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Georges Méliès(1861-1938)

  • Director
  • Actor
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès was a French illusionist and film director famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.

Méliès was an especially prolific innovator in the use of special effects, popularizing such techniques as substitution splices, multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted color.

His films include A Trip to the Moon (1902) and An Impossible Voyage (1904), both involving strange, surreal journeys somewhat in the style of Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early science fiction films.

Méliès died of cancer on 21 January 1938 at the age of 76.

In 2016, a Méliès film long thought lost, A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself (1904), was discovered in a Czechoslovak film archive.
BornDecember 8, 1861
DiedJanuary 21, 1938(76)
BornDecember 8, 1861
DiedJanuary 21, 1938(76)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 2 wins total

Photos51

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Known for

À la conquête du pôle (1912)
À la conquête du pôle
6.8
Short
  • Director
  • 1912
Mlle. Bodson in The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907)
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
6.4
Short
  • Director
  • 1907
The House of the Devil (1896)
The House of the Devil
6.7
Short
  • Director
  • 1896
The Damnation of Faust (1903)
The Damnation of Faust
6.1
Short
  • Director
  • 1903

Credits

IMDbPro

Director



  • Georges Méliès Encore: New Discoveries (2010)
    Georges Méliès Encore: New Discoveries
    Video
    • Director
    • 2010
  • Landmarks of Early Film Volume 2 the Magic of Melies (1999)
    Landmarks of Early Film Volume 2 the Magic of Melies
    • Director
    • 1999
  • Vieux Paris (1953)
    Vieux Paris
    3.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1953
  • The Voyage of the Bourrichon Family (1913)
    The Voyage of the Bourrichon Family
    5.0
    Short
    • Director
    • 1913
  • The Knight of the Snow (1912)
    The Knight of the Snow
    5.7
    Short
    • Director
    • 1912
  • Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912)
    Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
    5.7
    Short
    • Director
    • 1912
  • À la conquête du pôle (1912)
    À la conquête du pôle
    6.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1912
  • The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen (1911)
    The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen
    6.2
    Short
    • Director
    • 1911
  • Apparitions fantomatiques (1910)
    Apparitions fantomatiques
    5.9
    Short
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1910
  • Galatée (1910)
    Galatée
    4.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Curing Obesity in 5 Minutes (1910)
    Curing Obesity in 5 Minutes
    5.0
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • The Doctor's Secret (1910)
    The Doctor's Secret
    5.5
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • L'homme aux mille inventions (1910)
    L'homme aux mille inventions
    5.2
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Le conte du vieux talute (1910)
    Le conte du vieux talute
    4.4
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Le vitrail diabolique (1910)
    Le vitrail diabolique
    5.4
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910

Actor



  • The Knight of the Snow (1912)
    The Knight of the Snow
    5.7
    Short
    • Devil (uncredited)
    • 1912
  • Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912)
    Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
    5.7
    Short
    • Le Messager du Prince
    • 1912
  • À la conquête du pôle (1912)
    À la conquête du pôle
    6.8
    Short
    • Le professeur Mabouloff
    • ou Maboul
    • 1912
  • Apparitions fantomatiques (1910)
    Apparitions fantomatiques
    5.9
    Short
    • Le Roi des médiums (uncredited)
    • 1910
  • The Doctor's Secret (1910)
    The Doctor's Secret
    5.5
    Short
    • 1910
  • Georges Méliès in Le papillon fantastique (1909)
    Le papillon fantastique
    6.1
    Short
    • The magician
    • 1909
  • Georges Méliès and Manuel in Whimsical Illusions (1909)
    Whimsical Illusions
    6.3
    Short
    • The Magician (uncredited)
    • 1909
  • Seein' Things (1909)
    Seein' Things
    6.1
    Short
    • The Drunkard
    • 1909
  • Fortune Favors the Brave
    3.8
    Short
    • Gnome (uncredited)
    • 1909
  • Charles Claudel and Georges Méliès in The Devilish Tenant (1909)
    The Devilish Tenant
    7.2
    Short
    • Le Locataire diabolique (uncredited)
    • 1909
  • Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler (1908)
    Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler
    4.7
    Short
    • The Roman (uncredited)
    • 1908
  • French Interpreter Policeman (1908)
    French Interpreter Policeman
    4.4
    Short
    • The Police Inspecter
    • 1908
  • The Miser (1908)
    The Miser
    5.1
    Short
    • The Beggar Man
    • The Villager who returns the money chest (uncredited)
    • 1908
  • Humanity Through the Ages (1908)
    Humanity Through the Ages
    7.4
    Short
    • Druid
    • Judge in the Spanish Inquisition (uncredited)
    • 1908
  • The New Lord of the Village (1908)
    The New Lord of the Village
    5.2
    Short
    • Caesar's Ghost (uncredited)
    • 1908

Producer



  • Le Monstre (adapted)
    Short
    • producer
    • 2019
  • À la conquête du pôle (1912)
    À la conquête du pôle
    6.8
    Short
    • producer
    • 1912
  • Fortune Favors the Brave
    3.8
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • The Count's Wooing (1909)
    The Count's Wooing
    4.8
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • For Sale: a Baby
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • The Hypnotist's Revenge (1909)
    The Hypnotist's Revenge
    4.5
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • Cinderella Up-to-Date (1909)
    Cinderella Up-to-Date
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • For the Cause of Suffrage (1909)
    For the Cause of Suffrage
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • The Stolen Wireless (1909)
    The Stolen Wireless
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • Charles Claudel and Georges Méliès in The Devilish Tenant (1909)
    The Devilish Tenant
    7.2
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • The New Lord of the Village (1908)
    The New Lord of the Village
    5.2
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • Not Guilty (1908)
    Not Guilty
    4.8
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess (1908)
    The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess
    5.2
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • Georges Méliès in Long Distance Wireless Photography (1908)
    Long Distance Wireless Photography
    5.7
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • Mlle. Bodson in The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907)
    The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon
    6.4
    Short
    • producer
    • 1907

Personal details

  • Alternative names
    • Geo. Melies
  • Born
    • December 8, 1861
    • Paris, France
  • Died
    • January 21, 1938
    • Paris, France(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Jehanne d'AlcyDecember 10, 1925 - January 21, 1938 (his death)
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Biographical Movies
    • 13 Print Biographies
    • 4 Portrayals
    • 1 Interview
    • 11 Articles

Did you know

  • Trivia
    While shooting one of his life scenes in the Place de l'Opera in Paris, the camera jammed. It took about a minute to clear the problem and resume shooting. When the film was processed and screened, Méliès saw a bus suddenly turn into a hearse; people in the scene suddenly appeared or disappeared. This accident led to his discovery of stop motion trickery which became his first filmic special effects technique. This stop motion technique had previously been discovered and used by Thomas A. Edison, but Méliès made extensive use of it in his short films.
  • Quotes
    [in 1932] My best satisfaction in all is to be sure not to be one day without bread and home!

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