Georges Méliès
Born
December 9, 1861
Died
January 21, 1938 (76 years old)
Known For
Directing
Place of Birth
Paris, France
Georges Méliès (December 9, 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.
Known For
Alcoléa & cie Documentary
2024
Méliès: Tales of Terror
The Melomaniac
2021
The Méliès Mystery
Self (archive footage)
2021
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
Magician (archive footage from "The Vanishing Lady")
2019
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo
Self (archive footage)
2014
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
Self (archive footage)
2012
The Extraordinary Voyage
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2011
The Magic of Méliès
Self / Various Roles (archive footage)
1997
Cinematógrafo 1900
Self (archive footage)
1979
Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
1978
Violons d'Ingres
Himself (archive footage)
1939
Gala Méliès
Himself
1929
The Knight of the Snow
Devil
1912
The Conquest of the Pole
Le professeur Mabouloff
1912
The Diabolical Church Window
1911
Whimsical Illusions
The Magician
1909
Fortune Favors the Brave
Gnome
1909
The Diabolic Tenant
Le locataire diabolique
1909
The Doctor's Secret
1909
French Cops Learning English
The Police Inspector
1908
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
The Roman
1908
The Indian Sorcerer
The Fakir
1908
The Woes of Roller Skaters
Passerby
1908
Not Guilty
The Old Farmer
1908
Long Distance Wireless Photography
1908
The King and the Jester
Tribolet
1907
Satan in Prison
Satan
1907
Good Glue Sticks
1907
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
Professor of Astronomy
1907
Ali Barbouyou and Ali Bouf, In Oil
Ali Barbouyou
1907
Tunneling the English Channel
1907
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1907
The Witch
The Fairy Carabosse
1906
The Mysterious Retort
1906
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Satan
1906
A Roadside Inn
Drunk Traveler
1906
A Desperate Crime
1906
The Hilarious Posters
The Bill Poster
1906
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
1905
Rip's Dream
Rip Van Winkle
1905
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus
Ulysses (uncredited)
1905
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
The Sorcerer Khalafar (uncredited)
1905
A Mesmerian Experiment
1905
The Lilliputian Minuet
1905
The Black Imp
1905
The Living Playing Cards
The Magician
1905
The Christmas Angel
The Rag-and-Bone Man / Beggar on Crutches / Coal Seller
1904
The Firefall
Satan
1904
The Wandering Jew
1904
The Impossible Voyage
Mabouloff
1904
The Mermaid
1904
The Devilish Plank
1904
The Cook in Trouble
1904
The Wonderful Living Fan
1904
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
1904
The Clockmaker's Dream
1904
The Untamable Whiskers
Man with whiskers
1904
The Fugitive Apparitions
1904
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
1904
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
The Magician / The Double
1904
Tit for Tat
1904
A Moonlight Serenade
1903
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
The Executioner
1903
Faust in the Underworld
Mephistopholes
1903
The Ballet Master's Dream
1903
The Magic Lantern
1903
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
1903
Extraordinary Illusions
1903
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
1903
Jupiter's Thunderballs
1903
Apparitions
1903
The Infernal Cauldron
Devil
1903
The Kingdom of the Fairies
Prince Bel-Azor
1903
The Monster
1903
The Melomaniac
1903
The Oracle of Delphi
1903
The Mystical Flame
1903
The Mysterious Box
1903
The Infernal Cakewalk
Devil
1903
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
Lamplighter
1903
Beelzebub's Daughters
1903
The Marvellous Wreath
Musketeer
1903
The Enchanted Basket
1903
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoé
1902
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
Gulliver
1902
Sure Cure for Indigestion
Doctor
1902
An Impossible Balancing Feat
1902
The Human Fly
The Hindoo Magician
1902
The Treasures of Satan
1902
A Trip to the Moon
Professor Barbenfouillis / The Moon
1902
The Prolific Magical Egg
1902
The Dwarf and the Giant
1901
The Man with the Rubber Head
The Chemist / The India Rubber Head
1901
The Devil and the Statue
1901
Hat of Many Surprises
1901
Bluebeard
Barbe-bleue
1901
The Prince of Magicians
Excelsior
1901
The Temple of the Sun
1901
A Maiden's Paradise
The Wizard
1901
The Magician's Cavern
1901
The Triple Headed Lady
1901
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
The brahmin
1901
The Christmas Dream
Beggar
1900
Joan of Arc
Père de Jeanne
1900
The Artist and the Dummy
Artiste
1900
The One-Man Band
All the members of the orchestra
1900
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
Wrestler
1900
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
The Man
1900
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
Le comique excentrique
1900
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
Prince
1900
A Fantastical Meal
The Man
1900
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
Conjurer
1900
The Magic Book
The Magician
1900
The Dreyfus Affair
Fernand Labori
1899
Cinderella
The Gnome of the Clock / The Swiss at the Entrance to the Church
1899
Summoning the Spirits
1899
The Human Pyramid
1899
A Midnight Episode
The Sleeping Man (uncredited)
1899
The Devil in a Convent
The Devil
1899
An Up-to-Date Conjurer
Magician
1899
The Mysterious Knight
Le chevalier mystère
1899
The Mysterious Portrait
L'illusioniste
1899
Cleopatra's Tomb
un profanateur de la tombe de Cléopâtre
1899
The Pillar of Fire
1899
The Four Troublesome Heads
Conjurer
1898
The Astronomer's Dream
Astronomer
1898
The Temptation of St. Anthony
1898
Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion
1898
The Magician
Le Sculpteur
1898
The Famous Box Trick
The Magician
1898
Faust and Marguerite
Méphistophélès
1897
The Haunted Castle
Mephisto
1897
The Bewitched Inn
The Traveler
1897
Naval Combat in Greece
The Captain
1897
Between Calais and Dover
The Man in the Checked Suit
1897
A Nightmare
Man
1896
The Haunted Castle
Mephistopheles
1896
Conjuring
Himself
1896
A Terrible Night
L'homme qui essaie de dormir
1896
The Vanishing Lady
Magician
1896
Playing Cards
Un joueur de cartes
1896