Biography
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.
Filmography
all 274
Movies 273
Director 105
self 9
Producer 3
Writer 2
TV Shows 1
Melies: Tales of Terror (2021)
The Méliès Mystery (2021)
El hombre que quiso ser Segundo (2014)
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès (2012)
The Extraordinary Voyage (2011)
Méliès' Magic Show (1997)
Le cinéma des pêches (1989)
The Nightmare of Méliès (1988)
Le topologue (1988)
Cinematógrafo 1900 (1979)
ORG (1979)
Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma (1978)
Georges Méliès: Cinema Magician (1978)
Violons d'Ingres (1939)
The Voyage of M. Bourrichon (1913)
The Knight of the Snow (1912)
Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912)
The Conquest of the Pole (1912)
The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen (1911)
The Diabolical Church Window (1910)
Whimsical Illusions (1909)
The Spider and the Butterfly (1909)
The Diabolic Tenant (1909)
The Doctor's Secret (1909)
A Tricky Painter’s Fate (1908)
Mishaps of the New York-Paris Auto Race (1908)
Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler (1908)
The Woes of Roller Skaters (1908)
Sideshow Wrestlers (1908)
Why That Actor Was Late (1908)
The Genii of Fire (1908)
His First Job (1908)
Grandmother's Tale and Child's Dream (1908)
The Miser (1908)
The New Lord of the Village (1908)
The Broken Violin (1908)
Not Guilty (1908)
The Mischance of a Photographer (1908)
Buncoed Stage Johnnie (1908)
The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess (1908)
In the Barber Shop (1908)
Long Distance Wireless Photography (1908)
The Good Luck of a 'Souse' (1908)
The King and the Jester (1908)
The Indian Sorcerer (1908)
The Knight of Black Art (1908)
Justinian's Human Torches (1908)
In the Bogie Man's Cave (1908)
French Cops Learning English (1908)
The Dream of an Opium Fiend (1908)
Humanity Through the Ages (1908)
L'agent gelé (1908)
Pharmaceutical Hallucinations (1908)
The Prophetess of Thebes (1907)
Satan in Prison (1907)
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1907)
Sightseeing Through Whisky (1907)
Tunneling the English Channel (1907)
Rogues' Tricks (1907)
How Bridget's Lover Escaped (1907)
Ali Barbouyou and Ali Bouf, In Oil (1907)
Good Glue Sticks (1907)
The Skipping Cheese (1907)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1907)
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907)
The Witch (1906)
Robert Macaire and Bertrand (1906)
A Mix-Up in the Gallery (1906)
A Roadside Inn (1906)
Jack the Chimney Sweep (1906)
The Tramp and the Mattress Makers (1906)
Soap Bubbles (1906)
Punch and Judy (1906)
The Mysterious Retort (1906)
A Desperate Crime (1906)
The Merry Frolics of Satan (1906)
The Hilarious Posters (1906)
The Luny Musician (1906)
The Lilliputian Minuet (1905)
Rip's Dream (1905)
The Magic Dice (1905)
STOP THIEF! (1905)
An Adventurous Automobile Trip (1905)
The Palace of the Arabian Nights (1905)
An Improvised Fireworks Display (1905)
A Crazy Composer (1905)
A Mesmerian Experiment (1905)
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship (1905)
The Enchanted Sedan Chair (1905)
The Scheming Gambler's Paradise (1905)
The Black Imp (1905)
The Living Playing Cards (1905)
Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus (1905)
The Impossible Voyage (1904)
The Devilish Plank (1904)
The Firefall (1904)
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer (1904)
A Moonlight Serenade (1904)
Faust and Marguerite (1904)
A Miracle Under the Inquisition (1904)
The Clockmaker's Dream (1904)
The Untamable Whiskers (1904)
The Bewitched Trunk (1904)
The Fugitive Apparitions (1904)
A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself (1904)
Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter (1904)
Tit for Tat (1904)
The Terrible Turkish Executioner (1904)
The Wonderful Rose Tree (1904)
The Christmas Angel (1904)
The Cook in Trouble (1904)
The Imperceptible Transmutations (1904)
The Mermaid (1904)
The Wonderful Living Fan (1904)
The Misadventures of Mr. Boit-Sans-Soif (1904)
Benvenuto Cellini or A Curious Evasion (1904)
The Wandering Jew (1904)
Faust in the Underworld (1903)
Comical Conjuring (1903)
The Ballet Master's Dream (1903)
Alcofribas, The Master Magician (1903)
Bob Kick, the Mischievous Kid (1903)
Ten Ladies in an Umbrella (1903)
Jupiter's Thunderballs (1903)
Jack Jags and Dum Dum (1903)
The Infernal Cauldron (1903)
Apparitions (1903)
The Kingdom of the Fairies (1903)
The Melomaniac (1903)
The Oracle of Delphi (1903)
The Monster (1903)
A Spiritualist Photographer (1903)
The Mystical Flame (1903)
Les mousquetaires de la reine (1903)
Misfortune Never Comes Alone (1903)
The Infernal Cakewalk (1903)
The Marvellous Wreath (1903)
Une indigestion (1903)
The Magic Lantern (1903)
The Inn Where No Man Rests (1903)
The Enchanted Well (1903)
The Mysterious Box (1903)
Cabinet Trick of the Davenport Brothers (1903)
The Witch's Revenge (1903)
The Drawing Lesson (1903)
Extraordinary Illusions (1903)
The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelee and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique (1902)
The Coronation of Edward VII (1902)
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
The Magician and the Imp (1902)
The Prolific Magical Egg (1902)
The Human Fly (1902)
The Colonel's Shower Bath (1902)
The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax" (1902)
The Treasures of Satan (1902)
An Impossible Balancing Feat (1902)
The Microscopic Dancer (1902)
Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants (1902)
The Flying Woman (1902)
Robinson Crusoe (1902)
Off to Bedlam (1901)
Little Red Riding Hood (1901)
The Triple Headed Lady (1901)
Bluebeard (1901)
The Prince of Magicians (1901)
The Dwarf and the Giant (1901)
The Magician's Cavern (1901)
The Man with the Rubber Head (1901)
Hat of Many Surprises (1901)
The Brahmin and the Butterfly (1901)
An Extraordinary Dislocation (1901)
The Devil and the Statue (1901)
L'homme aux cent trucs (1901)
The Bachelor's Paradise (1901)
What Is Home Without the Boarder (1901)
The Christmas Dream (1900)
Joan of Arc (1900)
The Artist and the Dummy (1900)
The Cook's Revenge (1900)
Addition and Subtraction (1900)
Up-to-Date Spiritualism (1900)
The Rajah's Dream or The Bewitched Wood (1900)
A Fantastical Meal (1900)
The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match (1900)
The Misfortunes of an Explorer (1900)
The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head (1900)
The One-Man Band (1900)
How He Missed His Train (1900)
Eight Girls in a Barrel (1900)
Going to Bed Under Difficulties (1900)
The Doctor and the Monkey (1900)
The Magic Book (1900)
The Two Blind Men (1900)
The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy (1900)
Les miracles du Brahmine (1900)
Crying and Laughing (1900)
Extravagant Struggles (1899)
The Dreyfus Affair (1899)
Cinderella (1899)
The Degradation of Dreyfus (1899)
Dreyfus Leaving the Lycée for Jail (1899)
Devil's Island - Within the Palisade (1899)
The Human Pyramid (1899)
Summoning the Spirits (1899)
Murder Will Out (1899)
The Clown and Automobile (1899)
The Court Martial at Rennes (1899)
Le conférencier distrait (1899)
The Mysterious Portrait (1899)
The Fight of Reporters (1899)
The Conjurer (1899)
The Devil in a Convent (1899)
The Pillar of Fire (1899)
Cleopatra's Tomb (1899)
A Midnight Episode (1899)
The Mysterious Knight (1899)
Lightning Change Artist (1899)
Dreyfus Meets His Wife at Rennes (1899)
Christ Walking on Water (1899)
The Attempt Against the Life of Maitre Labori (1899)
Suicide of Colonel Henry (1899)
Dreyfus Put in Irons (1899)
Dreyfus Court Martial - Arrest Of Dreyfus (1899)
Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon (1899)
Fantastic Dining Room (1899)
The Cave of the Demons (1898)
Guerre de Cuba et l'explosion du Maine à La Havane (1898)
The Four Troublesome Heads (1898)
Panorama from Top of a Moving Train (1898)
The Astronomer's Dream (1898)
The Magician (1898)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1898)
The Bridegroom's Dilemma (1898)
Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine" (1898)
Pygmalion and Galatea (1898)
A Woman Surprised (1898)
The Famous Box Trick (1898)
The Damnation of Faust (1898)
Carrefour de l'opéra (1898)
Adventures of William Tell (1898)
The Vanishing Lady (1897)
The Hallucinated Alchemist (1897)
The Last Cartridges (1897)
On the Roof (1897)
The Devil's Laboratory (1897)
Faust and Marguerite (1897)
The Bewitched Inn (1897)
The Grasshopper and the Ant (1897)
Between Calais and Dover (1897)
A Terrible Night (Remake) (1897)
The Haunted Castle (1897)
The Surrender of Tournavos (1897)
An Irritable Model (1897)
D. Devant, Conjurer (1897)
Boxing Match (1897)
Fencing at the Joinville School (1897)
Naval Combat in Greece (1897)
After the Ball (1897)
A Nightmare (1896)
The Haunted Castle (1896)
Conjuring (1896)
Playing Cards (1896)
A Terrible Night (1896)
Les tribulations d'un concierge (1896)
Post No Bills (1896)
Arrival of a Train at Vincennes Station (1896)
Miss de Vère - English Jig (1896)
The Vanishing Lady (1896)
A Soldier's Unlucky Salutation (1896)
Conjurer Making Ten Hats in Sixty Seconds (1896)
Arrival of a Train (Joinville Station) (1896)
A Serpentine Dance (1896)
Watering the Flowers (1896)
L'Arroseur (Watering the Flowers)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForDirecting
GenderMale
Birthday1861-12-08
Deathday1938-01-21 (76 years old)
Birth PlaceParis, France
RelationshipsJehanne d'Alcy (1925-01-01 - 1938-01-21)
ChildrenGeorgette Méliès
SiblingsGaston Méliès
CitizenshipsFrance
Also Known AsЖорж Мельес, 조르주 멜리에스, Marie Georges Jean Méliès, ジョルジュ・メリエス, マリー・ジョルジュ・ジャン・メリエス
AwardsScience Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Knight of the Legion of Honour
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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