George Méliès (1861-1938) is one of the most important of the early European filmmakers. He was a pioneer, and is widely credited as the innovator of special effects which still enchant audiences today. Méliès discovered the stop trick, or substitution in 1896, and was one of the first filmmakers to use time-lapse photography, multiple exposures, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his films. Méliès' best known work may be Le voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon), from 1902. It is an exceptional and whimsical work of cinematic fantasy.
Méliès films will be featured at the upcoming San Francisco Silent Film Festival, which is set to take place July 15th - 18th at the Castro Theater. Renowned film preservationists David Shepard and Serge Bromberg will curate a selection of short films by the French fantasist which are set to play throughout the event. This mini "festival within a festival" is a great opportunity to see Méliès' magical motion pictures on the big screen.
Shepard and Bromberg, along with Eric Lange, are also the archivists behind the recently released DVD, George Méliès Encore, from Flicker Alley. This new disc is a companion to Flicker Alley’s monumental thirteen-hour, five-DVD set, Georges Méliès, First Wizard of the Cinema.
Since that massive set was released in 2008, an additional 26 short films produced by Méliès between 1896 and 1911 have been found and have now been made available on this single-disc, supplemental collection. They further support the widely held notion that Méliès was the most accomplished filmmaker in the world during the first years of cinema.
Be sure and attend this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival and see for yourself. More about Georges Méliès, First Wizard of the Cinema and George Méliès Encore, including lists of films and a few short clips, can be found on the Flicker Alley website. Additionally, we expect that each of these titles will be for sale at the book and DVD tables on the mezzanine.
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