You could say that Georges Melies was the first magician ever to be captured on film. His technique of stopping the camera, removing or adding an object, and starting it again revolutionized the film making business and changed the way people thought about movies altogether. It wasn't about how well you could record reality or visualize a story, but how different you could make film from a live theater performance. The fact that a human could perform, "real magic" was what made Georges different from other film makers.
Now with better musical accompaniment, this film focuses mostly on a magic show being performed for Georges' audience. I think that the fact that a man could accomplish this effect and showcase it for a magic show, tells something about Georges. I think that just looking at yourself in a film doing the things that he did made him feel powerful. There was definitely an essence of narcissism with some of his work, but in a different way. I think that making films like this gave him allot more strength and questions to how much farther we could go when it came to making movies.
It's funny because I've seen some films where this technique is used, but it's used so much worse than this short. This is basically it. Just a man making a woman disappear in the most efficient way possible. By putting a tablecloth over her head and saying, "presto!" Granted there are other ways, but I think Georges went for the theatrical approach. However this is not, "strictly speaking" a movie. There is no plot whatsoever, but I don't think there was supposed to be. And I don't think that was what Georges wanted film to be in the beginning. It might have just been there to replace live theater, or at least make it much easier to view such things multiple times. If your interested in the renovation of magic simply involving a trick camera rather than anything slight-of-hand, I suppose this is for you.
Our next film to review is Georges Melies', "A Terrible Night." This is not to be confused with a film of the same name made in 1913. This one has to do with a man trying to get some sleep but a rather large bug seems to be preventing him from doing just that. So, the man must fight the, "bed bug", and the others that follow. That's it. Enjoy.
This certainly was a terrible night (although I've had much worse), and a funny one at that. I suppose Georges films are meant to be looked at as though a moving picture. Just an instance in time. The only one that the viewer might need to worry about. This film used the simple task of sleeping and gave an issue for the person sleeping to deal with. Now, I could be wrong with that statement, but what I believe is that film, to Georges, was meant to be something more than a recorded theater act. This may have been the reason that film was made; to support and visualize creativity and Georges Melies was one of the first people to do that.
There is a very unique simplicity to his films that emulates something more to than just living normally. People like to see other people succeed when watching a film (most of the time), and when your presented with a problem such as a bug, when you overcome it, you can then be at peace. It is then that you can sleep. You may have noticed this bug----> on the right end of the screen. It is very interesting to see an effect that looks surprisingly real for even today. To make every other object seem to fit reality exept for this one large bug, raises the wonder to how it came to be in the first place. At one minuet long, you will never not have time to look at this piece in Georges Melies' collection of films.
Here we have, "The House of the Devil," by the first film genius, Georges Melies. This film was claimed to be the very first horror film ever made. I suppose that, "Nosferatu" was the first legitimate horror film and it may have been the very film to perfect the genre, but this was the very beginning. People should have figured out before hand that someone like this would make films this groundbreaking for the time. Let us dive right into the very first horror film from the very first creative mind of film making.
"The House of the Devil" is certainly a reliable candidate to be the very film that started the horror film genre rolling. It appears as though there are some comedic elements to the films, "plot," such as the confused and frightened residents of the house. It is very realistic to how these people act. It's as if these are normal people, in a house, but way too scared to think. You have this guy that breaks into a house and just messes with the people inside it. I think that it gave Georges an opportunity to utilize his film splicing ability. There are many instances where Georges takes a character that has, "mystical powers," and puts him in a situation (or doesn't) where he has to use his powers to either reek havoc or entertain the audience.
The plot is not something that you generally need to focus on with a film made in the 1800's, but I do think that it was this film maker that added something new to the table when it came to the art of film making. Georges Melies used creative imagery to tell a story. Instead of trying to tell a story using early sub titles or realism, he chose the extreme alternative. His films are literally moving abstract pictures. This film in particular, was the first to depict the Bram Stoker-lore of how vampires worked. They turn into bats, freak people out, and have cross-fobia. Georges Melies was a titan in the creative film industry. May it always stay that way.
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