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.
149 movies · 1 shows
Satans Sacrilegious Saga
2025·0.0
Alcoléa & cie Documentary
2024·0.0
Méliès: Tales of Terror
2021·0.0
The Méliès Mystery
2021·6.9
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo
2014·6.0
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
2012·0.0
The Extraordinary Voyage
2011·7.7
The Magic of Méliès
1997·7.3
Cinematógrafo 1900
1979·6.3
Violons d'Ingres
1939·7.0
Gala Méliès
1929·0.0
The Knight of the Snow
1912·5.9
The Conquest of the Pole
1912·6.2
The Diabolical Church Window
1911·5.7
Whimsical Illusions
1909·6.3
The Diabolic Tenant
1909·6.8
The Doctor's Secret
1909·5.3
The Fortune Favors the Brave
1908·9.0
French Cops Learning English
1908·5.1
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
1908·5.5
The Indian Sorcerer
1908·5.7
Les infortunes des patineurs
1908·4.1
Not Guilty
1908·4.4
The New Lord of the Village
1908·5.4
In the Barber Shop
1908·5.0
Long Distance Wireless Photography
1908·5.5
The Good Luck of a 'Souse'
1907·4.9
The King and the Jester
1907·5.1
Satan in Prison
1907·5.7
Good Glue Sticks
1907·4.9
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
1907·6.0
Delirium in a Studio
1907·5.6
Tunneling the English Channel
1907·6.5
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1907·5.1
The Witch
1906·6.3
The Mysterious Retort
1906·5.7
The Merry Frolics of Satan
1906·6.5
A Roadside Inn
1906·5.9
A Desperate Crime
1906·6.4
The Hilarious Posters
1906·6.2
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship
1905·5.8
Rip's Dream
1905·5.9
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus
1905·5.7
The Palace of the Arabian Nights
1905·5.7
A Mesmerian Experiment
1905·5.4
The Lilliputian Minuet
1905·4.8
The Black Imp
1905·6.5
The Living Playing Cards
1905·6.4
The Christmas Angel
1904·5.8
The Firefall
1904·4.6
The Wandering Jew
1904·5.0
The Impossible Voyage
1904·7.3
The Mermaid
1904·5.8
The Devilish Plank
1904·4.7
The Cook in Trouble
1904·5.5
The Wonderful Living Fan
1904·5.2
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer
1904·4.9
Faust and Marguerite
1904·5.0
The Imperceptible Transmutations
1904·5.2
The Clockmaker's Dream
1904·5.3
The Untamable Whiskers
1904·6.2
The Fugitive Apparitions
1904·5.1
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter
1904·4.9
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself
1904·8.0
Tit for Tat
1904·5.9
A Moonlight Serenade
1903·5.3
The Terrible Turkish Executioner
1903·6.2
Faust in the Underworld
1903·5.8
The Ballet Master's Dream
1903·5.8
The Magic Lantern
1903·6.0
Alcofribas, The Master Magician
1903·5.1
Extraordinary Illusions
1903·6.1
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid
1903·4.7
Jupiter's Thunderballs
1903·5.4
Apparitions
1903·5.7
The Infernal Cauldron
1903·6.3
The Kingdom of the Fairies
1903·6.9
The Monster
1903·6.1
The Melomaniac
1903·6.5
The Oracle of Delphi
1903·5.6
The Mystical Flame
1903·5.0
The Mysterious Box
1903·5.5
The Infernal Cake-Walk
1903·5.6
Misfortune Never Comes Alone
1903·5.6
Beelzebub's Daughters
1903·7.0
The Marvellous Wreath
1903·4.7
The Enchanted Basket
1903·8.0
Robinson Crusoe
1902·5.7
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants
1902·6.0
Sure Cure for Indigestion
1902·7.0
An Impossible Balancing Feat
1902·5.9
The Human Fly
1902·6.0
The Treasures of Satan
1902·5.2
A Trip to the Moon
1902·7.9
The Prolific Magical Egg
1902·6.0
The Dwarf and the Giant
1901·5.9
The Man with the Rubber Head
1901·7.1
The Devil and the Statue
1901·5.4
Hat of Many Surprises
1901·6.0
Bluebeard
1901·6.3
The Prince of Magicians
1901·6.3
The Temple of the Sun
1901·8.0
A Maiden's Paradise
1901·0.0
The Magician's Cavern
1901·6.2
The Triple Headed Lady
1901·5.8
The Brahmin and the Butterfly
1901·5.5
The Astronomer's Dream
1900·7.0
The Christmas Dream
1900·5.6
Joan of Arc
1900·6.9
The Artist and the Dummy
1900·4.8
The One-Man Band
1900·6.8
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
1900·6.5
Going to Bed Under Difficulties
1900·6.5
Up-to-Date Spiritualism
1900·5.7
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy
1900·5.3
A Fantastical Meal
1900·6.3
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head
1900·5.9
The Magic Book
1900·6.2
The Dreyfus Affair
1899·5.5
Cinderella
1899·6.2
Summoning the Spirits
1899·5.2
The Human Pyramid
1899·5.5
A Midnight Episode
1899·3.5
The Devil in a Convent
1899·6.3
An Up-to-Date Conjurer
1899·6.3
The Mysterious Knight
1899·6.3
The Mysterious Portrait
1899·6.1
Cleopatra's Tomb
1899·1.7
The Pillar of Fire
1899·5.9
The Four Troublesome Heads
1898·7.2
The Temptation of St. Anthony
1898·5.8
Pygmalion and Galatea
1898·5.1
The Magician
1898·6.2
The Famous Box Trick
1898·6.2
The Bridegroom's Dilemma
1898·6.7
Faust and Marguerite
1897·3.9
Le château hanté
1897·5.7
The Bewitched Inn
1897·6.3
Naval Combat in Greece
1897·5.3
Between Calais and Dover
1897·5.4
Dancing in a Harem
1897·10.0
A Funny Mahometan
1897·10.0
Gugusse and the Automaton
1897·6.5
A Nightmare
1896·6.1
Le manoir du diable
1896·6.4
Conjuring
1896·5.2
Playing Cards
1896·4.9
A Terrible Night
1896·5.2
The Vanishing Lady
1896·6.3