Georges Méliès
Biography
Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 - January 21, 1938), full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French illusionist and filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. One of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, tracking shots, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his work, Méliès pioneered effects that would define cinematic special effects for decades to come. A prolific innovator in the use of special effects, Méliès accidentally discovered the substitution stop trick in 1896, a method of creating seamless disappearing and/or appearing effects used throughout both films and television for decades to come. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality through cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the first "Cinemagician". Two of his best-known films are A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904). Both stories involve strange, surreal voyages, somewhat in the style of Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early science fiction films, though their approach is closer to fantasy. Méliès was also an early pioneer of horror cinema, which can be traced back to his Le Manoir du diable (1896). In early 1909 Méliès stopped making films to protest Thomas Edison's Motion Pictures Parents Company monopoly, and presided over the first meeting of the International Filmmakers Congress in Paris. Further financial hardships created by his opposition to Edison and diminishing influence, Méliès disappeared from public life. By the mid-1920s he made a meager living as a candy and toy salesma in Paris, with the assistance of funds collected by other filmmakers. Although he was recognized for his contributions in cinema, Méliès spent most of his later years in poverty before being accepted into La Maison du Retraite du Cinéma, the film industry's retirement home in Orly.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (49)
Satans Sacrilegious Saga
as Devil
2025
Alcoléa & cie Documentary
2024
A Trip to the Melisverse
as Archivo de imagen
2023
Méliès: Tales of Terror
as The Melomaniac
2021
The Méliès Mystery
as Self (archive footage)
2021
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo
as Self (archive footage)
2014
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
as Self (archive footage)
2012
The Extraordinary Voyage
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2011
The Magic of Méliès
as Self / Various Roles (archive footage)
1997
Cinematógrafo 1900
as Self (archive footage)
1979
ORG
Thanks (Crew)
1979
Violons d'Ingres
as Himself (archive footage)
1939
Gala Méliès
as Himself
1929
The Voyage of M. Bourrichon
Director (Directing)
1913
The Knight of the Snow
as Devil
1912
Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
Director (Directing)
1912
The Conquest of the Pole
as Le professeur Mabouloff
1912
The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen
Director (Directing)
1911
The Diabolical Church Window
1911
Whimsical Illusions
as The Magician
1909
The Diabolic Tenant
as Le locataire diabolique
1909
The Spider and the Butterfly
Director (Directing)
1909
The Doctor's Secret
1909
The Living Doll
Director (Directing)
1908
The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess
Director (Directing)
1908
Pharmaceutical Hallucinations
Director (Directing)
1908
Hypnotist's Revenge
Director (Directing)
1908
The Fortune Favors the Brave
as Gnome
1908
Moitié de polka
Director (Directing)
1908
The Fairy Dragonfly
Director (Directing)
1908
Incident from Don Quixote
Director (Directing)
1908
The Duke's Good Joke
Director (Directing)
1908
A Tricky Painter’s Fate
Director (Directing)
1908
Honeymoon in a Balloon
Director (Directing)
1908
The Wonderful Charm
Director (Directing)
1908
The Old Footlight Favorite
Director (Directing)
1908
The Magic of Catchy Songs
Director (Directing)
1908
The Helping Hand
Director (Directing)
1908
Grandmother's Tale and Child's Dream
Director (Directing)
1908
Fun With the Bridal Party
Director (Directing)
1908
French Cops Learning English
as The Police Inspector
1908
Two Talented Vagabonds
Director (Directing)
1908
Oriental Black Art
Director (Directing)
1908
The Hotel Mix-Up
Director (Directing)
1908
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
as The Roman
1908
Two Crazy Bugs
Director (Directing)
1908
The Indian Sorcerer
as The Fakir
1908
Les malheurs d'un photographe
Director (Directing)
1908
His First Job
Director (Directing)
1908