Georges Méliès
Date of birth: 1861-12-08
Place of birth: Paris, France
Known for: Directing
Also known as: Жорж Мельес, 조르주 멜리에스, Marie Georges Jean Méliès, ジョルジュ・メリエス, マリー・ジョルジュ・ジャン・メリエス
Biography
Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 - January 21, 1938), full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French illusionist and filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. One of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, tracking shots, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his work, Méliès pioneered effects that would define cinematic special effects for decades to come. A prolific innovator in the use of special effects, Méliès accidentally discovered the substitution stop trick in 1896, a method of creating seamless disappearing and/or appearing effects used throughout both films and television for decades to come. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality through cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the first "Cinemagician". Two of his best-known films are A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904). Both stories involve strange, surreal voyages, somewhat in the style of Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early science fiction films, though their approach is closer to fantasy. Méliès was also an early pioneer of horror cinema, which can be traced back to his Le Manoir du diable (1896). In early 1909 Méliès stopped making films to protest Thomas Edison's Motion Pictures Parents Company monopoly, and presided over the first meeting of the International Filmmakers Congress in Paris. Further financial hardships created by his opposition to Edison and diminishing influence, Méliès disappeared from public life. By the mid-1920s he made a meager living as a candy and toy salesma in Paris, with the assistance of funds collected by other filmmakers. Although he was recognized for his contributions in cinema, Méliès spent most of his later years in poverty before being accepted into La Maison du Retraite du Cinéma, the film industry's retirement home in Orly.
Movie Credits
A Trip to the Moon
1902-06-15
Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon
The Impossible Voyage
1904-10-29
Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a j
The Cook in Trouble
1904-05-06
A cook has his hands full with three mischievous devils, who pop in and out of his kitchen.
Cinematógrafo 1900
1979-11-25
Tribute to Segundo de Chomón. Semi-documentary featuring short films and appearances by actors who e
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo
2014-11-30
The extraordinary life of cinema pioneer Segundo de Chomón.
The Untamable Whiskers
1904-02-05
The background of this picture represents a scene along the beautiful river Seine in Paris. A gentle
The Living Playing Cards
1905-01-06
The Infernal Cauldron
1903-08-01
A green-skinned demon places a woman and two courtiers into a flaming cauldron.
The One-Man Band
1900-01-01
A band-leader has arranged seven chairs for the members of his band. When he sits down in the first
The Four Troublesome Heads
1898-11-30
One of the greatest of black art pictures. The conjurer appears before the audience, with his head i
A Midnight Episode
1899-01-01
A sleeping apartment of a friend who retires for the night. The rays of the moon are shining upon th
Joan of Arc
1900-08-06
A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she
Faust and Marguerite
1897-01-01
Mephistopheles demands that Faust kill Marguerite.
A Terrible Night
1896-01-01
A man tries to get a good night's sleep, but is disturbed by a giant spider that leaps onto his bed,
The Vanishing Lady
1896-01-01
Georges Méliès makes a woman disappear, then reappear.
Le château hanté
1897-01-01
A man has an encounter with several spooky apparitions in a castle that is evidently owned by the De
The Astronomer's Dream
1898-01-01
An astronomer has a terrifying dream.
Cinderella
1899-10-01
A fairy godmother magically turns Cinderella's rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach
The Indian Sorcerer
1908-06-25
A sorcerer turns a small egg into a bigger one and keeps repeating this trick until the egg is large
The Conquest of the Pole
1912-05-03
A science fantasy film that deals with an extraordinary race to the north pole by rival parties of b
The Wandering Jew
1904-11-25
A Jew who mocked Jesus on the cross is visited by a devil and an angel.
Le manoir du diable
1896-12-24
In a medieval castle, a dark magician thought to be Mephistopheles conjures up a series of bizarre c
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
2012-02-28
A look back at the life, style and influences of the famed filmmaker Georges Méliès and an examinati
A Desperate Crime
1906-06-01
A man is murdered and the killer brought to justice by guillotine. This film is partly lost.
Delirium in a Studio
1907-05-23
The opening title card explains that a painter has just finished his work when his assistant comes i
The Wonderful Living Fan
1904-04-29
As a conjurer awaits an audience, a procession announces the arrival of a royal representative, carr
The Black Imp
1905-01-27
A traveler at an inn is harassed by a mischievous devil in his room.
The Monster
1903-05-26
An Egyptian prince has lost his beloved wife and he has sought a dervish who dwells at the base of t
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
1905-12-27
An inventor dreams that his newly designed airship takes flight.
The Temptation of St. Anthony
1898-01-01
St. Anthony is tempted by visions of women, including one that is transformed from the image of Jesu
The Diabolic Tenant
1909-05-29
A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.
The Man with the Rubber Head
1901-12-01
A chemist carries out a bizarre experiment with his own head.
The Mermaid
1904-05-26
A magician conjures up a mermaid while fishing.
The Devil in a Convent
1899-01-01
A priest is officiating at a convent, when suddenly he is transformed into the devil, who frightens
Long Distance Wireless Photography
1908-02-07
Into a photography studio full of large fantastic machines steps an elderly couple. The bearded prop
An Up-to-Date Conjurer
1899-01-01
A film from Méliès has him playing a magician who does a few tricks including making a woman disappe
The Merry Frolics of Satan
1906-09-07
Two travellers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
1900-01-01
A series of fantastical wrestling matches.
The Hilarious Posters
1906-04-20
A wall full of advertising posters comes to life.
The Infernal Cake-Walk
1903-02-21
Pluto, having seen the earth, comes back home amazed at the success of that well-known dance, the "c
The Dreyfus Affair
1899-11-04
The first movie ever censored for political reasons. The title refers to the then contemporaneous Dr
The Clockmaker's Dream
1904-02-11
A weary clock-maker dozes off in a chair. While he is asleep, three women suddenly appear in the mid
The Melomaniac
1903-05-18
The leader of a marching band demonstrates an unusual way of writing music.
Summoning the Spirits
1899-05-20
A bearded man hangs up a wreath and, like any good magician, waves his hands inside of it and under
Extraordinary Illusions
1903-09-22
Pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès performs his cine-magic act.
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
1904-04-16
A Chinese conjurer stands next to a table, it becomes two tables. A fan becomes a parasol, lanterns
The Human Pyramid
1899-05-20
Méliès appears as a court jester (a “triboulet” in French). He pulls 18th century noblemen out of a
Hat of Many Surprises
1901-09-14
A magician's hat offers many surprises.
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
1900-01-01
A man takes off his clothes in preparation for bed, only for new clothes to spontaneously generate,
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
1900-01-01
In this subject a "comique eccentric" enters the drawing room inhabited by spirits. He tries to take
Jupiter's Thunderballs
1903-08-20
With godly entrapments, Zeus appears on the horizon, engages Hermes as an audience, and tries to thr
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
1903-12-11
In a public place in Constantinople at the corner of a bazaar, the executioner is seated upon a ston
The Bewitched Inn
1897-01-01
A weary traveler stops at an inn along the way to get a good night's sleep, but his rest is interrup
Whimsical Illusions
1909-12-01
In this hand-colored short, a magician and his assistant do a series of magic tricks, including maki
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
1903-09-14
A boy is led into the frame by two nursemaids who give him a big ball to play with. For the remainde
The Ballet Master's Dream
1903-11-10
It's late in the evening, and the ballet master's bed has been prepared for him. But he cannot take
Apparitions
1903-08-09
Alone in his room at an inn, a lustful old man is haunted by spirits.
The Prolific Magical Egg
1902-03-15
A human skeleton is placed upon a table by an attendant. When the attendant leaves the room the skel
The Diabolical Church Window
1911-10-01
Here we have an old scholar/alchemist brooding over a book, challenged by the devil, and going throu
Satan in Prison
1907-09-30
The title is vital, since the bulk of the action consists of a well-dressed man magically producing
Méliès: Tales of Terror
2021-10-08
A compilation of three short trick films by Georges Méliès: El melómano (1903) (The Melomaniac aka T
The Dwarf and the Giant
1901-12-14
A magician explores two halves of his self: The Dwarf and the Giant.
The Oracle of Delphi
1903-05-03
A box of valued jewels is placed inside the tomb of Delphi. A thief breaks into the tomb and steals
The Doctor's Secret
1909-01-10
Doctors blow to pieces a patient in a hydrotherapy machine and re-assemble him.
A Moonlight Serenade
1903-12-26
Pierrot goes to the house of his love to serenade her, but her father kicks him out. Soon the moon a
The Magician's Cavern
1901-04-13
A very enthusiastic magician performs several tricks.
A Mesmerian Experiment
1905-03-03
A magician creates a troupe of dancers out of thin air.
The Mysterious Retort
1906-09-28
A wizard sleeps at a table in his well-appointed sitting room. From a drawer in the table, a snake a
Playing Cards
1896-01-01
Three friends are playing cards in a beer garden. One of them orders drinks. The waitress comes back
An Impossible Balancing Feat
1902-09-13
A magician along with three doppelgangers perform an elaborate balancing act.
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
1904-01-15
Only 8 surviving seconds of a man getting great pleasure from smoking a cigar.
Bluebeard
1901-07-25
A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died un
The Witch
1906-11-06
A penniless troubadour consults witch Carabosse about his future, but offends her by paying with a b
Faust in the Underworld
1903-12-05
The German legend of a scholar's unholy pact with the Devil would have been very familiar to most mo
The Treasures of Satan
1902-07-26
The setting of this fantastic scene represents the hall of an old chateau in which a miser has locke
The Devil and the Statue
1901-12-01
At the beginning of the scene Romeo in his gondola sings to Juliet a sentimental song, then goes awa
The Mysterious Knight
1899-01-01
A knight performs several magic tricks with a disembodied head materialized from a chalkboard drawin
The Artist and the Dummy
1900-05-21
A very simple gag film as a young lady substitutes herself for a dummy in order to play a practical
The Christmas Dream
1900-08-08
The entire story of Christmastide is here depicted. The scene opens in a large boudoir of an apparen
Good Glue Sticks
1907-09-20
A peddler of "the best glue" sets up his outdoor stall. A crowd gathers for a demonstration. As he g
The Mystical Flame
1903-04-19
A juggler enters upon the scene, picks up a skull, throws it into the air, catches it in his hands,
The Fugitive Apparitions
1904-02-03
A magician makes a woman appear and disappear.
Gala Méliès
1929-12-16
Lost in the streets of Paris, Georges Méliès is looking everywhere for the Salle Pleyel. On the wall
The Kingdom of the Fairies
1903-07-25
At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry when a witch sud
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
1907-06-07
In this film, Méliès concocts a combination fairy- and morality tale about the foolishness of trying
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
1901-01-18
A man attempts to engender a transformation of a giant worm into a butterfly.
A Maiden's Paradise
1901-04-20
In a wizard's cavern, a series of magic tricks are performed..
The Temple of the Sun
1901-05-18
A high nobleman finds himself in the Temple of the Sun, where he meets Mascarille, who proposes hims
A Roadside Inn
1906-06-25
The staff of an inn play a cruel trick on a guest.
The Knight of the Snow
1912-12-20
One of the last films Georges Méliès made. By now, he was under contract for his former rival Pathé,
The Magic Lantern
1903-10-30
Two impish clowns construct a magic lantern. They prop it up at an angle, and use it to project pict
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1907-02-17
The film, a parody of the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, follows a fish
Pygmalion and Galatea
1898-01-01
Showing Pygmalion at work in his studio on the statue of Galatea, who, on being completed, comes to
A Nightmare
1896-12-25
A man has a fantastical nightmare involving, among other things, a grinning malevolent moon.
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
1903-10-03
Two men in a cave perform magic.
Tunneling the English Channel
1907-04-22
The plot follows King Edward VII and President Armand Fallières dreaming of building a tunnel under
Naval Combat in Greece
1897-01-01
An officer calls his sailors to the deck. They assemble around the canon while the officer scans the
Violons d'Ingres
1939-01-01
Shows hobbies of people who do an ordinary job in the day. Made for New York Fair.
The Extraordinary Voyage
2011-12-08
An account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing stor
The Mysterious Portrait
1899-01-01
A magician produces a living portrait of himself.
Tit for Tat
1904-01-05
Georges Melies the magician. Melies removes his own head, puts it in a glass box on a stool, then gr
The Devilish Plank
1904-05-13
A magic trick is performed with a long plank with two pots built into it, both with holes in the bot
Conjuring
1896-06-15
The film reproduces a magic act Méliès performed at his Paris theater-of-illusions, the Théâtre Robe
The Christmas Angel
1904-12-23
A poor family in a rundown house where snow falls through the broken roof, there's no coal to heat t
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
1902-11-22
Georges Méliès' adaptation of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" is most distinguished, today, fo
The Prince of Magicians
1901-06-22
A magician does tricks with the aid of his assistant, the Human Pump.
The Human Fly
1902-08-09
This is a moving picture that moves. Positively the greatest magical picture ever offered. A Hindoo
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
1904-01-13
A performing magician divides into two people. The doubles then take turns doing tricks before mergi
Cleopatra's Tomb
1899-01-01
A lost film. A man digging inside an Egyptian tomb chops up a mummy, then resurrects the woman insid
Rip's Dream
1905-11-14
The Melies version of the old Rip Van Winkle tale.
Robinson Crusoe
1902-12-20
Georges Méliès adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, the first film adaptation of the story. Filmed in blac
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
1905-06-10
A poor but honest man wins great wealth, and the hand of a beautiful princess, after facing a series
The Mysterious Box
1903-02-27
As scene as pleasing as incomprehensible. A juggler summons two chairs, which come to the stage jump
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
1900-01-01
A prince gets the help of a fairy to aid in his conflict with a wizard.
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
1908-07-02
The Merchant, the Farrier, and the Roman accompany a mysterious woman into a magical cave full of te
The Triple Headed Lady
1901-01-25
A conjuror appears to demonstrate a lady with three heads.
The Pillar of Fire
1899-01-01
A devil wearing bat-like wings and brandishing a trident dances around a giant pot, conjuring forth
The Méliès Mystery
2021-01-02
A documentary that details the process of restoring 270 of the 520 lost films of pioneering director
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
1903-02-02
The scene takes place in front of a barrack, where a young soldier is on duty --most laughable and c
The Marvellous Wreath
1903-01-18
A magician performs tricks with a marvelous wreath.
A Fantastical Meal
1900-01-01
A family sits down to enjoy a meal that ends up being fraught with complications.
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
1900-01-01
A conjurer (along with two duplicates) conjure up (and then cause to vanish) a beautiful woman head-
The Magic Book
1900-01-01
Characters from a large magic book come to life.
The Famous Box Trick
1898-01-01
A magician performs a series of magic tricks involving a boy and a box.
The Magician
1898-01-01
In this scene is shown a magician behind an ordinary table, upon which he suddenly and mysteriously
Between Calais and Dover
1897-01-01
A rocky sea voyage as reenacted by Georges Méliès.
The Firefall
1904-12-01
A magic show.
The Fortune Favors the Brave
1908-10-31
A young boy's adventure takes him to the domain of the Genie of the Cathedral Bell, where he finds a
Sure Cure for Indigestion
1902-10-25
In this film, we show the interior of a doctor's office. A patient enters, and judging from the expr
Alcoléa & cie Documentary
2024-02-21
Upon a visit to UVM's Lane Series in the Spring of 2022, Jean-Francois Alcolea offered to conduct a
The Lilliputian Minuet
1905-02-18
The film, of which only fragments are known to survive, features Méliès as a magician making playing
The Enchanted Basket
1903-01-03
A farmer calls on a juggler to see a few of his best tricks. The juggler has brought a bouquet of fl
Beelzebub's Daughters
1903-01-26
Beelzebub, making fire on the tips of his fingers, develops a large blaze, from which three girls em
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus
1905-09-01
An early horror treatment of the hero's encounter with the one-eyed man-eating Cyclops.
Les infortunes des patineurs
1908-06-05
A group of people take roller skating too far.
French Cops Learning English
1908-07-26
The seven-minute film takes place inside a classroom where some cops are learning English.
Not Guilty
1908-05-23
Three burglars invade a house, kill two people, and blind a third person, a woman. The police arrest
The King and the Jester
1907-12-13
French short about King Francis I and his jester Triboulet, who form the basis for Hugo's play Le ro
The Magic of Méliès
1997-01-01
A walk through the life and work of the brilliant French filmmaker Georges Méliès (1861-1938), pione
The Good Luck of a 'Souse'
1907-12-30
This film from George Melies is sadly one that's only available in fragments. The film starts off wi
The New Lord of the Village
1908-03-22
There's a scene in a village, then there's a scene out in the wilderness with what appear to be gods
In the Barber Shop
1908-02-16
One fine day at a barbershop that has stupid staff and very rude customers.
Dancing in a Harem
1897-01-01
Dancing in a Harem was an 1897 French short silent film by Georges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès's S
A Funny Mahometan
1897-01-01
A Funny Mahometan was an 1897 short silent comedy film directed by Georges Méliès. It was released b
A Trip to the Melisverse
2023-03-03
A girl tries to concentrate on her homework, but when she realizes she can't, a wand appears out of
The Bridegroom's Dilemma
1898-01-01
A woman slips into her bed with the help of her servant. While the film is lost, there is a new digi
Satans Sacrilegious Saga
2025-04-16
Lucifers fall from grace