hand-colored short, a magician and his assistant do a series of magic tricks, including making potted plants appear, among others. Melies played the magician, and the actor Manuel played his assistant.

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A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.

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Doctors blow to pieces a patient in a hydrotherapy machine and re-assemble him.

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A young boy's adventure takes him to the domain of the Genie of the Cathedral Bell, where he finds a fortune to enrich his family. The film is currently presumed lost.

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The seven-minute film takes place inside a classroom where some cops are learning English.

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The Merchant, the Farrier, and the Roman accompany a mysterious woman into a magical cave full of terrors and wonders.

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A sorcerer turns a small egg into a bigger one and keeps repeating this trick until the egg is large enough to do other things including delivering children.

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A group of people take roller skating too far.

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Three burglars invade a house, kill two people, and blind a third person, a woman. The police arrest the wrong man.

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There's a scene in a village, then there's a scene out in the wilderness with what appear to be gods, and a giant crab, and a giant frog... then there's another scene in the village... and that's it.

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One fine day at a barbershop that has stupid staff and very rude customers.

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Into a photography studio full of large fantastic machines steps an elderly couple. The bearded proprietor explains the equipment and gives them a demonstration: he starts machines whirring, and projects a painting of three women onto a large screen; suddenly the women begin to move. The customers are impressed. First the women sits in the special seat: she's projected onto the screen, and her good nature comes out in the laughing image. Then it's the man's turn, but the machine discloses a vastly different nature in him. Will his reaction threaten our proprietor's inventions?

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This film from George Melies is sadly one that's only available in fragments. The film starts off with a title card stating that a drunk man has just thrown his family out a window. We see a couple of them landing on the ground and then we go back to the room where the drunk is now trying to kill himself.

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French short about King Francis I and his jester Triboulet, who form the basis for Hugo's play Le roi s'amuse (and Verdi's opera Rigoletto).

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The title is vital, since the bulk of the action consists of a well-dressed man magically producing a series of items to furnish a bare room, culminating in his summoning up a charming lady to share his meal. Hearing the guards approaching, the man reverses the process, ending with a bare room when the two men enter.

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A peddler of "the best glue" sets up his outdoor stall. A crowd gathers for a demonstration. As he gives his pitch, two observant cops decide drive off his customers and close him down, much to his fury. He seeks revenge as they sit on a park bench.

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In this film, Méliès concocts a combination fairy- and morality tale about the foolishness of trying to look too deeply into the workings of an unstable and inscrutable universe. At a medieval school, an old astronomer begins to teach a class of young men, all armed with telescopes, about the art of scrutinising an imminent eclipse. When a mechanical clock strikes twelve, all the young men rush to the windows and fix their telescopes on the heavens.

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The opening title card explains that a painter has just finished his work when his assistant comes in and accidentally drinks varnish. The film then picks up as the painter goes haywire and sends the assistant into the painting.

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The plot follows King Edward VII and President Armand Fallières dreaming of building a tunnel under the English Channel.

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The film, a parody of the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, follows a fisherman, Yves, who dreams of traveling by submarine to the bottom of the ocean, where he encounters both realistic and fanciful sea creatures, including a chorus of naiads played by dancers from the Théâtre du Châtelet. Méliès's design for the film includes cut-out sea animals patterned after Alphonse de Neuville's illustrations for Verne's novel.

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A compilation of three short trick films by Georges Méliès: El melómano (1903) (The Melomaniac aka The Music Lover)(1903), El monstruo (1903) (The Monster) (1903) and El verdugo turco (1904) (The Terrible Turkish Executioner) (1904).

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A comprehensive landmark collection celebrating the foundational work of French illusionist and cinema pioneer Georges Méliès. Painstakingly assembled from archival holdings worldwide by film preservers Eric Lange and David Shepard, this 5-disc collection spans Méliès' entire cinematic career across 173 rare, original silent films—ranging from his debut, Playing Cards (Partie de cartes, 1896), to his final production, Voyage de la famille Bourrichon (1913). Showcasing masterpieces like A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune, 1902) alongside hand-tinted prints and special effects marvels, the set captures the birth of narrative trick photography, fantasy, and cinematic showmanship.

Open details →

A science fantasy film that deals with an extraordinary race to the north pole by rival parties of balloonists. Based on the novel "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" by Jules Verne.

Open details →

In this hand-colored short, a magician and his assistant do a series of magic tricks, including making potted plants appear, among others. Melies played the magician, and the actor Manuel played his assistant.

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A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.

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A man gets cajoled into working as a sideshow wrestler.

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The plot follows King Edward VII and President Armand Fallières dreaming of building a tunnel under the English Channel.

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A penniless troubadour consults witch Carabosse about his future, but offends her by paying with a bag of sand. He evades the witch's revenge, and saves the beautiful princess.

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Two travellers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through the heavens courtesy of the Devil before he takes one of them down to Hell and roasts him on a spit.

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A wall full of advertising posters comes to life.

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An inventor dreams that his newly designed airship takes flight.

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The Melies version of the old Rip Van Winkle tale.

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A poor but honest man wins great wealth, and the hand of a beautiful princess, after facing a series of exciting trials in the tunnels and catacombs of ancient Araby. Guided by the mysterious Khalafar, the troupe (alongside him go some cowardly scholars) encounter skeletons, fire-breathing lizards, and mirages on their journey through the lower world.

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A traveler at an inn is harassed by a mischievous devil in his room.

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A poor family in a rundown house where snow falls through the broken roof, there's no coal to heat the pathetic little stove, mother is sick, father sends daughter out to beg. Rejected by other beggars, the girl collapses in the snow…

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A Jew who mocked Jesus on the cross is visited by a devil and an angel.

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Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.

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This shows a prince entering upon the stage of the King's private theatre. He is about to do a few mystifying tricks for the amusement of the court.

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Two men in a cave perform magic.

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A green-skinned demon places a woman and two courtiers into a flaming cauldron.

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At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry when a witch suddenly appears. Though driven off, the witch soon returns, summons some of her servants, and carries off the princess. A rescue party is quickly organized, but the unfortunate captive has been taken to a strange, forbidding realm, from where it will be impossible to rescue her without some special help.

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Georges Méliès adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, the first film adaptation of the story. Filmed in black & white, Méliès would then paint the film by hand to colour it. Originally a 15 minute film, twelve and a half minutes of painted film have been found and have been restored.

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Georges Méliès' adaptation of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" is most distinguished, today, for being a color film of the classic story. Color was rare in 1902 (and many years after) as non-tinted color has to be hand painted on the film; this was an arduous task. Also notable is the film's short running time of approximately five minutes. Much of the original work is not covered, but viewers were expected to be familiar with the story, and enjoy the filmed highlights. There are a couple of scenes missing; according to contemporary reports, Gulliver's shipwreck was certainly included. You can do a lot in a few minutes, as Mr. Méliès includes a re-make of his own "Une partie de cartes" (1896), which already looked like something previously covered by the Lumière Brothers.

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A magician along with three doppelgangers perform an elaborate balancing act.

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This is a moving picture that moves. Positively the greatest magical picture ever offered. A Hindoo magician appears and dances for the entertainment of six pretty maidens. Then, to the astonishment of all, he runs up the wall, dances and turns handsprings in mid-air, introducing many tricks that are entirely new in animated photography. The most puzzling of all the mystical series. (Star Film Catalog)

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Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

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A chemist carries out a bizarre experiment with his own head.

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A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances.

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A magician does tricks with the aid of his assistant, the Human Pump.

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An astronomer has a terrifying dream.

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A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.

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A band-leader has arranged seven chairs for the members of his band. When he sits down in the first chair, a cymbal player appears in the same chair, then rises and sits in the next chair. As the cymbal player sits down, a drummer appears in the second chair, and then likewise moves on to the third chair. In this way, an entire band is soon formed, and is then ready to perform.

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Short film about a magician.

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A prince gets the help of a fairy to aid in his conflict with a wizard.

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A fairy godmother magically turns Cinderella's rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. Cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the Prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out? Méliès based the art direction on engravings by Gustave Doré. First known example of a fairy-tale adapted to film, and the first film to use dissolves to go from one scene to another.

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A devil wearing bat-like wings and brandishing a trident dances around a giant pot, conjuring forth flame from his trident to lit a fire beneath the pot. After the devil works the fire with bellows, an angelic woman emerges from the pot. The devil and the pot vanish as the woman performs a dance, waving about her diaphanous sleeves until she conjures forth another fire, then she rises amongst the smoke into the air.

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