![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/9b/4f/002b4f9b_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/9b/4f/002b4f9b.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
5xDVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 4:3 | 782 minutess | 36 Gb
Silent with Score AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | French intertitles and English subtitles
Genre: Classics
5xDVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 4:3 | 782 minutess | 36 Gb
Silent with Score AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | French intertitles and English subtitles
Genre: Classics
Georges Méliès built the world's first movie studio in 1896 near Paris; from it cascaded fantastic magic films, dream films, historical reconstructions, imaginary journeys, melodramas, slapstick comedies – even erotic films. Examples of all are here, with many still retaining power to astonish and charm. This monumental thirteen hour collection on five DVDs gathers for the first time nearly all the surviving films of Georges Méliès from his first, Card Party (1896) to his last, The Voyage of the Bouririchon Family (1913), bracketing more than 170 others. Included are the celebrated and famous journey films, among them A Trip to the Moon, The Impossible Voyage, The Kingdom of Fairies, The Merry Frolics of Satan, The Palace of the Arabian Nights, and The Conquest of the Pole. Fifteen films are reproduced from partial or complete hand-colored original prints, thirteen are presented with the original English narrations written by Méliès. A lovely half-hour introductory film, Le Grand Méliès (Georges Franju, 1953), features Méliès' widow (who performed in many Méliès films) and André Méliès portraying his father. The enclosed booklet includes a foreword by Norman McLaren, a superb essay by John Frazer, and an annotated index to the films by genre. This unprecedented set produced by Eric Lange and David Shepard, has been assembled from archival and private holdings in eight countries. The quality of these film elements is variable, of course. Many look stunning; a few are fragmentary, others are longer than earlier-known versions. Beautiful new music has been prepared by ten leading practitioners of silent film accompaniment. Georges Méliès can now be seen not only as a great pioneer but also as the most accomplished filmmaker in the world during the first years of cinema.
WiKipedia
Amazon
Wow! That was my first impression when I opened up the box containing Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema, a thick boxed set with five DVDs filled with the inovative French director's films! Flicker Alley in association with David Shepard and Blackhawk Films has scoured the globe to put together an amazing collection of 173 films that Méliès made between 1896 and 1913. All told, films from seventeen archives and collections were used making this as near a complete collection of existing Méliès works as were ever going to see. It seems almost impossible to have this many of his films together at one time. A truly unprecedented endeavor, Flicker Alley has spared no expense in making this a truly collectible item.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/b7/4f/002b4fb7_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
George Méliès started life as a magician. He owned the Robert-Houdin theater in Paris, started by the famous prestidigitator whose name it bears (and whose name a young Erik Weisz would adapt for his stage name: Houdini), and preformed there regularly. In April of 1896 Méliès started incorporating movies into his theater's program of evening entertainment after buying a projector from England. (Attempts to purchase cameras and projectors from the Lumiere Brothers, the first to screen movies in France failed.) Later that year he started making movies himself, filming outdoors. When the fickle elements became too much trouble, the young magician constructed the world's first movie studio, which was completed in 1897.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/b8/4f/002b4fb8_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
About this time a serendipitous accident occurred that would influence the rest of Méliès film career. While he was filming candid life scenes outside of Place de l'Opera in Paris, his camera jammed for a moment. When the problem was fixed he continued shooting. After developing the film and screening it Méliès discovered something that must have been amazing to him: a trolley in the background instantly turned into a bus. He had accidentally stumbled upon trick photography and many of his films afterwards would use such manipulation to make some amazing films.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/bb/4f/002b4fbb_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
The set starts off with his first film, a short actuality, Playing Cards (1896), and ends with his final effort, 1913's The Voyage of the Bourrichon Family. In between are over 170 amazing films of all types. Even when seen today these films are both imaginative and pioneering. It's impossible to determine what the audiences of the 1890's and early 1900's thought of his magical fantasies, but they couldn't have been any less impressed than viewers of today.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/bd/4f/002b4fbd_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
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One of the things that these films all show is Méliès vast imagination. At the time that he bought his first camera, movies were only used to document life. A train pulling into a station, a lady dancing on a stage, and the recording of firemen rushing to a fire were typical films of the time. Méliès first film, Card Party, was in that vein, a group of friends playing cards and talking about stories in a newspaper, but he had soon expanded the medium far beyond that. In the third film in this set he's making a woman disappear, turn into a skeleton, and then reappear by simply stopping the camera. In the fourth film, A Nightmare, he's firmly embraced the fantastic, having a man be tormented by a giant moon that tries to eat him. This short was made in the same year as Card Party. It is simply astonishing to see how far Méliès progressed in just a few short months.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/bf/4f/002b4fbf_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
Viewing these films it soon becomes apparent that Méliès never stopped trying to top himself. Though he (and other filmmakers who copies him) gets a lot of use out of stopping the camera and rearranging the sets, he wasn't satisfied with just that gimmick. He came also used multiple exposures, moving backgrounds, masking, and other in-camera techniques for creating magical images. A lot of these shorts are surreal; with devils and demons instantly appearing and disappearing, people spontaneously walking up walls or ripping off their own heads, and size is only temporary.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c0/4f/002b4fc0_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
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Though he's best known for his dream and magical fantasies, Méliès also made historical dramas, comedies, adaptations of popular fiction, and reenactments of famous events. These are all presented in this collection and it's easy to tell that they are Méliès' work. All of his films have a certain flavor, with intricate backgrounds, large sets, and breakneck action. It was certainly the hectic pace, with one amazing thing happening after another, and large elaborate sets which enticed viewers around the turn of the century.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c2/4f/002b4fc2_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
It's also what led to his ruination. The later films presented in this collection form the early teens are still inventive and clever, but they don't differ significantly from his work a decade before. Conquest of the Pole (1912), Méliès last great film, illustrates this point. It's an entertaining and creative film that is a lot of fun. A group of scientists debate the best way to get to the North Pole and several expeditions are launched including ones by car, balloon, and plane. The latter is the only one to make it to the Arctic where the explorers have some adventures including being attacked by an ice giant and getting stuck to the "Magnetic Needle Axis of the Pole." Like his other movies, and this one bears a close resemblance in structure to A Trip to the Moon (1902), the special effects trump the story. In this case the bizarre cars that try to drive to the pole and the constellations that the plane flies by are all interesting to look at, but they don't advance the story and are on screen for too long. The film didn't do well at the box office and one has to imagine at least part of the reason is that people had seen it all before.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c4/4f/002b4fc4_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
Borrowing money to upgrade his studios Méliès became heavily in debt. Though his last films were longer, the times had passed him by. Audiences wanted longer narratives and fewer gimmicks. When his films stopped making money and his notes were called George Méliès was forced to leave the industry that he helped to create.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c5/4f/002b4fc5_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
It has been said that Méliès made over 500 films during the course of his career, but it's astounding that this many still survive. Over the years several large caches of his films have been destroyed or disposed of, making most of his work lost to time. It's sad to hear but in 1917, at the height of WWI a collection of his films were discovered in the Passage de l'Opera which was being occupied by the military. They melted the celluloid in order to extract the silver content and fashioned the rest to boot soles for the fighting soldiers. Six years later his theater was demolished and the films stored their sold be weight. Finally in 1924 Méliès himself burned his collection of his works to make more room for his family in their small apartment.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c6/4f/002b4fc6_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
But time has not claimed all of his films and these 173 movies are a good look at what the French magician was capable of. Entertaining, fun, and whimsical, these films are well worth watching. Having said that they go down best when viewed a few at a time. Screening an hour's worth of these films can get a bit monotonous, though a few shorts every evening keeps them fresh and enjoyable.![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c7/4f/002b4fc7_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]]()
Run out and buy this collection. It isn't going to be in print forever, and wouldn't you rather buy it now and support the publisher than pay twice as much a few years from now on e-bay? Watching the films creates the same sense of wonder that audiences must have felt a century ago. Even when seen today these films are both imaginative and pioneering. Flicker Alley, David Shepard, Jeffrey Masino and everyone else who had a hand in the production of this amazing set did a magnificent job. This set belongs in the DVDTalk Collector's Series.
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/b7/4f/002b4fb7.jpeg)
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/b8/4f/002b4fb8.jpeg)
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/bb/4f/002b4fbb.jpeg)
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/bd/4f/002b4fbd.jpeg)
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/bf/4f/002b4fbf.jpeg)
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![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c2/4f/002b4fc2.jpeg)
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![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c6/4f/002b4fc6.jpeg)
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c7/4f/002b4fc7.jpeg)
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c8/4f/002b4fc8_medium.jpeg)
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]
![Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) [2008]](https://pixhost.icu/avaxhome/c8/4f/002b4fc8.jpeg)
- DISC ONE: 1896-1901, 7,14 Gb
- DISC TWO: 1902-1904, 7,36 Gb
- DISC THREE: 1904-1906, 7,18 Gb
- DISC FOUR: 1907-1908, 7,21 Gb
- DISC FIVE: 1908-1913, 7,15 Gb
Special Features:
- Le Grand Méliès (Georges Franju, 1953) - A half-hour introductory film featuring Méliès' widow (who performed in many Méliès films) and André Méliès portraying his father
Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913) is a great entertainment and an invaluable research resource. Méliès' sense of fun and magic is very modern, and makes us feel as if the dawn of cinema happened just the day before yesterday.
If you want to download it, but found out that links are dead,
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