Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès (December 9, 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.
A Trip to the Moon
(Professor Barbenfouillis / The Moon)
The Impossible Voyage
(Mabouloff)
The Cook in Trouble
Cinematógrafo 1900
(Self (archive footage))
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo
(Self (archive footage))
The Untamable Whiskers
(Man with whiskers)
The Living Playing Cards
(The Magician)
The Infernal Cauldron
(Devil)
The One-Man Band
(All the members of the orchestra)
The Four Troublesome Heads
(Conjurer)
A Midnight Episode
(The Sleeping Man (uncredited))
Joan of Arc
(Père de Jeanne)
Faust and Marguerite
(Méphistophélès)
A Terrible Night
(L'homme qui essaie de dormir)
The Haunted Castle
The Vanishing Lady
(Magician)
The Astronomer's Dream
(Astronomer)
The Indian Sorcerer
(The Fakir)
Cinderella
(The Gnome of the Clock / The Swiss at the Entrance to the Church)
The Conquest of the Pole
(Le professeur Mabouloff)
The Wandering Jew
The Haunted Castle
(Mephistopheles)
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
(Self (archive footage))
A Desperate Crime
Ali Barbouyou and Ali Bouf, In Oil
(Ali Barbouyou)
The Wonderful Living Fan
The Black Imp
The Monster
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
The Temptation of St. Anthony
The Diabolic Tenant
(Le locataire diabolique)
The Man with the Rubber Head
(The Chemist / The India Rubber Head)
The Devil in a Convent
(The Devil)
The Mermaid
Long Distance Wireless Photography
The Conjurer
(Magician)
The Merry Frolics of Satan
(Satan)
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
(Wrestler)
The Hilarious Posters
(The Bill Poster)
The Dreyfus Affair
(Fernand Labori)
The Infernal Cakewalk
(Devil)
The Clockmaker's Dream
The Melomaniac
Summoning the Spirits
Extraordinary Illusions
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
The Human Pyramid
Hat of Many Surprises
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
(The Man)
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
(Le comique excentrique)
Jupiter's Thunderballs
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
The Bewitched Inn
(The Traveler)
Whimsical Illusions
(The Magician)
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
The Ballet Master's Dream
Apparitions
The Prolific Magical Egg
The Diabolical Church Window
Satan in Prison
(Satan)
Méliès: Tales of Terror
(The Melomaniac)
The Doctor's Secret
The Oracle of Delphi
The Dwarf and the Giant
A Moonlight Serenade
The Magician's Cavern
A Mesmerian Experiment
The Mysterious Retort
Playing Cards
(Un joueur de cartes)
An Impossible Balancing Feat
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
Bluebeard
(Barbe-bleue)
The Witch
(The Fairy Carabosse)
Faust in the Underworld
(Mephistopholes)
The Treasures of Satan
The Devil and the Statue
The Mysterious Knight
(Le chevalier mystère)
The Artist and the Dummy
(Artiste)
The Christmas Dream
(Beggar)
Good Glue Sticks
The Mystical Flame
The Fugitive Apparitions
Gala Méliès
(Himself)
The Kingdom of the Fairies
(Prince Bel-Azor)
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
(Professor of Astronomy)
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
(The brahmin)
A Maiden's Paradise
(The Wizard)
The Temple of the Sun
A Roadside Inn
(Drunk Traveler)
The Knight of the Snow
(Devil)
The Magic Lantern
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Pygmalion and Galatea
(Pygmalion)
Tunneling the English Channel
A Nightmare
(Man)
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
Naval Combat in Greece
(The Captain)
Violons d'Ingres
(Himself (archive footage))
Méliès' Magic Show
(Divers)
The Extraordinary Voyage
(Self - Filmmaker (archive footage))
The Mysterious Portrait
(L'illusioniste)
The Devilish Plank
Tit for Tat
Conjuring
(Himself)
The Christmas Angel
(The Rag-and-Bone Man / Beggar on Crutches / Coal Seller)
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
(Gulliver)
The Human Fly
(The Hindoo Magician)
The Prince of Magicians
(Excelsior)
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
(The Magician / The Double)
Cleopatra's Tomb
(un profanateur de la tombe de Cléopâtre)
Rip's Dream
(Rip Van Winkle)
Robinson Crusoe
(Robinson Crusoé)
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
(The Sorcerer Khalafar (uncredited))
The Mysterious Box
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
(Prince)
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
(The Roman)
The Triple Headed Lady
The Pillar of Fire
The Méliès Mystery
(Self (archive footage))
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
(Lamplighter)
Between Calais and Dover
(The Man in the Checked Suit)
A Fantastical Meal
(The Man)
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
(Conjurer)
The Magic Book
(The Magician)
The Marvellous Wreath
(Musketeer)
The Magician
(Le Sculpteur)
The Famous Box Trick
(The Magician)
The Firefall
(Satan)
Fortune Favors the Brave
(Gnome)
A Collection of Silent Films, Given Sound
(The Gnome of the Clock, a halberdier)
Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
(Self (archive footage))
A Trip to the Moon
(Producer)
A Trip to the Moon
(Production Design)
A Trip to the Moon
(Screenplay)
A Trip to the Moon
(Director)
Cinderella
(Producer)
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
(Producer)
Cinderella
(Production Design)
Bluebeard
(Adaptation)
Bluebeard
(Production Design)
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
(Writer)
Bluebeard
(Producer)
The Impossible Voyage
(Producer)
The Impossible Voyage
(Director)
The Impossible Voyage
(Screenplay)
Crying and Laughing
(Director)
The Degradation of Dreyfus
(Director)
Dreyfus Leaving the Lycée for Jail
(Director)
The Kingdom of the Fairies
(Director)
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
(Director)
The Living Playing Cards
(Director)
The Black Imp
(Director)
The Cook in Trouble
(Director)
The Untamable Whiskers
(Director)
The Scheming Gambler's Paradise
(Director)
The Mermaid
(Director)
The Enchanted Sedan Chair
(Director)
The Monster
(Director)
Rip's Dream
(Producer)
Joan of Arc
(Producer)
The Infernal Cauldron
(Production Design)
Joan of Arc
(Production Design)
Robinson Crusoe
(Production Design)
Rip's Dream
(Screenplay)
The Pillar of Fire
(Production Design)
Rip's Dream
(Production Design)
Robinson Crusoe
(Producer)
Robinson Crusoe
(Screenplay)
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
(Producer)
The Kingdom of the Fairies
(Screenplay)
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
(Screenplay)
The Merry Frolics of Satan
(Screenplay)
The Infernal Cauldron
(Screenplay)
Joan of Arc
(Screenplay)
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
(Production Design)
The Pillar of Fire
(Screenplay)
The Witch
(Production Design)
The Diabolic Tenant
(Producer)
The Diabolic Tenant
(Screenplay)
The Diabolic Tenant
(Production Design)
Whimsical Illusions
(Screenplay)
Whimsical Illusions
(Producer)
Whimsical Illusions
(Production Design)
The Pillar of Fire
(Producer)
The Infernal Cauldron
(Producer)
The Infernal Cauldron
(Director)
The Four Troublesome Heads
(Director)
Bluebeard
(Director)
The Conjurer
(Director)
The Hilarious Posters
(Director)
The One-Man Band
(Director)
The Diabolic Tenant
(Director)
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
(Director)
The Melomaniac
(Director)
The Man with the Rubber Head
(Director)
Good Glue Sticks
(Director)
The Mysterious Retort
(Director)
The Infernal Cakewalk
(Director)
The Oracle of Delphi
(Director)
A Terrible Night
(Producer)
The Vanishing Lady
(Director)
After the Ball
(Director)
The Haunted Castle
(Editor)
Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
(Director)
A Terrible Night
(Director)
A Terrible Night
(Writer)
The Haunted Castle
(Director)
The Haunted Castle
(Writer)
The Haunted Castle
(Production Design)
Between Calais and Dover
(Director)
A Terrible Night
(Production Design)
The Haunted Castle
(Producer)
Playing Cards
(Director)
A Nightmare
(Director)
The Surrender of Tournavos
(Director)
The Bewitched Inn
(Director)
Adventures of William Tell
(Director)
The Astronomer's Dream
(Director)
The Temptation of St. Anthony
(Director)
Panorama from Top of a Moving Train
(Director)
The Famous Box Trick
(Director)
The Devil in a Convent
(Director)
The Pillar of Fire
(Director)
The Mysterious Portrait
(Director)
Dreyfus Put in Irons
(Director)
Dreyfus Meets His Wife at Rennes
(Director)
Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon
(Director)
Dreyfus Court Martial - Arrest Of Dreyfus
(Director)
Suicide of Colonel Henry
(Director)
The Fight of Reporters
(Director)
The Court Martial at Rennes
(Director)
The Attempt Against the Life of Maitre Labori
(Director)
The Magician
(Director)
Addition and Subtraction
(Director)
Joan of Arc
(Director)
The Rajah's Dream or The Bewitched Wood
(Director)
The Magic Book
(Director)
The Mysterious Knight
(Director)
The Cook's Revenge
(Director)
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
(Director)
The Treasures of Satan
(Director)
The Magician and the Imp
(Director)
The Microscopic Dancer
(Director)
The Colonel's Shower Bath
(Director)
The Marvellous Wreath
(Director)
An Impossible Balancing Feat
(Director)
The Coronation of Edward VII
(Director)
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
(Director)
The Human Fly
(Director)
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
(Director)
How He Missed His Train
(Director)
Eight Girls in a Barrel
(Director)
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
(Director)
A Fantastical Meal
(Director)
The Doctor and the Monkey
(Director)
What Is Home Without the Boarder
(Director)
The Christmas Dream
(Director)
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
(Director)
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
(Director)
The Imperceptible Transmutations
(Director)
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
(Director)
Hat of Many Surprises
(Director)
The Prince of Magicians
(Director)
The Dwarf and the Giant
(Director)
The Magician's Cavern
(Director)
The Bachelor's Paradise
(Director)
An Extraordinary Dislocation
(Director)
The Devil and the Statue
(Director)
The Magic Lantern
(Director)
Apparitions
(Director)
The Enchanted Well
(Director)
Extraordinary Illusions
(Director)
The Indian Sorcerer
(Director)
The Wandering Jew
(Director)
Cinderella
(Director)
Post No Bills
(Director)
The Inn Where No Man Rests
(Director)
Tunneling the English Channel
(Director)
The Dreyfus Affair
(Director)
The Two Blind Men
(Director)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
(Director)
The Conquest of the Pole
(Screenplay)
The Conquest of the Pole
(Director)
The Spider and the Butterfly
(Director)
The Haunted Castle
(Production Design)
The Haunted Castle
(Director)
The Haunted Castle
(Producer)
The Haunted Castle
(Writer)
Robinson Crusoe
(Director)
The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen
(Director)
The Merry Frolics of Satan
(Director)
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
(Director)
The Misfortunes of an Explorer
(Director)
Whimsical Illusions
(Director)
On the Roof
(Director)
Naval Combat in Greece
(Director)
The Last Cartridges
(Director)
Off to Bedlam
(Director)
The Voyage of M. Bourrichon
(Director)
The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelee and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique
(Director)
Faust in the Underworld
(Director)
Jupiter's Thunderballs
(Director)
The Prolific Magical Egg
(Director)
Ten Ladies in an Umbrella
(Director)
A Moonlight Serenade
(Director)
The Bewitched Trunk
(Director)
The Firefall
(Director)
The Mystical Flame
(Director)
The Skipping Cheese
(Director)
The Lilliputian Minuet
(Director)
A Mesmerian Experiment
(Director)
The Magic Dice
(Director)
The Human Pyramid
(Director)
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
(Director)
Summoning the Spirits
(Director)
An Adventurous Automobile Trip
(Director)
The Artist and the Dummy
(Director)
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
(Director)
The Wandering Jew
(Producer)
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
(Director)
The Witch's Revenge
(Director)
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
(Director)
Jack Jags and Dum Dum
(Director)
Comical Conjuring
(Director)
The Mysterious Box
(Director)
The Ballet Master's Dream
(Director)
The Drawing Lesson
(Director)
A Spiritualist Photographer
(Director)
The Fugitive Apparitions
(Director)
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
(Director)
The Devilish Plank
(Director)
A Miracle Under the Inquisition
(Director)
The Clockmaker's Dream
(Director)
Tit for Tat
(Director)
The Christmas Angel
(Director)
Faust and Marguerite
(Director)
An Improvised Fireworks Display
(Director)
A Crazy Composer
(Director)
Rip's Dream
(Director)
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus
(Director)
Punch and Judy
(Director)
The Wonderful Living Fan
(Director)
Long Distance Wireless Photography
(Director)
Soap Bubbles
(Director)
A Mix-Up in the Gallery
(Director)
A Roadside Inn
(Director)
A Desperate Crime
(Director)
The Luny Musician
(Director)
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
(Director)
The Tramp and the Mattress Makers
(Director)
Jack the Chimney Sweep
(Director)
The Witch
(Director)
Ali Barbouyou and Ali Bouf, In Oil
(Director)
Satan in Prison
(Director)
Sightseeing Through Whisky
(Director)
Rogues' Tricks
(Director)
Robert Macaire and Bertrand
(Director)
How Bridget's Lover Escaped
(Director)
The Prophetess of Thebes
(Director)
The King and the Jester
(Director)
The Knight of Black Art
(Director)
Buncoed Stage Johnnie
(Director)
The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess
(Director)
The Dream of an Opium Fiend
(Director)
A Tricky Painter’s Fate
(Director)
Not Guilty
(Director)
The Broken Violin
(Director)
French Cops Learning English
(Director)
His First Job
(Director)
The Mischance of a Photographer
(Director)
The Miser
(Director)
Grandmother's Tale and Child's Dream
(Director)
In the Barber Shop
(Director)
In the Bogie Man's Cave
(Director)
Justinian's Human Torches
(Director)
The Good Luck of a 'Souse'
(Director)
The Genii of Fire
(Director)
The New Lord of the Village
(Director)
The Woes of Roller Skaters
(Director)
Why That Actor Was Late
(Director)
Sideshow Wrestlers
(Director)
Pharmaceutical Hallucinations
(Director)
The Knight of the Snow
(Director)
Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
(Director)
The Diabolical Church Window
(Director)
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
(Director)
The Doctor's Secret
(Director)
The Damnation of Faust
(Director)
Guerre de Cuba et l'explosion du Maine à La Havane
(Director)
The Bewitched Inn
(Producer)
The Bewitched Inn
(Production Design)
The Bewitched Inn
(Editor)
The Bewitched Inn
(Screenplay)
The Hallucinated Alchemist
(Director)
Playing Cards
(Writer)
The Conquest of the Pole
(Producer)
The Conquest of the Pole
(Director of Photography)
Cleopatra's Tomb
(Director)
Fantastic Dining Room
(Director)
The Christmas Angel
(Producer)
Mishaps of the New York-Paris Auto Race
(Director)
Arrival of a Train at Vincennes Station
(Director)
Pygmalion and Galatea
(Director)
A Midnight Episode
(Producer)
A Midnight Episode
(Director)
Les mousquetaires de la reine
(Director)
A Trip to the Moon
(Editor)
L'homme aux cent trucs
(Writer)
L'homme aux cent trucs
(Director)
Sure Cure for Indigestion
(Director)
The Triple Headed Lady
(Director)
The Devil's Laboratory
(Director)
Lightning Change Artist
(Director)
Humanity Through the Ages
(Director)
Cabinet Trick of the Davenport Brothers
(Director)
The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax"
(Director)
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
(Director)
Faust and Marguerite
(Director)
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
(Director)
Méliès: Tales of Terror
(Director)
Méliès: Tales of Terror
(Producer)
Extravagant Struggles
(Director)
Little Red Riding Hood
(Director)
The Impossible Voyage
(Production Design)
The Four Troublesome Heads
(Producer)
The Four Troublesome Heads
(Special Effects)
The Man with the Rubber Head
(Special Effects)
The Man with the Rubber Head
(Producer)
The Wonderful Rose Tree
(Director)
Devil's Island - Within the Palisade
(Director)
Violons d'Ingres
(Additional Photography)
Gala Méliès
(Director)
Les forgerons
(Director)
Visite de l'épave du Maine
(Director)
ORG
(Thanks)
Wine Cellar Burglars
(Director)
A Maiden's Paradise
(Director)
The Temple of the Sun
(Director)
Painless Dentistry
(Director)
Fun in Court
(Director)
The Sacred Fountain
(Director)
A Good Trick
(Director)
Drunkard and Inventor
(Director)
China Versus Allied Powers
(Director)
Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria
(Director)
STOP THIEF!
(Director)
Christ Walking on Water
(Director)
Excursion to the Moon
(Original Film Writer)
A Nightmare
(Producer)
Tunneling the English Channel
(Producer)
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
(Screenplay)
Tunneling the English Channel
(Production Design)
A Nightmare
(Editor)
A Nightmare
(Production Design)
Murder Will Out
(Director)
The Clown and Automobile
(Director)
Le conférencier distrait
(Director)
The Black Imp
(Producer)
An Irritable Model
(Director)
Boxing Match
(Director)
A Woman Surprised
(Director)
A Serpentine Dance
(Director)
The Bridegroom's Dilemma
(Director)
Fencing at the Joinville School
(Director)
Arrival of a Train (Joinville Station)
(Director)
The Cave of the Demons
(Director)
The Grasshopper and the Ant
(Director)
Benvenuto Cellini or A Curious Evasion
(Director)
Les miracles du Brahmine
(Director)
Marvelous Suspension
(Director)
The Mischances of a Drunkard
(Director)
A Terrible Night (Remake)
(Director)
L'agent gelé
(Director)
Watering the Flowers
(Director)
Carrefour de l'opéra
(Director)
Panorama from Top of a Moving Train
(Director of Photography)
Panorama from Top of a Moving Train
(Producer)
Conjuring
(Director)
Les tribulations d'un concierge
(Director)
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
(Writer)
The Vanishing Lady
(Editor)
The Witch
(Writer)
The Witch
(Producer)
The Vanishing Lady
(Producer)
The Vanishing Lady
(Production Design)
Conjurer Making Ten Hats in Sixty Seconds
(Director)
Miss de Vère - English Jig
(Director)
D. Devant, Conjurer
(Director)
A Soldier's Unlucky Salutation
(Director)
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
(Producer)
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
(Editor)
The Human Fly
(Producer)
The Kingdom of the Fairies
(Producer)
The Kingdom of the Fairies
(Production Design)
The Hilarious Posters
(Producer)
The Prince of Magicians
(Producer)
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
(Production Design)
The Merry Frolics of Satan
(Producer)
The Merry Frolics of Satan
(Production Design)
Fortune Favors the Brave
(Director)
A Collection of Silent Films, Given Sound
(Director)
A Collection of Silent Films, Given Sound
(Production Design)
A Collection of Silent Films, Given Sound
(Producer)