1912 was the second-to-last year in the lengthy career of Georges Méliès, and by that point it was clear to most that the filmmaker was long past his prime. The trick film magic acts that he had produced for years back in the early 1900s had grown less popular as time went on; by 1908, he was divided into two studios, churning out a series of poor comedies and melodramas with the help of his production assistant Manuel. Interestingly enough, the following year 1909 saw very little new, with very few movies and many of them the ones he did make being trick films, which harkened back to his days prior to attempting comedies, showing a lack of the ability to make something new. 1910 he arguably made no films (Méliès film scholar John Frazer claims there were many, while Wikipedia states otherwise), and 1911 was the year he made a contract with Pathé Frères - the very company that had tried to outdo him in his own art only several years before with directors such as Segundo de Chomòn. Now that Pathé owned Star Film, Méliès was under an even greater strain, which was, quite simply, to show up his rival Ferdinand Zecca, who was formerly the underdog. The final six films of Méliès were produced by Pathé, and sadly, only one of them was a success ("The Conquest of the Pole", due to its giant of the snows).
"The Knight of the Snows" was his second-to-last or very last movie ("The Voyage of the Bourrichon Family" which followed in 1913 is said from certain sources to have been directed by the production assistant Manuel). It is also his final fantasy feature and the last film in which he plays Satan - a character who the filmmaker had been seen to play throughout his entire career, from "The Devil in a Convent" on up. Unfortunately, as with the majority of the six, "Le Chavalier des Neiges" was also a failure in its old-fashioned style of storytelling, from the basic plot and stagy long shots to special effects which pad the movie. Visually, and when compared to the rest of the Méliès fantasies, it is certainly worthwhile, yet behind the times for the period in its filmic technique.
The film is essentially a remake of the filmmaker's own "The Kingdom of Fairies" from 1903, almost a decade earlier. In this case, the story is transposed to a more medieval setting, as a princess is to be married to the titular Knight of the Snows, when another suitor shows up, wanting to fight for her hand. When all else fails, he seeks the aid of the Devil, brought to him by a wizard-like character, who summons demons to kidnap the princess. And, as in the 1903 film, the rightful suitor is now left to rescue the princess with the aid of a good fairy, leading to a typical finale and a punishment for the villain.
Even while the sets are gorgeously realistic and the costumes up to the standards, what results is what was considered an outdated film for that point in history. Ever since D.W. Griffith had developed the use of cutting with closeups, medium closeups, and POVs, the stagy style of long shots was no longer used, and with every scene in the movie being done this exact same way, the film flopped. Méliès was simply no long on top of filmmaking any longer; his time had passed, and he had done his part. Nonetheless, for any enthusiast of the filmmaker, there is lots to like, such as the outstanding dragon prop (previously used in "Baron Munchausen's Dream") and even a kind of remake of a scene from "The Kingdom of Fairies" in which said dragon, Satan and his minions pull the kidnapped princess up into the sky.
"The Knight of the Snows" was his second-to-last or very last movie ("The Voyage of the Bourrichon Family" which followed in 1913 is said from certain sources to have been directed by the production assistant Manuel). It is also his final fantasy feature and the last film in which he plays Satan - a character who the filmmaker had been seen to play throughout his entire career, from "The Devil in a Convent" on up. Unfortunately, as with the majority of the six, "Le Chavalier des Neiges" was also a failure in its old-fashioned style of storytelling, from the basic plot and stagy long shots to special effects which pad the movie. Visually, and when compared to the rest of the Méliès fantasies, it is certainly worthwhile, yet behind the times for the period in its filmic technique.
The film is essentially a remake of the filmmaker's own "The Kingdom of Fairies" from 1903, almost a decade earlier. In this case, the story is transposed to a more medieval setting, as a princess is to be married to the titular Knight of the Snows, when another suitor shows up, wanting to fight for her hand. When all else fails, he seeks the aid of the Devil, brought to him by a wizard-like character, who summons demons to kidnap the princess. And, as in the 1903 film, the rightful suitor is now left to rescue the princess with the aid of a good fairy, leading to a typical finale and a punishment for the villain.
Even while the sets are gorgeously realistic and the costumes up to the standards, what results is what was considered an outdated film for that point in history. Ever since D.W. Griffith had developed the use of cutting with closeups, medium closeups, and POVs, the stagy style of long shots was no longer used, and with every scene in the movie being done this exact same way, the film flopped. Méliès was simply no long on top of filmmaking any longer; his time had passed, and he had done his part. Nonetheless, for any enthusiast of the filmmaker, there is lots to like, such as the outstanding dragon prop (previously used in "Baron Munchausen's Dream") and even a kind of remake of a scene from "The Kingdom of Fairies" in which said dragon, Satan and his minions pull the kidnapped princess up into the sky.