The Magician (1898)
"Le magicien" (original title)

In this scene is shown a magician behind an ordinary table, upon which he suddenly and mysteriously causes to appear a large box, into which he leaps. The sides of the box fall to the ... See full summary »

Director:

Georges Méliès

Storyline

In this scene is shown a magician behind an ordinary table, upon which he suddenly and mysteriously causes to appear a large box, into which he leaps. The sides of the box fall to the ground, but instead of containing the magician a lively clown steps forth who further mystifies the audience by causing the box to disappear, and in its place is seen a fully laid table with a smoking dinner, to which the clown applies himself. The table, however, suddenly disappears much to the astonishment of the clown, who is confronted by the magician in the garb of Mephistopheles. This he suddenly changes to that of a sculptor, and in the background is seen a pedestal with the bust of a young lady, which comes to life as the sculptor applies the mallet and chisel.

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Plot Keywords:

magician | disappearance | pierrot | trick photography | disembodied head | 

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Genres:

Short | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

France

Release Date:

1903 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Magic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Star-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

1 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

Magician

Magician, The (1898)

*** (out of 4)

aka Le Magicien

The magic of Melies is on full display here as he plays the title character and we see various magic tricks including a great one of a man jumping into a closed box and then someone else reappearing. If you like your Melies films with magic then this is just the one for you as we get non-stop magic tricks throughout the short running time. There are various sequences with Melies trying to grab for a woman only to have her disappear and then reappear in a different area. There's also a clown on hand who has several tricks pulled on him including some disappearing food. The special effects are very good throughout making this one of the director's better films.