Georges Méliès
DirectingGeorges 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.
Known For
A Trip to the Moon
Professeur Barbenfouillis / La Lune
The Extraordinary Voyage
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
Self (archive footage)
Le manoir du diable
Mephistopheles
Cinderella
le gnome de la pendule / le suisse à l'entrée de l'église
The Impossible Voyage
Mabouloff
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoé
The Conquest of the Pole
Le professeur Mabouloff
A Terrible Night
L'homme qui essaie de dormir
The One-Man Band
All the members of the orchestra
Filmography — Acting
A Trip to the Moon
Professeur Barbenfouillis / La Lune
The Extraordinary Voyage
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
Self (archive footage)
Le manoir du diable
Mephistopheles
Cinderella
le gnome de la pendule / le suisse à l'entrée de l'église
The Impossible Voyage
Mabouloff
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoé
The Conquest of the Pole
Le professeur Mabouloff
A Terrible Night
L'homme qui essaie de dormir
The One-Man Band
All the members of the orchestra
A Nightmare
Man
A Midnight Episode
The Sleeping Man (uncredited)
The Kingdom of the Fairies
Prince Bel-Azor
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Satan
The Méliès Mystery
Self (archive footage)
The Mermaid
The Living Playing Cards
The Magician
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Le château hanté
Mephisto
The Infernal Cake-Walk
Devil
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
Professor of Astronomy
The Monster
The priest
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
The Sorcerer Khalafar (uncredited)
Playing Cards
Un joueur de cartes
Naval Combat in Greece
The Captain
The Ballet Master's Dream
The Mystical Flame
The Magic of Méliès
Self / Various Roles (archive footage)
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus
Ulysses (uncredited)
Jupiter's Thunderballs
The Astronomer's Dream
Astronomer
The Bewitched Inn
The Traveler
Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion
Joan of Arc
Père de Jeanne
The Magician
Le Sculpteur
Bluebeard
Barbe-bleue
The Infernal Cauldron
Devil
Gugusse and the Automaton
Gugusse
The Christmas Dream
Beggar
Not Guilty
The Old Farmer
The Devil and the Statue
The Good Luck of a 'Souse'
Le commissaire de police
The Man with the Rubber Head
The Chemist / The India Rubber Head
The Devil in a Convent
The Devil
Cinematógrafo 1900
Self (archive footage)
Long Distance Wireless Photography
The King and the Jester
Tribolet
Satans Sacrilegious Saga
Devil
The Lilliputian Minuet
Satan in Prison
Satan
Cleopatra's Tomb
un profanateur de la tombe de Cléopâtre
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
The Christmas Angel
The Rag-and-Bone Man / Beggar on Crutches / Coal Seller
The Cook in Trouble
The Wandering Jew
The Vanishing Lady
Le magicien
The Black Imp
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
Gulliver
The Magician's Cavern
The New Lord of the Village
Le fantôme de César
A Desperate Crime
The Doctor's Secret
Gala Méliès
Himself
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
The Man
The Four Troublesome Heads
Conjurer
The Untamable Whiskers
Man with whiskers
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo
Self (archive footage)
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
The Indian Sorcerer
The Fakir
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
The Temple of the Sun
Faust and Marguerite
Méphistophélès
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
The Executioner
The Pillar of Fire
A Mesmerian Experiment
The Clockmaker's Dream
Tit for Tat
The Diabolic Tenant
Le locataire diabolique
The Prolific Magical Egg
The Wonderful Living Fan
The Knight of the Snow
Devil
In the Barber Shop
Tunneling the English Channel
The Dwarf and the Giant
Faust in the Underworld
Mephistopholes
The Bridegroom's Dilemma
Le marié
Whimsical Illusions
The Magician
Sure Cure for Indigestion
Doctor
Hat of Many Surprises
The Fortune Favors the Brave
Gnome
The Dreyfus Affair
Fernand Labori
The Hilarious Posters
The Bill Poster
Between Calais and Dover
The Man in the Checked Suit
Les infortunes des patineurs
Passerby
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
Wrestler
The Famous Box Trick
The Magician
An Up-to-Date Conjurer
Magician
A Funny Mahometan
The Funny Mahometan
Dancing in a Harem
Delirium in a Studio
Ali Barbouyou
Conjuring
Himself
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
The Roman
The Diabolical Church Window
Apparitions
An Impossible Balancing Feat
The Magician
The Artist and the Dummy
Artiste
The Magic Lantern
The Melomaniac
The Treasures of Satan
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
The Magician / The Double
The Firefall
Satan
Extraordinary Illusions
Summoning the Spirits
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
Le comique excentrique
A Roadside Inn
Drunk Traveler
A Moonlight Serenade
The Temptation of St. Anthony
Saint Antoine
Méliès: Tales of Terror
The Melomaniac
The Human Fly
The Hindoo Magician
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
The Mysterious Box
Rip's Dream
Rip Van Winkle
The Triple Headed Lady
The Fugitive Apparitions
The Marvellous Wreath
The Devilish Plank
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
Conjurer
The Oracle of Delphi
Alcoléa & cie Documentary
Good Glue Sticks
The Magic Book
The Magician
The Mysterious Retort
The Witch
The Fairy Carabosse
The Mysterious Knight
Le chevalier mystère
A Fantastical Meal
The Man
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
The brahmin
A Maiden's Paradise
The Wizard
The Prince of Magicians
Excelsior
The Enchanted Basket
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
Prince
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
Lamplighter
Beelzebub's Daughters
Faust and Marguerite
Méphistophélès
The Human Pyramid
The Mysterious Portrait
L'illusioniste
French Cops Learning English
The Police Inspector
Violons d'Ingres
Himself (archive footage)
Filmography — Crew
A Trip to the Moon
Director
Le manoir du diable
Director
Cinderella
Producer
The Impossible Voyage
Director
Robinson Crusoe
Producer
The Conquest of the Pole
Director
A Terrible Night
Director
The One-Man Band
Director
The Dream of an Opium Fiend
Director
The Surrender of Tournavos
Director
The Spider and the Butterfly
Director
A Nightmare
Director
A Midnight Episode
Producer
The Kingdom of the Fairies
Director
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Screenplay
The Damnation of Faust
Director
Adventures of William Tell
Director
The Mermaid
Director
The Living Playing Cards
Director
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Director
Le château hanté
Director
The Infernal Cake-Walk
Director
The Hallucinated Alchemist
Director
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
Director
The Monster
Director
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
Director
Playing Cards
Director
Naval Combat in Greece
Director
The Ballet Master's Dream
Director
The Mystical Flame
Director
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus
Director
Jupiter's Thunderballs
Director
Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
Director
The Astronomer's Dream
Director
A Tricky Painter’s Fate
Director
The Bewitched Inn
Director
Pygmalion and Galatea
Director
Joan of Arc
Producer
The Skipping Cheese
Director
The Devil's Laboratory
Director
Pharmaceutical Hallucinations
Director
An Adventurous Automobile Trip
Director
The Magician
Director
Bluebeard
Producer
The Infernal Cauldron
Screenplay
The Scheming Gambler's Paradise
Director
Gugusse and the Automaton
Director
The Christmas Dream
Director
Justinian's Human Torches
Director
Not Guilty
Director
The Devil and the Statue
Director
The Degradation of Dreyfus
Director
The Good Luck of a 'Souse'
Director
Sightseeing Through Whisky
Director
The Man with the Rubber Head
Director
Dreyfus Court Martial - Arrest Of Dreyfus
Director
The Devil in a Convent
Director
Long Distance Wireless Photography
Director
Panorama from Top of a Moving Train
Director
The King and the Jester
Director
The Lilliputian Minuet
Director
Satan in Prison
Director
Cleopatra's Tomb
Director
Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
Director
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
Director
The Witch's Revenge
Director
The Coronation of Edward VII
Director
The Christmas Angel
Director
The Attempt Against the Life of Maitre Labori
Director
The Cook in Trouble
Director
The Wandering Jew
Director
The Vanishing Lady
Director
Marvelous Suspension
Director
Lightning Change Artist
Director
The Black Imp
Director
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
Director
The Magician's Cavern
Director
The Duke's Good Joke
Director
The Genii of Fire
Director
Miss de Vère - English Jig
Director
The New Lord of the Village
Director
The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen
Director
His First Job
Director
A Desperate Crime
Director
The Doctor's Secret
Director
Gala Méliès
Director
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
Director
Boxing Match
Director
The Four Troublesome Heads
Director
Rogues' Tricks
Director
The Untamable Whiskers
Director
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
Director
Oriental Black Art
Director
The Indian Sorcerer
Director
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
Director
Fantastic Dining Room
Director
Up-to-Date Clothes Cleaning
Director
The Helping Hand
Director
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
Director
The Temple of the Sun
Director
A Soldier's Unlucky Salutation
Director
The Bewildering Cabinet
Director
Robert Macaire and Bertrand
Director
Faust and Marguerite
Director
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
Director
The Pillar of Fire
Screenplay
After the Ball
Director
A Love Tragedy in Spain
Director
Simple Simon's Surprise Party
Director
A Mesmerian Experiment
Director
An Extraordinary Dislocation
Director
The Microscopic Dancer
Director
The Clockmaker's Dream
Director
Tit for Tat
Director
Arrival of a Train (Joinville Station)
Director
The Diabolic Tenant
Producer
The Prolific Magical Egg
Director
The Wonderful Living Fan
Director
How Bridget's Lover Escaped
Director
The Knight of the Snow
Director
In the Barber Shop
Director
The Old Footlight Favorite
Director
Tunneling the English Channel
Director
The Dwarf and the Giant
Director
Faust in the Underworld
Director
The Stick
Director
The Bridegroom's Dilemma
Director
On the Roof
Director
The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess
Director
Whimsical Illusions
Producer
Sure Cure for Indigestion
Director
The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelee and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique
Director
The Astonishing Frame
Director
Hat of Many Surprises
Director
The Fortune Favors the Brave
Director
Cabinet Trick of the Davenport Brothers
Director
The Voyage of M. Bourrichon
Director
The Dreyfus Affair
Director
Arrival of a Train at Vincennes Station
Director
Le Théâtreux joué
Director
The Enchanted Sedan Chair
Director
A Serpentine Dance
Director
The Hilarious Posters
Director
The Drawing Lesson
Director
The Luny Musician
Director
Between Calais and Dover
Director
Extravagant Struggles
Director
Les infortunes des patineurs
Director
The Magician and the Imp
Director
The Animated Costumes
Director
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
Director
Conjurer Making Ten Hats in Sixty Seconds
Director
Grandmother's Tale and Child's Dream
Director
A Mistaken Identity
Director
The Famous Box Trick
Director
Jack the Chimney Sweep
Director
An Up-to-Date Conjurer
Director
The Fairy Dragonfly
Director
A Funny Mahometan
Director
Dancing in a Harem
Director
Delirium in a Studio
Director
The Tramp and the Mattress Makers
Director
Conjuring
Director
How He Missed His Train
Director
The Hotel Mix-Up
Director
The Providence of the Waves
Director
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
Director
The Last Cartridges
Director
The Diabolical Church Window
Director
Les malheurs d'un photographe
Director
Apparitions
Director
The Mystery of the Garrison
Director
An Impossible Balancing Feat
Director
The Artist and the Dummy
Director
The Magic Lantern
Director
A Mix-Up in the Gallery
Director
Suicide of Colonel Henry
Director
The Melomaniac
Director
The Living Doll
Director
The Treasures of Satan
Director
The Invisible Siva
Director
A Night With Masqueraders in Paris
Director
The Clown and Automobile
Director
An Improvised Fireworks Display
Director
An Angelic Servant
Director
Dreyfus Leaving the Lycée for Jail
Director
An Irritable Model
Director
The Chloroform Fiends
Director
Hunting the Teddy Bear
Director
Fun With the Bridal Party
Director
The Firefall
Director
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
Director
Extraordinary Illusions
Director
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
Director
Summoning the Spirits
Director
The Cave of the Demons
Director
Devil's Island - Within the Palisade
Director
The Two Blind Men
Director
A Roadside Inn
Director
The Angler's Nightmare, or A Policeman's Troubles
Director
A Moonlight Serenade
Director
Soap Bubbles
Director
A Miracle Under the Inquisition
Director
Punch and Judy
Director
The Prophetess of Thebes
Director
The Temptation of St. Anthony
Director
China Versus Allied Powers
Director
Méliès: Tales of Terror
Director
Off to Bedlam
Director
The Human Fly
Director
Jack Jags and Dum Dum
Director
Fencing at the Joinville School
Director
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
Producer
Benvenuto Cellini or A Curious Evasion
Director
The Impossible Dinner
Director
Hypnotist's Revenge
Director
The Mysterious Box
Director
The King of Sharpshooters
Director
In the Bogie Man's Cave
Director
The Knight of Black Art
Director
Watering the Flowers
Director
Rip's Dream
Producer
Uncle Rube's Birthday
Director
A Forester Made King
Director
The Miser
Director
The Triple Headed Lady
Director
The Little Peace Maker
Director
Who Looks, Pays!
Director
The Barber of Seville
Director
Humanity Through the Ages
Director
The Fugitive Apparitions
Director
The Marvellous Wreath
Director
The Wonderful Rose Tree
Director
The Devilish Plank
Director
The Shadow Lady
Director
A Mischievous Sketch
Director
The Magic Dice
Director
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
Director
Cooks fight
Director
The Bath
Director
Pranks With a Fake Python
Director
Crying and Laughing
Director
The Bachelor's Paradise
Director
The Oracle of Delphi
Director
A Seaside Flirtation
Director
Two Crazy Bugs
Director
Incident from Don Quixote
Director
D. Devant, Conjurer
Director
Addition and Subtraction
Director
The Wonderful Charm
Director
Post No Bills
Director
The Bewitched Trunk
Director
The Coup of Pere Francois
Director
Good Glue Sticks
Director
The Magic Book
Director
Dreyfus Meets His Wife at Rennes
Director
The Mysterious Retort
Director
The Tower of London
Director
A New Death Penalty
Director
Little Red Riding Hood
Director
The Colonel's Shower Bath
Director
The Flea
Director
The Witch
Director
A Wedding by Correspondence
Director
Life-Saving Up-to-Date
Director
The Venetian Looking-Glass
Director
Bakers in Trouble
Director
The Forester's Remedy
Director
Honeymoon in a Balloon
Director
The Magic of Catchy Songs
Director
Moitié de polka
Director
A Novice at X-Rays
Director
Dreyfus Put in Irons
Director
The Rajah's Dream or The Bewitched Wood
Director
The Mysterious Knight
Director
Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon
Director
Wine Cellar Burglars
Director
Fun in Court
Director
A Woman Surprised
Director
The Fake Russian Prophet
Director
The Doctor and the Monkey
Director
Le conférencier distrait
Director
Drink! A Great Temperance Story
Director
A Fantastical Meal
Director
A Fake Diamond Swindler
Director
Eight Girls in a Barrel
Director
Christ Walking on Water
Director
A Spiritualist Meeting
Director
A Twentieth Century Surgeon
Director
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
Director
A Crazy Composer
Director
A Maiden's Paradise
Director
Comical Conjuring
Director
Old and New Style Conjurers
Director
The Prince of Magicians
Director
Les Mousquetaires de la reine
Director
Sideshow Wrestlers
Director
A Terrible Night (Remake)
Director
Chopin's Funeral March Burlesqued
Director
The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax"
Director
Buncoed Stage Johnnie
Director
The Enchanted Basket
Director
Mr. Dauber and the Whimsical Picture
Director
Two Talented Vagabonds
Director
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
Writer
The Cook's Revenge
Director
What Is Home Without the Boarder
Director
The Enchanted Well
Director
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
Director
Carrefour de l'opéra
Director
The Unexpected Bath
Director
Beelzebub's Daughters
Director
Shakespeare Writing "Julius Caesar"
Director
Curiosity Punished
Director
The Human Pyramid
Director
Faust and Marguerite
Director
The Mysterious Portrait
Director
Guerre de Cuba et l'explosion du Maine à La Havane
Director
Visite de l'épave du Maine
Director
Drunkard and Inventor
Director
The Misfortunes of an Explorer
Director
L'acteur en retard
Director
The Grotto of Surprises
Director
Mishaps of the New York-Paris Auto Race
Director
A Good Trick
Director
The Sacred Fountain
Director
Les miracles du Brahmine
Director
The Mischances of a Drunkard
Director
French Cops Learning English
Director
L'homme aux cent trucs
Director
The Grasshopper and the Ant
Director
The Inn Where No Man Rests
Director
A Spiritualist Photographer
Director
Ten Ladies in an Umbrella
Director
The Broken Violin
Director
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Director
Murder Will Out
Director
L'agent gelé
Director
Les tribulations d'un concierge
Director
The Fight of Reporters
Director
The Court Martial at Rennes
Director
Painless Dentistry
Director
A Lover's Hazing
Director
The Imperceptible Transmutations
Director
Bois de Boulogne
Director