"26 of May of 1895, in Lyon," "The doors of a factory open and come out a mob of workers ..." "In front of the camera placed by Louis Lumière." ""Life has been captured," they wrote on seeing the images." "The first spectators were astonished to see the world ..." "Move on a white cloth." "The experience was prodigious." "At last an artifact was able to record the movement and ..." "Play it on a screen." "The eye of Lumière's camera saw reality." "But it took the appearance of a witch," "To convert cinematographer into film, into a stage art." "The mage of moving images was Georges Méliès." "At the beginning of the 20th century, long before ..." ""Star Wars"," "Méliès was the first to send men into space." "He turned his back on reality and invented an artificial world," "A realm of fantasy." "In his study, the first in the world conceived for the cinema," "Méliès, the magician, explored since 1897, all the options of the camera." "Developed tricks and special effects ..." "Which his followers simply adapted and modernized." "This amazing man orchestra was both screenwriter, decorator," "Director, actor and producer." "In 16 years more than 500 works of the studies of Méliès appeared," "Which were exhibited all over the world and astonished the public ..." "In fairs and in the first cinemas." "Méliès, the pioneer of cinema as a show," "Became a character of legend." "The master of special effects and fantasy ..." "Created unrepeatable works admired by both avant-garde directors," "As by Hollywood filmmakers." "His career began in 1896 and was interrupted shortly before ..." "Of the First World War." "Méliès, ruined, was forced to sell his studio in 1923." "Financially, he was tied by hands ..." "And pursued by a merciless creditor." "You can not imagine my sadness to have to leave the cinema," "A job that I was passionate about." "For over a month I had to look like antiques and scrap dealers ..." "Took twenty years of work." "I had nowhere to store the hundreds of negatives in my movies." "In a moment of despair, I burned them," "Without realizing that I was making an irreparable mistake." "From 1925 to 1932, Méliès runs, along with his second wife," "A toy store and goodies" "At the Montparnasse railway station." "It was surely the hardest part of my life," "But had to continue living, cost what it cost." "Spent every day, Sundays included," "From 7 in the morning to 10 at night, in that store ..." "Full of drafts." "In summary," "It was the prison for someone accustomed to absolute freedom." "Film veterans thought he was dead-time." "The truth is that Méliès had not forgotten it at all." "A film journalist recognized him in the store." "He launched a press campaign in his favor." "More and more journalists, filmmakers and moviegoers have started ..." "To visit Méliès in his shop." "Among them was Jean Mauclaire, creator in Montmartre of Studio 28," "A state-of-the-art cinema." "Mauclaire casually discovered films of mine in a warehouse." "It was in 1929." "He restored and organized a gala in the Hall Pleyel." "Buy the program of the Méliès gala, buy the program." "Buy the program of the Méliès gala." "The special issue of the film magazine dedicated to Georges Méliès." "Buy the program of the Méliès gala." "It was a triumphal day." "Everyone who was someone came to Paris," "And the whole world of cinema." "Fate had brought him back to fame." "For a six-and-a-half-year-old girl, who were the ones I had," "It was an exceptional honor to be able to attend the Méliès Gala." "It was December 16, 1929." "It was a surprise to see the honor they paid my grandfather," "The two thousand people who cheered him up." "We attended the screening 8 films of my grandfather ..." "Miraculously recovered." ""The Entanglements of the Devil"." "Méliès - 1906" "After the screening, my grandfather disappeared." "His seat on the stage was empty." "A screen descended on the stage," "In which they projected a very strange film." "Méliès was dressed in a tux and running through the streets of Paris," "Looking for the Pleyel room." "From his pockets came movies that climbed his back," "Which were curled around him, surrounded him and up to his neck." "I could not go forward, I could not find the Pleyel room." "They brightened the room again." "They raised the screen and on stage ..." "There was another white paper screen," "From which Méliès left breaking the paper." "He was welcomed by a thunderbolt of applause," "And improvised a charming speech." "It was in 1929." "Méliès was rediscovered and acclaimed." "Abel Gance said: "Your films continue ..." "Communicating an exceptional candor and freshness." "Méliès is a great poet. "" "Méliès, the magician of the cinema." "Before being a filmmaker, Méliès was a magician." "He discovered the art of magic in London at the age of 22 ..." "And was very gifted for sleight of hand." "He performed in Paris in private rooms and in the Cabinet Fantastique ..." "Of the Grévin Museum." "At that time I worked in the workshops of my father," "A luxury footwear industry." "He wanted to withdraw from the business and distribute it among his three children." "But I did not want to continue in the footwear business." "With my share of the paternal fortune I bought ..." "The exploitation rights of the famous theater of magic ..." "And illusionism created by Robert-Houdin." "It was July 1, 1888, he was 26 years old." "The Robert-Houdin theater was in the 8th of the Boulevard of the Italians," "Right in the middle of what is now the crossroads ..." "Richelieu with Drouot." "It was demolished in 1925," "When Haussmann Boulevard was built." "My film career is so close to the Robert-Houdin theater," "Which are two issues that can not be addressed separately." "At age 10 I began to frequent that theater I admired." "I was his last director, I directed him for more than 30 years." "When I bought it, the theater had spent two difficult years." "The public was sparse and the room was outdated." "I renewed it and began to invent "the great illusions"," "Which were to be the main attraction of the performances." "Robert-Houdin had designed the theater very carefully." "Its design offered great possibilities to show ..." "Our tricks and illusions." "Méliès inaugurated his address with the first "great illusion"" ""The Persian Stroubaika."" "The glory of the Méliès filmmaker has hidden the Méliès magician," "But he was one of the great creators of magic of his century." "And introduced into the magic a modality that did not exist before." "He created small plays with magic." "Works in which appeared several magicians and several acts ..." "Of illusionism on stage." "The Robert-Houdin Theater, was a small room," "And on that small stage, Méliès created great spectacles." "In a scenario of barely 5 meters wide," "There were shows with 10, 11, 12 people on stage." "When he took over the theater, Méliès knew he must be ..." "At the height of the prestigious past of a stage on which ..." "Flew the memory of Robert-Houdin, the master of modern illusionism." "Robert-Houdin was born in Blois, in 1805." "This son of a watchmaker, also passionate about watchmaking," "Gained fame by his mechanical inventions, and above all," "By the automatons." "At the same time Robert-Houdin explored all the possibilities ..." "Of the retraction." "Drastically changed the traditional practice of magic," "He quit quackery and invented white magic." "Robert-Houdin made prestidigitation an art," "And became the most famous illusionist of his time," "The age of romanticism." "Less than fifty years old and rich." "Left the stage" "And was devoted to scientific research." "Besides the theater, Méliès acquired all the magic mechanisms ..." "Created by Robert-Houdin." "And he also inherited his automata." "I think the ghost of Robert-Houdin lived in the theater," "And that Méliès had very good relations with him." "Méliès, throughout his life, defended with passion ..." "The memory of Robert-Houdin." "He maintained in perfect condition all the automata of Robert-Houdin," "Which were complicated and complex." "Some might seem outdated, even for that time," "But they were always part of the theater repertoire." "Méliès, until the end of his life and during very difficult times," "Did everything possible to save the automatons of Robert-Houdin." "Although he burned his films, he kept the automata ..." "Of Robert-Houdin and donated them to the Museum of Arts and Crafts," "Because he considered them wonders for future generations ..." "They must have been able to admire one day." "Méliès kept all the theater staff, technicians and magicians." "He appeared on very few occasions on the stage of his theater." "In that time, to be on the stage of Robert-Houdin ..." "It was like being part of the Comédie Française." "There were Raynaly, Duperrey, Harmington, Anold, and Jules Legris," "Who remained for 14 years as head of the magic wand ..." "Of the Robert-Houdin Theater." "Ladies and gentlemen, something even stronger." "After the session of spiritism, the main attraction:" ""The recalcitrant beheaded"" "In the cast was a young blonde with long, beautiful hair." "Jehanne d'Alcy." "Its small size made it easier to hide." "The public liked its charm and vivacity," "Which also captivated Méliès." "His relationship with Jehanne soon became intimate." "He married in his second marriage in 1925." "Jehanne d'Alcy interpreted most of the numbers ..." "Of illusionism that Méliès created in his theater." "Jehanne will also act in the first films of Méliès," "Will be, in a way, the first movie star." "In his films, Méliès retaken some numbers of illusionism ..." "Created for the Robert-Houdin Theater." ""The farces of the moon" happened to be in 1898 ..." ""The Moon to a meter", with Méliès in the paper of astronomer." ""The Moon at one meter" Méliès 1898." "In the Robert-Houdin theater the functions used to end ..." "With representations of Chinese shadows or magic lantern." "These magical lantern representations had familiarized me ..." "With the projection long before the appearance of the cinema." "The mechanized sheets allowed to generate amazing effects." "The landscapes painted on glass and adorned with beautiful colors ..." "They liked the public very much, discovering unknown places." "Robert-Houdin finished his shows with projections ..." "Of magic lantern, even projections of animated plates." "These projections were tradition in the world of magic." "I think the magicians realized the magical value of the image," "Of the value of adding an image to prestidigitation." "That is why his relationship with cinema was a logical and direct one." "I was constantly looking for attractions for my theater." "In 1982, I attended the representation of Pantomimas Luminosas," "Of Emile Reynaud, in the Cabinet Fantastique of the Grévin Museum," "In which he had debuted as a juggler." "In the Universal Exhibition of 1878 he had already seen the Praxinoscope ..." "Created by Reynaud." "The toy created an almost perfect illusion of movement." "With his optical theater, Reynaud projected animated scenes ..." "Of which he had painted each image in a perforated band," "Which he himself manipulated." "Birth of the cinema." "Roger Leenhardt - 1946" "That invention fascinated me." "I imagined magic shows ..." "Made with a series of animated photographs created ..." "By an apparatus like that of Reynaud." "But I still did not know how to reproduce my tricks on a tape," "Or what would be its result on the screen." ""Poor Pierrot." Emile Reynaud - 1892" "They asked two jugglers from my theater, Arnould and Raynaly," "Who did tricks in the face of Georges Demen's chronophotographer." "He was the assistant to psychologist Etienne Jules Marey." "It was in 1893." "Professor Alfred Binet was conducting an experiment for the study ..." "Of the "psychology of sleight of hand."" "The chronophotography allowed to decompose ..." "These mysterious manipulations, like the leap of the coin." "A set of hands that sometimes lasted only tenths of a second." "I did not like to explain my tricks, and I would have refused to participate ..." "In that experience." "Emile Raynaly" "In 1894 the first Edison kinetoscopes arrived in Paris." "The American Edison had managed to record and reproduce ..." "The movement on a photographic film." ""Annie Oakley." Edison - 1894" "I went to one of the first demonstrations of this device ... extraordinary." "Spectators had to shift into a high chair," "To observe a scene of animated photographs," "Recorded on a film that passed at great speed." "The experience was exciting, but it was still ..." "A curiosity for lonely fans." ""Boxer cats"." "Edison - 1894." "To get a real show you had to achieve ..." "That the images came out of the box." "Louis Lumière knew the works of Reynaud, Demenÿ and Edison." "In 1895 his cinematograph was able to record images ..." "For about fifty seconds, and project them later ..." "On a screen." "Méliès knew well the father of Louis and Auguste Lumière," "Since Antoine Lumière rented offices under the Robert-Houdin theater." "It is probable that Méliès was aware of the new invention," "Before the first public screening on December 28, 1895." "Thus Méliès counted in 1937 his discovery of cinematograph." "In this unique recording of his voice, it evokes his encounter ..." "With Antoine Lumière on the staircase leading to the theater." "The father of the Lumière brothers allegedly told him." "Mr. Méliès, as usual to astonish the public ..." "With his tricks, I would love for him to come to the Great Cafe." "Why?" "Asked." "Because you will see something that may surprise you even." "When I began to see his apparatus projecting motionless photographs," "As we did in our usual projections I said:" "Have you bothered to see these projections?" "I do it for almost 20 years, they have nothing extraordinary." "I had deliberately frozen an image for a few seconds." "Suddenly, I saw at the exit of the workshops Lumière ..." "To the characters to move and to come to us." "We were all astonished, as you can imagine." "I said immediately, "That's for me." "It's extraordinary."" "Did he immediately ask Lumière to give or rent his device?" "Of course." "He's right." "As theater director ..." "I did not expect the refusal I received at that time." "It was the father of Louis and Auguste who answered me immediately:" ""It is a scientific instrument destined to ..." "To medicine to study the movements of muscles, etc.," "And not an instrument for making public projections. "" "Had not he understood the potential of his invention?" "Not at all." "He later recognized it many times saying:" ""He was not a man of the theater, he had not foreseen that use."" "At that moment even I did not know what to do with it," "But I knew something had to be done." "In fact, Antoine Lumière, who had a commercial instinct," "He wanted the device exclusively to exploit it with his children." "A few months later, the House Lumière, was in front in France ..." "And the foreign market of animated images." ""The watering can." Lumière - 1895" "I wanted to present projections in my theater, cost what it would cost." "As a cartoonist and a good mechanic, I was determined to build ..." "By myself a projection apparatus." "He wanted to build a machine, but we know he visited ..." "To other manufacturers to buy the models that already existed." "At that time, 1896, very few people could provide ..." "A projector, or a camera." "He went to England, where there were several manufacturers," "Robert William Paul, among others." "An English optician who worked ..." "During the year 1895 with Burt Acres to manufacture a projector ..." "And a camera." "On March 2, 1896, Robert William Paul patented ..." "A 35-millimeter projector he called "Theatrical"." "At the end of March 1896, Robert William Paul ..." "Could supply copies of his Teatrografo to whom it requested." "We know it, because another magician, Karl Hertz," "Bought a copy of the Teatrografo and left for South Africa ..." "To make projections with those apparatuses." "Another magician named David Devant also made projections ..." "Of films of 35 millimeters with the apparatus of Robert William Paul." "Georges Méliès bought a Teatrograph." "In April of 1896 I inaugurated in the theater Robert-Houdin ..." "The first movie theater." "I projected images with an Edison kinetoscope," "And Burt Acres tapes." "But I wanted to do my own filming as soon as possible." ""Annabelle Serpentine's Dance"." "Edison" " Dickson-Hee-1895." "He was facing a new problem, he had the projector Paul," "But there was no camera." "He had the idea of ​​transforming the projector into a camera." "He reversed the process, added lenses and closed the shutter ..." "With a cap to isolate it from the light." "He made his first films with the Robert William Paul apparatus." "That machine was a hulk." "It was heavy and difficult to transport." "The mechanism was mounted on a heavy iron platform," "And enclosed in an oak box." "With that camera you could only get 20 meters of film." "He had no visor, and he had to focus and frame under a black veil," "As in photography." "At the foot of the machine was a large steering wheel that served ..." "To start the mechanism." "Another drawback was that it made so much noise," "That I was jokingly calling him the coffee grinder," "Or the machine gun." "But I was quite satisfied with the results ..." "With this first camera." "Towards May of 1896 rolled Méliès his first film ..." "In the garden of the family house of Montreuil." "In this "Match of Cards" is not behind the camera," "But ahead, with a straw hat on his head." "As in most of the early films and ..." ""Documentary recordings" by Méliès," "This "Match of cards" was believed lost." "This exceptional document was recently discovered in ..." "The collection of the London National Film and Television Archive." "Many of the movie pioneers have played card games." "The one of Méliès, to the left, is the retort of the one of Louis Lumière, to the right" "Made a few months earlier with his father Antoine Lumière," "And Felicien Trewey, a prestidigitator friend of Méliès." "The images show the spirit of your time and are without a doubt ..." "Heavily influenced by paintings such as Cézanne's card players." "Although he managed to shoot his first films," "Including the famous "Match of cards"," "With Paul's projector transformed into camera," "He found the problem of not having a projector to show ..." "The films at the Robert-Houdin Theater." "The transformation was practically irreversible." "That is, it was very difficult for Méliès," "Re-convert the camera into a projector." "That's why he was forced to look for a projector for his films." "Méliès acts as in the previous occasion, that is to say," "Go to another manufacturer to buy a projector." "Until recently there were no data on ..." "The identity of the manufacturer of the first Méliès projector." "It is a rather enigmatic character named Louis Charles," "Which on April 20, 1896 patented a very original projector." "It had a helical ramp and a very bold, very modern system," "Which was continued until the 1960s." "The story does not end there, because curiously," "The 4 of September of 1896, Méliès, next to its partners ..." "Lucien Korsten and Lucien Reulos, applied for a patent to claim," "As was said at the time, the ownership of an invention." "It was the invention of the Kinetograph," "The projector that had been operating since April at the Robert-Houdin Theater." "It is a very strange patent, as it repeats point by point ..." "The one Charles had presented in April 1896." "There was a forgery or an agreement between Méliès and Charles." "It is still impossible to know the truth." "By then, a busy street, the arrival of a train," "Or the waves crashing against the rocks," "Were enough to amaze the public and satisfy their curiosity." "But it was only a child's play." "My clients from the fairs feared that the public ..." "Got bored of military parades and babies eating." "They were not mistaken." "Filmé, like the operators of Mr. Lumière," "The Czar's visit to Paris in October 1896." "But I was not long in leaving aside these simple subjects," "And I specialized in interesting topics because of the difficulty ..." "Of its execution." "True or legend?" "Méliès often had ..." "How he discovered the trick that would be the basis of his technique;" "The camera stop, or stop by replacement." "It all started in Paris, on the Opera Square." "My first camera was rudimentary." "The movie ripped and tangle," "And it stuck frequently." "One day I was filming near the Opera Square," "The camera is locked." "It took me a minute to unclog the movie and come back ..." "To start the camera." "During that minute, pedestrians, buses and cars ..." "They had changed positions." "Projecting the film, when it reaches the point where ..." "I was stuck, I saw that the Madeleine-Bastille bus ..." "It became a hearse, and men became women." "He had found the substitution trick, the stunt of the stop." ""A Lady's Runaway," my first movie with special effects," "Was the exact reproduction of the famous trick invented ..." "By the illusionist Buatier de Kolta." "In De Kolta's number, the wizard placed a chair ..." "On a newspaper, and covered with a shawl a woman sitting on it." "After pronouncing the magic formula, the woman and the chair disappeared." "The newspaper was actually a rubber sheet with a slit," "Placed above a trapdoor." "A metal frame held the shawl and gave it a body shape." "The seat of the chair sank and the woman slid ..." "Under the floor through the newspaper." "The frame and the shawl were attached to the racks ..." "By an invisible thread." "The rubber recovered its initial shape, and only the chair remained." "The number caused great astonishment." "Méliès understood that stopping the camera could replace ..." "The trapdoor of the theater in the number of illusionism." "Here, Méliès plays the role of the magician." "Hides under the shawl a woman played by Jehanne d'Alcy." "Méliès interrupts filming right here," "During the time necessary for the woman to leave the scene." "Then the filming continues." "I added the appearance of a skeleton instead of the woman." "By this trick, everything was a child's play," "And the audience did not discover what was happening." "The success of these tricky films was such," "Which soon reached worldwide fame without advertising." "I started filming using the same system ..." "Increasingly complicated and fantastic subjects." "To increase the interest of my films," "I needed imaginary places." "Not natural landscapes that I was not convinced." "My first vocation was drawing and painting." "So," "I started building and painting outdoor scenes." "But working abroad had many drawbacks." "The clouds passed in front of the sun and abruptly changed the light," "During filming." "In winter the wind, rain, and snow ..." "We also played tricks." "And I had to supply new movies to my clients ... throughout the year." "In "The Devil's Mansion", of 1896, a gentleman," "Played by Méliès, faces Satan." "The shadows that appear on the floor indicate ..." "That this 60-meter film was shot on the outside," "In the garden of Montreuil." "All these difficulties pushed me to put ..." "Sheltered from the elements, to build a photo workshop." "Now they would call it study." "The first one conceived especially for the cinema." "I was going to be able to give real appearance to the craziest inventions ..." "Out of my imagination." "East of Paris, at the gates of the capital:" "Montreuil-sous-bois." "At the entrance to the village, a fresh honor is given to Méliès." "Méliès, then Pathé, and in the twenties ..." "The immigrant Russian filmmakers, are going to convert to Montreuil ..." "In one of the main centers of French cinematography." "Around 1860, Méliès' father bought a large estate here." "Georges spent part of her childhood there," "And it was there that he built the two studios ..." "Of which today there is no trace." "In the nineteenth century Montreuil was still a rural area." "The Parisians went there on Sundays ..." "To forget the noise and annoyances of the capital." "Her many orchards of peaches made her call," ""Peaches Montreuil."" "Méliès built his first studio in early 1897." "At first it was simply a large glass-walled ship," "Which he continued to transform and refine until 1900." "It was bigger than a photo studio ..." "And the stage of a theater together." "17 meters long, and a little more than 6 meters wide." "Its dimensions were the same as those of the Robert-Houdin theater." "A metal structure, covered with glass on all sides," "Let in the sunlight." "In the north end there was a stage situated ..." "At the same level as the wooden floor of the workshop." "The area of ​​performances was orientated so that it received ..." "The light from the front from 11 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon." "At that time there was not enough powerful electrical lighting." "The shots had to be made in daylight." "At the beginning of 1900, a small shed ..." "Extended the study on the south side." "The operator could manipulate the film in the dark." "The shed also allowed the camera to be delayed," "And expand the filming field." "The stage was set to shoot fantastic scenes." "Already in 1898 Méliès had a pit excavated beneath the stage ..." "With traps, pulleys, lifting and lowering mechanisms," "That allowed to change decorations and the apparitions ..." "And disappearances of gods, or of Mephistopheles," "In the fantastic scenes." ""The condemnation of Faust"." "Méliès - 1903" "At the end of 1899 I built on the stage ..." "Glass walkways with metal floor," "So that the machinists could activate the mechanisms ..." "For the flight of chariots, angels, fairies," "Or the swimmers pass." "To obtain underwater scenes, he filmed the divers," "Or to the aquatic deities, through an aquarium ..." "With live fish." ""The kingdom of fairies"." "Méliès - 1903" "Méliès used models." "So I could navigate ..." "The ships in buckets." "With these facilities the workshop looked like a fantasy theater." "As larger and larger scenes were being represented," "I built on each side of the stage glass racks," "With stores for the sets." "Next to the study, to the east, was a large ship ..." "That was used for the carpentry and the painting of the sets." "Most scenarios came out of my imagination." "Méliès prepared his films in a series of sketches." "Very few times I wrote a text or technical notes." "He drew everything beforehand to avoid problems." "I must say that in special effects scenes ..." "There were many problems." "When he arrives at the studio, Méliès, the orchestra man," "Has the whole movie on the head." "Often artists and technicians do not know what they are going to shoot." "He builds and paints the sets himself." "He painted them in gray, since the film of the time ..." "Did not have the same sensitivity to all colors." "Check all accessories, machines and camera." "When everything is ready, call the artists and extras." "It demanded absolute punctuality, because the sun did not wait." "You had to dress and make up." "Afterwards, everything was done as in the theater." "The artists came to the stage," "There, he explained to all the history and rehearsed the various parts." "First the main action and then the secondary parts." "He interpreted all the characters, to indicate the gestures," "The entrances and exits, and the place that they had to occupy in the scene." "After the repetitions, when everything was ready," "The operator started the camera and recorded the scene." "The actors talked, as in the theater," "Which gave more credibility to his performance." ""200,000 leagues under the sea"." "Méliès - 1907" "To pace the scene, and keep it," "Méliès used a metronome, and sometimes a piano." "In my beginnings, the employees of the theater Robert Houdin," "To the members of my family, to the domestic service," "And even the gardener, I granted them the rank of actors." "I soon hired dancers from the Châtelet and the Opera," "Who were more elegant than my extras." "They had good will, but lacked special skills." "Soon came the cabaret singers, and finally," "Theatrical artist." "Especially when they found out that he was paying well." "In the scenes with much figuration the staff and the artists ..." "Was grouped in the backstage," "Out of the optical field of the camera." "The doors, built in front of each other," "Allowed a large procession formed outside the study," "Enter through a door, cross the scene," "And out the opposite door." "Like the parade of the army, in "Joan of Arc"." ""Joan of Arc"." "Méliès - 1900" "The glass ceiling of the studio was formed in part ..." "By frosted crystals and partly by ordinary crystals." "In summer, when the sun struck the decorations through the glass," "Shadows were marked on a fabric of the background." "To avoid this inconvenience install movable skirts." "They were operated by cables that allowed them to be opened or closed," "In a blink of an eye." "To realize without fail my crazy follies," "It took a lot of cold blood and a lot of perseverance." "So, despite what one of my American clients believed," "He was not the furious madman he had imagined." ""The palace of the Arabian Nights"." "Méliès - 1905" "The study allowed Méliès to make innovations ..." "In the field of planes and special effects," "With the vertical camera, for example." "I fixed the camera to one of the catwalks located ..." "On the stage and made a take on the set lying down ..." "On the floor of the stage." "The character evolved in a horizontal setting," "And seemed able to perform improbable stunts." "Méliès adapted to the cinema all the resources of the theatrical machinery." "For example, a painted canvas sliding from bottom to top," "Allowed him to film dizzying falls." "These images were recorded in 1906." "An overprint on a vertical roller for a show ..." "Of the Châtelet, in Paris. "The Entanglements of the Devil"." "Méliès films impossible scenes to perform ..." "On the stage of a theater and then includes them ..." "In fairy tales and shows for the big screen." "This is the case, for example, from:" "From Paris to Monte Carlo in two hours," "Held in Montreuil for a show of the Folies-Bergère." "I created a special section of cinematographic shots ..." "That went out of the ordinary." "My clients called them "shots of transformation"," "But it would be more accurate to call them "fantastic shots."" "These shots were performed through a series of processes that, together," "Could not receive another name than trick." "I discovered, by chance, the trick of stopping the camera," "Which allowed for all kinds of substitutions." "To perform this trick, the camera stopped ..." "At the moment when the appearance or disappearance should occur ..." "Of a character." "You could make a new character appear on the scene," "But could also be made to disappear." "The filming restarts, and here is the result in the projection." "A sudden appearance." "When this trick is performed, it is impossible to stop the camera ..." "Exactly in the image that precedes the disappearance," "And resume shooting on the first back image." "For the trick to succeed, for it to go unnoticed," "You have to be very precise in the cut." "In other words, for the tricky scene ..." "Have good continuity splicing the film ..." "Exactly here, to obtain, in this case, a substitution." "There can be no trick without splice, ie no editing." "In the films of Méliès, for example this one," ""The Devil's Tenant", 1909." "The joints are noticed in the horizontal white stripe ..." "Which appears in the upper part of the image." "The tenant's pictures are fixed to the wall as if by magic." "After releasing a picture, the camera is stopped," "Fix the picture to the wall, and then continue to roll." "In the assembly, Méliès cuts exactly at the moment ..." "In which the painting touches the wall, and then joins the two shots." "In my opinion there is a very direct relationship between ..." "The art of illusionism and the cinema of the first period." "The effort of the illusionists focuses on making the trick invisible." "So there is an obvious relationship with what they were doing ..." "The first filmmakers to give continuity to the movement," "With the cuts, with the paste." "The assembly offers immense advantages and allows all kinds of effects," "Impossible to realize by means of a simple camera stop." "Like apparitions, disappearances, or substitutions in movement." ""Llusionista end of century"." "Méliès 1899." "Here, the illusionist Méliès becomes a dancer," "When jumping from a table." "Then the dancer becomes a magician." "This effect requires first filming the Méliès jump." "Then the dancer, with great precision." "Then the two shots are mounted gluing in the middle of the two jumps," "To create the illusion of metamorphosis." "One trick led the other." "I created fades using ..." "Double exposure to change the setting," "And make characters appear or disappear progressively." ""The animated letters"." "Méliès - 1904" "The double exposition requires to pass several times ..." "The same film by the camera, to superimpose the shots." "The exposed film is rewound before taking the next shot." "Here, the overprinting makes a living queen appear ..." "On the letter that represents it." "I also made apparitions, disappearances and metamorphoses," "By overprint on black background," "Or on black spaces placed on the stage." "As a black set does not impress the film," "The camera films a first time to the personage of Méliès," "In a setting in which there is a large black velvet frame." "The film is rewound and, in the second pass," "Is filmed to the same personage on black background," "Placed in front of a decoration of the same size," "And placed in the same place that occupied the black cloth." "Once the overprint is made, the black velvet of the picture ..." "Is replaced by the image of the character," "Which appears twice." "Thanks to this technique Méliès develops ..." "One of its main special effects;" "The multiplication of a body, or simply of the head." ""L'equilibre impossible"." "Méliès - 1902" "Méliès reached the peak of his art in 1900, with "El hombre orquesta"." "In which it performs a multiple overprint." "The same film happens 7 times by the camera," "To make appear 7 times to the same personage." ""The man orchestra"." "Méliès - 1900" "In "The Music Lover", the most famous of his works of special effects," "Méliès was perhaps inspired by the animated photographic images ..." "Of the Bio Phantic Lantern by John Rudge," "Where a man played with his head." "The cartoonist Granville had already given body shape ..." "To musical notes." "Through an ingenious spell, Méliès merges the two ideas," "Creating a number of amazing virtuosity." "On a black background, five telegraph wires ..." "Through the top of the image." "A singing teacher, played by Méliès," "Throws a huge sun key to the cables," "And stays in them." "The first gluing is done after the camera is stopped," "And place the sun key on the wires." ""The music lover"." "Méliès - 1903" "Then the teacher draws a note to which he places two eyes," "Nose and mouth, indicating that he has just drawn his own head." "Throws his baton against the wires, and becomes a compass." "New assembly." "Here begins the amazing art of Méliès." "The music lover stands in front of the cables," "He grabs his head in his hands and separates it from his shoulders." "The gluing, in this case at the bottom of the image," "Indicates the assembly." "Méliès holds a fake cardboard head," "After having covered his authentic head ..." "With a black hood that is confused with the set." "The assembly allows Méliès to throw the cardboard head ..." "Against the pentagram." "When the false head reaches the wires that should receive it," "Another set up reveals the authentic head of Méliès." "On a completely black background, Méliès climbs a black practicable," "Covered by a black cape." "Your head can now replace overprinting ..." "To the cardboard head." "The head remains in the cables, while a new head ..." "Rests on the shoulders of Méliès." "Another glue to join the images after Méliès ..." "He has removed the black hood." "Méliès takes a step to the right, observing carefully ..." "The marks made on the ground," "And the other notes repeat exactly the same process." "Six Méliès heads appear in overprinting in a film ..." "Where the action of the characters has already been recorded on the floor." "For the 6 notes to be present," "The film has had to spend 7 times by the camera." "In this 50-meter film can be counted 30 glued," "Corresponding to the editing and editing work." "A film like this required a very precise preparation," "And if we think of the archaic chambers of that time," "Is extraordinary." "Méliès managed to score the points counting the turns of crank." "He rewound the film and count the crank turns," "To know exactly where he was." "Doing that seven times is absolutely extraordinary." "The scenes of special effects and great difficulty of execution," "They took me to represent the protagonist of the films myself." "I saw myself in very different situations: illusionist, magician, demon," "Prince, beggar, fakir, pasha, etc." "She tried to be unrecognizable thanks to a complex makeup." ""Le roi du maquillage"." "Méliès - 1904" "It is surprising the presence on the stage." "I wonder how he learned to be such a good actor," "Because he is a good actor." "I do not know how he could keep himself in such good shape throughout his life." "Because in movies he is seen as dangerous ..." "Tumbling backwards with more than fifty years." "It was the cinema that served as my training." "And what training!" "To that I owe my agility and vivacity." ""Cake-walk forced." Méliès - 1903" "On the stage it was magnificent." "It moved with great elegance." "It is seen in the movies." "Her style is recognized even when she is in makeup." "His style came from the theater, came from the theaters of fairs," "Of the comedy dell'arte." "And I think it gave him a great advantage in the cinema ..." "In front of his contemporaries." "He was above all a seducer, he liked to seduce." "Seduce the public, seduce women," "Seduce the children, seduce those around him." "And when he spoke to someone who had not yet met him," "My grandmother, who was not very kind, said: "Look, he is strutting."" "True, I always tried to seduce." "His second characteristic I think Langlois defined well," "Whom he met in 1935, when Méliès was older, said:" ""I have the impression that Méliès always wears a mask."" "That was also my impression, always hiding his feelings." "All in all she was a very cheerful and extroverted person." "He was also shy, and like all the timid," "He was exuberant because he exaggerated everything he did." "During the years that I took care of the direction of the theater Robert-Houdin," "And of my cinematographic productions," "My life was fast and prodigious." "I got up every day at 6 o'clock." "Paint the decorations and accessories." "Between eleven and sixteen, we rehearsed or filmed." "I was very strict with the schedule." "If I said at eight," "It was not eight o'clock and a minute, it was eight o'clock." "Some may consider their obsessive behavior," "But for him it was normal." "It was his way of saying;" "Life is too short to afford delays." "Speed ​​was his way of fighting death," "To nothingness, to life without meaning." "At the end of the afternoon, Méliès leaves her fairy world," "Of illusion and special effects, to meet again ..." "With the Parisian reality filmed by the Lumière operators." "From 6 o'clock in the afternoon he receives those who want to see him." "Especially to the strangers," "In his office of the Passage of the Opera," "A stone's throw from the Robert-Houdin Theater." "It also has there installed the laboratory to reveal ..." "And assemble his films." "A quick dinner and Méliès goes to the theater," "Where he supervises the good performance of the performance." "And now, dear spectators, a great number of illusionism," "Arrived directly from the mysterious Indian:" ""The Indian basket."" "Scholars know that the basket is made of wicker ..." "From the banks of the Ganges." "When my presence on stage was not required," "I used the show hours to draw ..." "Behind the scenes sketches of the scenes that had to ..." "Make the next few days in Montreuil." "It may have been my only moments of tranquility." "Before returning home made a late dinner on the boulevards," "In Boccardi, or in the English Café." "Sometimes he went to the Comic Opera at the Folies-Bergère, or the Châtelet." "At first the fate of the films of Méliès was its theater," "Where they replace the numbers of prestidigitation." "It makes no difference between the "fantastic images" ..." "Filmed in Montreuil and the "numbers of illusionism."" "His screenings at the Robert-Houdin Theater ..." "Allowed him to exercise absolute control over these films," "From conception to exhibition in public." "While the feriantes often cut ..." "The movies or changed the montage." ""Le thaumaturge chinois"." "Méliès - 1904" "On stage, the actors could have a good day," "Or a fatal day." "The same was true when performing the tricks." "With the cinematographer, if the artists had done well," "They were excellent forever." "What an advantage!" "Jacques Deslandes, understood perfectly that Méliès," "Or the work that Méliès did in the cinema," "Was the prolongation of the work he did on stage," "On the stage of the Robert-Houdin theater." "The work that Méliès did in the cinema was not a break." "The introduction of the cinema in the race of Méliès," "It did not mean a breaking point." "Creating fantastic story movies ..." "Is a continuation of his previous work." "It is applicable not only to the early days of cinema," "But to all the works of the so-called fantastic cultural phenomenon." "At one point, in 1896, a great being appears," "That takes the fantastic genre to the cinema." ""The kingdom of fairies"." "Méliès - 1903" "The cinematographer allowed me to make my creations see ..." "In several places at a time." "The strangers bought the movies by paying cash," "But they wanted short works to multiply the number of sessions." "The cinematograph was the new attraction of the fairs." "It gradually replaced the zoos, the tamers," "Wizards, monsters, acrobats and wax museums." "At the entrance of the movie halls was placed ..." "An indispensable character, the voceador." "Pass ladies and gentlemen." "Come discover ..." "In our cinematographic theater the great attraction of the century." "I said, the cinematographer." "Come in, ladies and gentlemen." "Everyone can enter." "Children, adults." "The military, the nannies," "And couples of lovers pay only half of the entrance fee." "Only a correct dress is required." "In the room, a pianist and sometimes a noise manager ..." "And a narrator," "Accompanied the projection of the animated images." "The narrator, placed the action, improvised the dialogues," "And explained the thread between the different scenes." "Here, ladies and gentlemen, President Barbarrevuelta," "Is going with his five colleagues from the Astronomical Club to visit ..." "The workshops where the projectile is built for ..." "To take them to the moon." ""Travel to the moon"." "Méliès - 1902" "Micromegas accidentally falls into a nitric acid deposit." "Méliès writes and prints leaflets for the feriantes and narrators," "Explaining the content of the film, and that sometimes," "Like this, contain a summary to be read to the public ..." "During the projection." "The feriantes regularly visit Méliès ..." "In his office of the Passage of the Opera." "They are going to stock Star Films, the mark of Méliès," "Who presents his new productions at the Robert-Houdin Theater." "Movies are sold by meters, like ordinary cloth straps." "When around 1898 people began to get bored with documentary film," "Méliès special effects films relaunch the industry." "A worker said:" ""We were going to die of hunger with our machines," "But Méliès fed us. "" "Some of my clients considered my movies ..." "Too artistic and felt that the public preferred the genre of ..." ""Blows and cakes in the face"." "Méliès is the absolute king of the cinematographic exhibition," "Up to 10" "The "genre Méliès" triumphs among the henchmen." "The exhibitors, who were all clients of Méliès," "Presented their films of population in population," "Even in the most remote rural areas." "To stimulate the curiosity of the buyers and leave them breathless," "Sought and found new techniques and effects." ""The Entanglements of the Devil"." "Méliès 1906" "My films were directed to the viewer's view," "To enthrall and intrigue him." "My great concern was to find a great main effect," "The central attraction, and the final apotheosis." "Then I would write the script." "Mixing all kinds of techniques, made visible the supernatural," "The imaginary." "And it created scenes that astonished and baffled ..." "To the most perceptive spectators." "He had a reputation as a magician." "I realized right away that in the films of Méliès," "The camera remains static, it does not move." "It was fixed on the floor of the study." "At that time there were already films in which the camera moves ..." "In a very dynamic way." "It's something that does not surprise me, because the idea of ​​maintaining ..." "The camera sets in front of a moving scene," "Is the faithful representation of Méliès' aesthetic philosophy;" "The camera is the viewer." "The viewer sitting in front of the screen says:" "I want to have a passive role in front of this visual experience," "Everything must move around me." "Cinema must be like a planetary system that revolves around me," "And I want to be the center of the system." "I want to be the sun and everything to move around me." "In the films of Méliès the movement is very important." "I think the highlight of Méliès's cinematography ..." "Is the movement, the pirouettes, jumps, movements, explosions," "Quartering, and even implosions that appear in them." "It is also part of the baroque tradition." "If there is a recurring theme in the development of Baroque art," "Even in baroque music, is the fear of emptiness," "The "horor vacui"." "There is a need to fill the space and time ..." "With the greatest number of possible actions," "To fill the stage with as many things as possible." ""The palace of the Arabian Nights"." "Méliès - 1905" "Méliès was perhaps the first to understand that the cinema offers ..." "A comfortable way to handle your own taste ..." "Time and space, through special effects." "And another wonder, he realized that the colored ..." "Allowed to dream in colors." "Almost from the beginning Méliès made his films ..." "Colored by a former painter of magical lanterns," "Mrs. Thuillier." "I had a team of young girls who colored ..." "Films for various companies, such as Pathé." "The young girls applied the colors with brushes like this one," "Of marten's hair." "Here I apply yellow, an aniline of late ..." "Of the 19th century called auramine." "Not much is known about coloring by hand ..." "And the technical details that are known are scarce." "The easiest way to understand technique is to practice it." "And it's what I've done on this acetate copy ..." "Of a film of Méliès of 1901, "The chrysalide et le papillon"." "Of 40 meters and 2,000 frames, I have colored image by image." "That has allowed me to understand how they worked at that time." ""La chrysalide et le papillon"." "Méliès - 1901" "I now apply auramine to get a blue background." "At that time it was quite common for elements like flames," "Mix the colors in the film." "For example, for the red center, apply a magenta," "Which is another aniline" "Called fuschina," "And that on the yellow background appears red." "In the projection produces a very interesting movement effect." ""Le chaudron infernal"." "Méliès - 1903" "The colored films of Méliès are recognizable ..." "By style and colors." "He used them according to very original rules." "The film used in the time of Méliès was very sensitive ..." "To the reds and the yellows," "Which appeared dark and opaque on the screen." "The blues looked completely white." "To get enough translucent images ..." "As to be able to color them later," "He painted the sets in gray tones," "From black to white, and all intermediate tones." "The decorations had a strange appearance of funeral ornaments." "The finishing touches, the accuracy of the perspective," "The trompe l'oeil, all served to give real appearance," "To fictional elements that the camera accurately photographs." "The highlights of Méliès are the sets." "It is something inimitable." "They could not copy their sets." "They imitated him, but it was impossible to reproduce his style," "Because he was a magnificent artist." "His rivals would have needed a genius like him," "To get sets like yours." "It was impossible." "When we see the drawings of the sets for the movies ..." "Made schematically with pencil or pen," "And then we see them executed as they appear in the sets," "Is extraordinary." "That was Méliès's great touch." "The costumes also contributed to the originality of his films." "Designed for his films hundreds of dresses," "Which were manufactured in Montreuil in monochrome gray." "But sometimes Robert-Houdin theater accessories were used ..." "In some movies." "Like this layer of magician with colored motifs that ..." "Professor Barbarrevuelta in the "Journey to the Moon."" "The style of Méliès is a mixture of play and sensuality." "Which are more or less the same, if you take the sensuality ..." "In its most cheerful and optimistic aspect of the term." "It emphasizes his smiling form to see the life," "Of seeing the technical development and of conceiving the progress ..." "As if it were the emotional relationship with a person." "Let's not forget that the time of Méliès was perhaps the last ..." "In which Western culture lived with confidence in the future." "And it was probably the last time the call ..." "Gender policy was still relatively lacking in tension." "A time when the psychological and existential conflict ..." "Between sexes and between cultures was not yet very dramatic." "It was before World War I," "Which ended, in addition to the creative dream of Méliès," "With the innocence of Western culture." ""The man with the rubber head"." "Méliès - 1901" "He was a good student, but he was obsessed with drawing." "He drew in books and notebooks," "Which was worth punishments, and evenings without leaving." "But he could not help it, he was an artist." "Drawing, painting, and caricature were my favorite arts." "He had, apparently, a skill with the pencil ..." "Capable of overthrowing the regime." "In 1889, after some months as director of the theater Robert-Houdin," "I had the opportunity to meet talented caricaturists ..." "In the service of the struggle against General Boulanger." "I did not like General Boulanger." "This apprentice dictator was a threat to the Republic." "My cousin Adolphe shared my ideas." "It financed the newspaper "La Griffe"," "Of which I was the main illustrator." "He ridiculed Boulanger with caricatures ..." "In which he called him with the nickname Barbenzingue." "He did not sign Méliès, he used the pseudonym "Smile"," "Which means smile, in English." "When Boulanger, a handsome and ambitious 50-year-old general," "Came to the Minister of the Army, saw in him ..." "To the providential man with whom the revenge could be taken ..." "Of the defeat suffered against Germany in 1870." "His popularity worried the government," "Who removed him from power and sent him into exile." "But from abroad, he still hoped to win ..." "The elections of 1889." "Boulanger failed." "Fortunately." "Because with those cartoons I was the one who risked," "As a minimum, to exile, at the age of 28." "But let's go a few years before." "In 1880 I finished high school," "And after doing military service in Blois," "With 21 years, had the intention of entering ..." "In the School of Fine Arts." "But my father was against it." "According to him, the only thing a painter could do was starve himself." "Without my father's refusal, it is possible that my career ..." "He would have clung exclusively to painting." "The authoritarian figure of the father appears parodyed ..." "In the films of the son." "Jean Louis Stanislas Méliès, whom everyone called Louis," "He had been a shoemaker and Devoir's companion." "He made his fortune in Paris during the Second Empire." "From his workshops came out shoes, boots and luxury booties ..." "For the richest and most elegant citizens of Paris." "The Méliès shoe factory was located on St. Martin Boulevard." "There, in December 1861, the third son of Méliès, Georges, was born." "His life took place in the same district in which he was born." "It passed between the Republic Square" "And the Place de la Madeleine." "In this district he will direct the magic theater" "And will open the first movie theaters." "Manufacturas Méliès prospered and moved to Taylor Street," "Two steps from St. Martin Boulevard." "This monogram can still be seen at the entrance of a building ..." "Of Taylor Street." "These are the initials of Louis Méliès." "The father had everything planned for his three children ..." "Will continue with its success." "The workshops were at the foot of the street," "And the houses on the upper floors." "After his marriage in 1885, Georges settled in ..." "On the top floor." "I had an enormous curiosity about everything." "He loved to read." "He had a huge library." "He was aware of the shows of his time." "He loved Offenbach." "He knew by heart "The Parisian life"," ""The Beautiful Helena", "Orpheus in the Hells"." "In his films there are many references ..." "To those parodies of mythology." "In addition, he had done the baccalaureate in Latin and Greek," "Something very rare in 1881." "He had made "his humanities", as was said then." "He had an excellent general culture," "Like many men of the late nineteenth century." "It was something among very few people of the bourgeoisie." "I started in the family business against my will." "I was mainly concerned with machines," "Of their repair, of their perfection." "He was skilled with his hands." "These mechanical works were very useful to me later," "In the theater and in the cinema." "But I had no intention of spending my life surrounded by the smell of leather," "Whether of cow or mutton." "During the years of this industrial career," "Between 21 and 26 years," "Méliès looks for evasion in drawing and painting." "Shoes and booties come back to dance ..." "In some of his films." "Who would remember the Méliès shoes now," "If Georges had not made them appear in the movies?" "Méliès constantly increased the field of his artistic curiosity." "He practiced with the piano." "He fell in love with poetry, especially Verlaine's." "He was determined to be a poet, to write verses." "It was a short vocation, but anything was good ..." "To forget the shoes and the booties." "A sculptor from Montreuil, Joseph Grapinet," "He began in his art." "I was also very interested in photography later." "My first wife, Eugénie, was my favorite model." "He also had an instinctive vocation to the theater," "Which pushed me to build from very small puppets ..." "And decorated in cardboard." "At 15 I had fun with my nephews with my puppet theaters." "All this was not to my parents' taste." "They decided to send me to London to improve English," "And to forget a little of drawing and painting." "I spent the whole year 1884 in London." "I improved my English by selling corsets." "I began to frequent the Egyptian Hall." "There David Devant acted, a great magician of the time." "I was able to meet him personally." "Devant thought I had magic skills." "He accepted to teach me some tricks and I worked hard ..." "In that special field of theater." "I returned from London with a passion for sleight of hand." "I developed a great skill in the art of illusionism," "And I made representations in private rooms," "Since my father had seen with very bad eyes," "That his son be exhibited in a theater." "Emile Voisin, a dealer of automatons ..." "And devices of prestidigitación, organized sessions of magic ..." "In the Cabinet Fantastique of the Grévin Museum," "And included me in their programs." "As the paternal surname could not appear on the posters," "I exchanged Méliès for Mélius." "But as soon as I discovered the cinema, I was entranced." "The cinema allowed me to use all my knowledge at the same time ..." "And all my skills;" "Drawing, painting, scenography, mechanics," "Magic, illusionism." "He was a manual and intellectual worker at the same time." "That's why I loved with passion that art that encompassed almost everything," "And I am proud to have converted ..." "In a show that has been so successful." "There are not too many differences between the way Méliès organized ..." "His personal life, his life as theater manager Robert-Houdin," "His life as director of his studio in Montreuil," "And his life as a creator." "All these aspects were mixed with each other in such a way," "That we may think he wanted ..." "See artistic creation, as an existential phenomenon." "For him there was a total and unconditional connection between life and art." "For Méliès, making movies, doing magic," "Or organizing an operetta after the war," "Were different ways of saying the same thing:" ""Without the enthusiasm to know, without the illusion to discover, everything we do;" "Work, studies, loves," "The projects, the cinema, are just people who move." "Nothing else"." "For him, the important thing was to convey his ideal ..." "Of life to concrete elements." "That could be movies," "Drawings, and even the organization of everyday life." "In 1902, Journey to the Moon was the first great ..." "To go around the world." "It was packed with amazing scenes and special effects." "I took the idea from Jules Verne's book:" "From the Earth to the moon." "Perhaps I was also inspired by George Wells's work:" "The first men on the moon." "I also created several fantastic, original scenes ..." "And fun, from the outside and the interior of the Moon." "Never had seen such a movie." "Thirty scenes, more than a month of shooting, 260 meters of film, and a very high cost for the time." "I had a hard time convincing the first buyers." "My struggling customers were horrified at the asking price." "Trip to the Moon Méliès - 1902" "It was the days of the Great Paris Fair," "And I proposed to draw a poster offering a free screening." "The first spectators made a fantastic publicity," "Making it a blockbuster." "Historically, this is the first narrative ..." "Of a fantastic trip counted in a coherent way ..." "For the public of the time." "That was the reason for his success." "This film was important as a model to follow," "For all the filmmakers of the world." "There is testimony about it." "Edwin Porter, who worked with Edison in 1902, said more or less:" "In 1902 we were at a standstill." "Trip to the Moon was a very important film," "Which I examined carefully to copy some of its elements ... requirements" "Trip to the Moon marked a milestone in the history of cinema." "It gave a lesson to the world of cinema." "And he gave the filmmakers ..." "Several keys to learn to open up to new fields." "They adopted some of Méliès' techniques." "Some special effects, other techniques of presentation," "The placement of the sets, editing and assembly ..." "Of planes with special effects, etc." "They also copied the idea of ​​film with a narrative format." "I liked the fantastic, and the fantastic works ..." "Dominated my production." "But despite the fame of being the king of special effects," "The fantasy or the cinema of Jules Verne," "The truth is that from the beginning I took care of all the issues," "Including advertising." "On the boulevards he had often seen ..." "A large screen on which projected images," "Through perfected magic lanterns." "The person responsible for this publicity came one day to ask me ..." "Whether it would be possible to make claim movies with the cinema." "I did for him several films mixing intriguing effects." "Of the different media used by advertising," "The cinema was surely the most perfect instrument," "Because it reached millions of viewers." "Why not paste an ad into a story or a fantasy?" "Like the giant bottle of Mercier we see happen ..." "At the "Bluebeard" wedding." "Bluebeard, Cinderella Little Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe," "Was inspired by many tales and operettas of the Châtelet," "Using the theatrical machinery he had installed in the studio." "He looked everywhere and took or needed ..." "As a source of inspiration." "Méliès adapted famous works such as The Miser, or Hamlet." "It brought to the screen operas, comic operas and operettas," "Like Rip, from Planquette." "That happened to be called Rip van Winckle." "Where he puts one of the dreams on stage ..." "Around which he liked to articulate some of his films." ""Rip van Winckle"." "Méliès - 1905" "The devil, Satan, Mephistopheles, but also mischievous demons," "And all kinds of little devils fill Méliès's films." "He tried on four occasions the theme of Faust," "Inspired by, among others, Gounod and Berlioz." "But the devil already appeared on the stage of the Robert-Houdin theater." "The demons were very fashionable." "There were complete shows ..." "Of magic lantern dedicated to the demons." "It was an element of 19th century culture." "It is not surprising that he used them to amuse the public," "And to scare the little ones." "I do not think he wanted to personally represent the devil." "Seldom does he himself play the devil in his films," "Maybe a dozen times." "However, the theme of Faust was very concerned." "He was very saddened by the idea of ​​getting old." "He was very sorry to stop pleasing, seducing." "Age, he often said, was a heavy burden." "I also made the first film about Joan of Arc." "It was in 1989." "A great show with 12 scenes and 15 minutes of projection." "The special effects that most encouraged me to make the film," "Were the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Juana," "And the ascent of his soul to the sky in the scene of the bonfire." ""Joan of Arc"." "Méliès - 1900" "When considering the extent to which Méliès was an innovator," "And to what extent he respected tradition," "Comes to mind the name of Mozart," "Because Mozart and Méliès have in common," "To have transformed the tradition in which they lived into something new." "Mozart and Méliès are artists of synthesis," "In the strict sense of the word." "Apart from the technical aspect of their work, they did not invent anything." "What they invented was the perfection to synthesize a culture ..." "Of 200 or 300 years old and the new way of presenting it ..." "To the public of his time." "In the study I recreated many sensational events," "That it would have been impossible to shoot at the scene." "Among these current events were," "The explosion of the battleship "Maine", in 1898," "And the eruption of Monte Pelado in Martinique in 1902." "By that time it was very habitual in the newspapers of great circulation," "Represent events, draw them, summarize them." "Méliès dedicated himself to this type of activity." "He was one of the first to reconstruct the great events." "He rebuilt the Dreyfus case, in 1899," "During the Rennes trial." "When the Dreyfus process was reviewed in Rennes," "Méliès filmed the story with retrospective scenes," "Something very modern for 1899." "He told in his film what happened in 1894, 95 and 96." "It's a bit different from your usual job." "After doing the assembly I could continue to sell ..." "The eleven scenes separately, one by one." "He sold lots of copies of that movie in England," "Germany and Italy." "Because all of Europe felt passion for the Dreyfus affair." "In France he encountered many difficulties." "It was practically not projected in the circuit of projections," "That is, at fairs." "The fighters were told not to project that film," "Because there could be disturbances in the rooms." "In January 1901, The Queen Victoria of England ..." "Dies after 64 years of reign." "The coronation of the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII," "Is set for the month of June, 1902." "French and English operators filmed the arrival ..." "From royal cortege to Westminster Abbey," "And also their departure." "The cameras were not allowed to film during the ceremony." "At the request of Charles Urban, his agent in London," "Méliès filmed the ceremony in Montreuil in advance." "The movie had to be ready to insert ..." "Among the scenes taken outside the cathedral." "Here are the real pictures, here begins the work ..." "Of reconstruction of Méliès." "Westminster Ceremony Masters ..." "Went to Montreuil to lead the ceremony." "It must have been true, but shorter." "He had found a double very similar to his majesty," "A boy who worked in a laundry," "Or was a waiter in the suburbs." "I do not remember well." "The film was completed a couple of days before ..." "Of the date scheduled for the ceremony," "Which was finally postponed because the King was not well." "The film was screened in London six weeks later," "The same day of the coronation." "In an French newspaper an article appeared that made me laugh." "He claimed the movie was a hoax." "I was accused of being a forger." "He had never said that it was the authentic event." "On the contrary, publicity spoke of a faithful reproduction." "When the King saw the movie, he laughed ..." "To see such a perfect reconstruction." "Since the authentic ceremony had been shortened," "To prevent it from getting tired." "What a wonderful machine is the cinema!" "Said the King after the screening," "He has managed to record parts of the ceremony that have not been performed." "It's really fantastic." "I never ceased to seek, to invent, to perfect." "Throughout my life, my only pleasure was to add ..." "Every week a new find to my repertoire." "In the spring of 1913, eleven years after the success ..." "Of "Journey to the Moon"," "Méliès interrupts all his cinematographic activity." "What happened?" "During the years 1902 and 1903, the star of Star Film," "The brand of Méliès, shines in the highest of the sky." "Without rival in Europe, it still does not fear the North American competition." "Due to its success, the works of Méliès were plagiarized and imitated." "Gaston Velle, worked for the company Lumière," "And from 1905 to Pathé." "He directed ghostly visions, using the tricks of Méliès," "But without achieving the personal style of the magician of Montreuil." ""You repas fantastique"." "Gaston Velle - 1902" "Why did filmmakers from other countries try to capture ..." "The mysterious essence of Méliès?" "It was something beyond the technique," "Something that could not be understood." "Because the creation of a genius can not be understood." "It can not be reproduced as if it were a photocopy." "You can play the technique, but it can not be played ... the spirit." ""La fée aux fleurs"." "Gaston Velle - 1905." "What is the difference between a fantastic movie," "A special effects film by Méliès," "And a fantastic special effects film by Pathé?" "Sometimes the special effects of Pathé are not bad at all." "But in Pathé's films there is always something missing." "There is no sense of seeing a unique work," "Something that can not be repeated." "Lacking the feeling that you can not repeat the wonder," "The beauty, the miracle that happens before the viewer on the screen." "Every time I see a film by Méliès," "Even the ones I've seen hundreds of times," "There is always something that moves me." "I have the impression of seeing the movie for the first time." "Why do I always have the impression of finishing discovering ..." "His films despite having seen them 15, 20 and even 100 times?" "It is characteristic of art." "Art has the power to give the feeling of being always new." "In France, Gaumont, and especially Pathé," "Take off from 1901." "They became dangerous competitors for Méliès." "Charles Pathé entrusted his productions ..." "To a former cabaret artist, Ferdinand Zecca." "Pathé was a manufacturer." "In a few years it gained the world leadership of the film industry," "Until the First World War." ""The conquest of the air"." "Ferdinand Zecca - 1901." "Pathé shot 18 films a month, while Méliès ..." "He could only offer two to his customers." "In 1907, 40 kilometers of film came out every day ..." "Of the factories of Pathé." "Without Méliès realizing, they have changed the rules of the game." "There were delegates in Berlin, Barcelona and Buenos Aires." "There was the diffusion through commercial agents ..." "That they could distribute the films in those countries." "Berlin sent the films to Russia." "Barcelona covered Hispano-America, with the Buenos Aires office." "But there was no representative in the United States." "And there, because of his great fame, appeared piracy." "The sellers bought one or two copies in France," "Took them to the United States, and made 200 copies of the film," "Especially of Trip to the Moon, without Méliès charging ..." "Copyright." "With Trip to the Moon of 1902, the piracy was enrome," "Especially in the United States." "The trick was simple, the Star Film brand was eliminated ..." "Scraping it like here, from the shell of Trip to the Moon." "To combat this fraud, Méliès sent to New York ..." "To his brother Gaston, in 1902." "A branch was opened to control the sale ..." "Of movies of Star Film," "Which were systematically registered in the ..." "Library of Congress of the United States," "To obtain the copyright." "Méliès began filming with two cameras," "Creating two negatives for each movie." "One was destined for the European market," "And the other was sent to the New York branch," "Where the business flourished at great speed." "But in the United States, Edison proclaimed ..." "That his patent of perforated films gave him rights ..." "Exclusive on all the films exhibited in the country." "For both Méliès and Pathé, the North American market ..." "Was very important." "There were thousands of rooms, the nickel-odeon," "Open all over the country." "In 1907, the branch of distribution of films ..." "In the United States was in danger," "Because Edison managed to control the whole country." "He convinced Gaston Méliès to join his company." "But that meant that we had to produce ... 300 meters of film per week, something that Georges Méliès did not like," "Who was forced to build a second studio on his property," "Workshop B, in 1907." "If his films are followed between 1896 and 1912," "It is clear that from 1908 he needs to roll more meters," "Had to get 300 meters per week." "Since the American branch of his brother Gaston," "I asked him to send 300 meters a week." "He made the two studies work at full capacity." "He entrusted the making of one of the films" "To one of his assistants, Manuel." "There they became discouraged and people stopped going to their movies." "Méliès was old fashioned." ""History of a crime"." "Ferdinand Zecca - 1901." "In 1901, with History of a Crime, Zecca makes a key film." "Dramatic scenes, realistic dramas," "Often with social burdens, break into the cinema." "His success is such that Méliès adopts the formula ..." "In films like Despair and Charity." "In Los incendiarios, from 1906, he uses the same script as ..." "History of a crime." "Gaumont and Pathé shoot religious films," "Like The Passion of Christ." "Historical reconstructions, comic and spicy films," "Clowns, chase movies." "Products that have great success between the feriantes and its public." "The camera does not hesitate to leave the studio." "Operators run reports around the world." "Comic characters like Rigadin, Boireau and soon Max Linder," "Appear film after film," "And viewers want to see them again week after week." "The tastes of the public are changing." "It was obvious that Méliès was falling behind," "And it was logical." "I was being displaced by a different type of cinema ..." "To which he did and that began to take force and implanted ... between years and" "It is clear that Méliès tried to adapt to the market," "But he could not do it." "Fortunately." "It would have been like asking Orson Wells to become ..." "In Luke or Spielberg, something impossible." "But we see that between the years 1906 to 1909," "Try to make your films occupy the most prominent place possible ..." "Within that emerging cultural style." ""L'agent gelé"." "Méliès - 1908." "He remains the master of fantasy and special effects," "But Méliès also plays comic and burlesque films." "It remains true to its style, although sometimes ..." "Take the camera out of the studio." "At the bottom of this chase rolled the winter of 1908," "In the garden of Montreuil," "Distinguishes the first study of Méliès." "From 1905, the star of Star Film ..." "Begins to pale." "He wanted to work alone, he never wanted partners ..." "Nor depend on a corporation or similar." "But his economic potential was not strong enough ..." "To fight Pathé or Gaumont." "That was the cause of his ruin." "He said, "Maybe I will not get very high, but I'll go alone."" "It was his way of understanding life." "For Méliès there was an insurmountable abyss ..." "Between artistic creation and industrial production." "Because of that, I could never have passed the stage of craftsmanship." "Although I would have had all the means to follow ..." "With its production," "Would have refused to do what Charles Pathe did," "Edison or any of the big companies." "It was something that was not in his spirit." "In 1909, Méliès directs the International Congress of Film Editors," "Meeting in Paris." "Next to him were Charles Pathé, George Eastman, Leon Gaumont," "Charles Urban." "The agents of the major film-producing countries," "Adopted an international standard for the film:" "The 35-millimeter tape with the drilling passage Edison," "Which is still used today." "With this format was born the film rental industry," "But Méliès was not prepared for this new type of exploitation." "In 1909 he filmed some ten films, among them The devilish tenant." "Like his character, Méliès picks up the camera," "The decorations and accessories, dismiss the staff," "And close the study." "My brother Gaston, who headed the New York branch," "Had the unfortunate idea of ​​making films of the West himself," "With jeans and red skins." "He did not triumph, he spent huge sums, and I lost a fortune." "Gaston Méliès had in the end a relatively positive role," "Because from 1909 he produced his own films," "Which sold pretty well." "That supposed to his brother a good income in royalties." "Gaston Méliès went into production to meet ..." "With the contract signed with the consortium Edison," "Of providing 300 meters of film per week," "To the distribution company controlled by Edison." "He worked with American directors and scriptwriters." "He began filming his own films in New York," "After 2014" "He produced films until 1912, made about 240," "Most fiction and filmmaking in New York." "Then, in 1910, he moved south, to San Antonio, Texas," "Where he filmed films from the West." "She was one of the first to film Western films." "He then moved to the West Coast," "To Santa Paula, near Los Angeles," "Where he also shot several dozen films." "In my opinion, his films were not better or worse ..." "Than the American productions of the time." "They sold well, were well made and well interpreted." "And she was also good at directing and photography," "Which is most surprising." "They were pretty good movies." ""The gypsy's warning"." "Production Gaston Méliès - 1913." "In July 1912, he embarked on a mad voyage to the South Seas." "In 1912 he was 60 years old, and left the United States ..." "With the group of North American actors of Santa Paula." "They went to Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia." "And they finished their journey in Japan, in May of 1913." "He then returned to France tired and disappointed," "Because the films he filmed in the South Seas ..." "They were sold very poorly." "Gaston was producer and director, and even wrote the scripts ..." "Of some of the films shot in the South Seas." "At first Gaston took advantage of his brother's fame." "Among other things he signed the scripts "G. Méliès"." "It was not a crime, his name was Gaston." "But Georges was very upset about that." "In 1911, Méliès returned for the last time to the study." "He made six films for Pathé," "Among them, the conquest of the Pole." "A fantastic trip that can be considered your artistic will." "But he had lost his enthusiasm, and those films ..." "Were not very successful." "I was in a difficult situation, when the war of 1914 arrived." "Méliès was not discouraged." "In spite of the war, the spectacle had to continue." "He transformed Montreuil's second studio into a theater-theater," "And all the family of Méliès participated in the spectacles." "My mother worked as a volunteer nurse ..." "In the hospital of Montreuil, and began to organize ..." "Representations for war wounded." "The room was used at the beginning to offer concerts." "After 2014" "The room became the Theater of Artistic Varieties," "And every week the show was changed." "A short play was first performed and then an operetta." "They did not hesitate to ride even Tosca, or Carmen," "On that little stage." "The people of Montreuil, who still remembered this," "They told me that it had been extraordinary." "That the decorations were fabulous, that my mother had ..." "An extraordinary soprano voice." "My uncle represented the comic characters." "My father was a baritone, and my grandfather was busy ..." "Of the sets and the secondary papers." "It made between 8 and 10 characters in each work." "He had a lot of fun, he loved to dress up and make up." "He believed that a second youth lived there." "First, because he had a new love," "And then, because he acted in operettas ..." "Together with the whole family and had a lot of fun ..." "With the address and the scenery." "The cinema was over for him." "He had turned the page." "In 1923, Méliès departs from Montreuil." "Ruined, he was forced to sell his property." "The study became a warehouse, then it was abandoned," "And finally, it was demolished after World War II." "In 1932, the Mutua del Cine offered Méliès to install ..." "At the Orly Castle you just bought." "He lived there until his death in 1938, with his granddaughter Madeleine," "And his second wife, Fanny Manieux, whose stage name was ..." "Jehanne d'Alcy." "Jehanne d'Alcy in 1952 in "Le Grand Méliès" by G. Franju" "At Orly, Méliès received many visits." "The magazines asked him for articles on the Robert-Houdin theater," "About his cinematographic career, above all kinds of anecdotes." "Méliès never ceased to be a rogue magician." "I did not begin to hear of cinema until they rediscovered Méliès," "That is, from the year 30, 32." "He had not counted anything." "Towards 1933, Méliès acted for the last time in front of a camera." "Jean Aurenche and Jacques Brinius asked him ..." "To make an advertisement for a cigarette brand." "It was the last return to the track for the magician of Montreuil," "The creator of the cinema show." "It is a real injustice that we dedicate phrases such as:" "The filmmakers of the early period were primitive." "Can we be called primitives after 20 years ..." "Constant work and continuous improvement?" "I reject the adjective primitive, because it is still used ..." "Everywhere the material and techniques that we create." "We guide the cinema by the dramatic and artistic way." "A great film producer told me one day:" "His mistake, Mr. Méliès, is to see everything with the eyes of an artist." "Thus, he will always be an artist and never a merchant." "I answered with great tranquility:" "Caballero has been a great compliment." "If you, the merchants," "Did not have artists who created and acted," "I wonder what they were going to sell."