The Méliès Mystery (2021 TV Movie)

Georges Méliès: Self - Subject

Photos 

Quotes 

• Self - Subject : It was a simply a camera freeze that occurred while I was fixing the cars on Opéra square. Suddenly the camera stopped. By the time we fixed it, the cars placements had changed and I was surprised during the editing to suddenly see, instead of a Madeleine-Bastille omnibus, a hearse and the whole family that followed.

  Narrator : The first cinema special affect was born. Méliès would use it and abuse it, for years to come.

• Self - Subject : The first contact between me and Mr. Lumière happened as a result of fortuitous circumstances. I ran into him on the stairs of the theater I managed, the Robert Houdin theater. Since he knew me by sight, he told me, "Say Mr. Méliès, since you are in the habit, during your shows, of surprising the audience, I would love to invite you to com to the Grand Café." "Why?", I answered. "Because you will see something that might surprise you." When I saw his camera, projecting still photographs, a the beginning, I said, "You bothered me for projections? I've been doing them for 20 years. Nothing extraordinary about them." Then, suddenly, I saw the character moving, coming towards us. A few minutes later, a train launched, it almost went through the screen, straight into the audience. We were all, I must say, absolutely astounded. I immediately thought, that's my business, an extraordinary thing.

• Self - Subject : My first studio was a big and long room of 33 feet by 20 feet, made entirely of glass. It was not set up at all, a the time, nothing like what I did later on. Later, I built stage machinery, above and below it, in order to create great fairytales, just as I created great shows.