Georges Méliès
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 sp
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.
Born
Dec 08, 1861
Paris, France
Died
Jan 21, 1938
Known For
Directing
Movies
151 acting
456 crew
Popularity
0.4
Known For
A Trip to the Moon
1902
as Professeur Barbenfouillis / La Lune
The Impossible Voyage
1904
as Mabouloff
Le manoir du diable
1896
as Mephistopheles
Cinderella
1899
as le gnome de la pendule / le suisse à l'entrée de l'église
The Man with the Rubber Head
1901
as The Chemist / The India Rubber Head
The Astronomer's Dream
1900
as Astronomer
A Nightmare
1896
as Man
The One-Man Band
1900
as All the members of the orchestra
The Four Troublesome Heads
1898
as Conjurer
The Infernal Cauldron
1903
as Devil
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