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IMDbPro

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

Edit
IMDbPro

Director



  • 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
  • À la conquête du pôle (1912)
    À la conquête du pôle
    6.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1912
  • Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912)
    Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
    5.7
    Short
    • Director
    • 1912
  • The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen (1911)
    The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen
    6.3
    Short
    • Director
    • 1911
  • Le vitrail diabolique (1910)
    Le vitrail diabolique
    5.4
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Un homme comme il faut (1910)
    Un homme comme il faut
    4.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Si j'étais le roi (1910)
    Si j'étais le roi
    4.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Les sept barres d'or (1910)
    Les sept barres d'or
    5.0
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • L'homme aux mille inventions (1910)
    L'homme aux mille inventions
    5.7
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Curing Obesity in 5 Minutes (1910)
    Curing Obesity in 5 Minutes
    5.8
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Galatée (1910)
    Galatée
    5.6
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Le conte du vieux talute (1910)
    Le conte du vieux talute
    4.9
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910
  • Apparitions fantomatiques (1910)
    Apparitions fantomatiques
    6.3
    Short
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1910
  • The Doctor's Secret (1910)
    The Doctor's Secret
    5.5
    Short
    • Director
    • 1910

Actor



  • The Knight of the Snow (1912)
    The Knight of the Snow
    5.7
    Short
    • Devil (uncredited)
    • 1912
  • À la conquête du pôle (1912)
    À la conquête du pôle
    6.8
    Short
    • Le professeur Mabouloff
    • ou Maboul
    • 1912
  • Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912)
    Cinderella or The Glass Slipper
    5.7
    Short
    • Le Messager du Prince
    • 1912
  • Apparitions fantomatiques (1910)
    Apparitions fantomatiques
    6.3
    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
  • Fortune Favors the Brave
    Short
    • Gnome (uncredited)
    • 1909
  • Seein' Things (1909)
    Seein' Things
    6.5
    Short
    • The Drunkard
    • 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
    5.2
    Short
    • The Roman (uncredited)
    • 1908
  • The Miser (1908)
    The Miser
    5.1
    Short
    • The Beggar Man
    • The Villager who returns the money chest (uncredited)
    • 1908
  • The New Lord of the Village (1908)
    The New Lord of the Village
    5.2
    Short
    • Caesar's Ghost (uncredited)
    • 1908
  • French Interpreter Policeman (1908)
    French Interpreter Policeman
    4.5
    Short
    • The Police Inspecter
    • 1908
  • Humanity Through the Ages (1908)
    Humanity Through the Ages
    7.8
    Short
    • Druid
    • Judge in the Spanish Inquisition (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
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • The Count's Wooing (1909)
    The Count's Wooing
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • The Hypnotist's Revenge (1909)
    The Hypnotist's Revenge
    5.2
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • For Sale: a Baby
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • Cinderella Up-to-Date (1909)
    Cinderella Up-to-Date
    Short
    • producer
    • 1909
  • For the Cause of Suffrage
    Short
    • producer
    • 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
  • The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess (1908)
    The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess
    5.3
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • Not Guilty (1908)
    Not Guilty
    4.8
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • Georges Méliès in Long Distance Wireless Photography (1908)
    Long Distance Wireless Photography
    5.7
    Short
    • producer
    • 1908
  • Le Magicien
    7.7
    Short
    • producer
    • 1907

Personal details

Edit
  • 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

Edit
  • 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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