In at least a hundred of the over five hundred films he made, Georges Méliès played the part of a magician before the camera. This is because his showmanship and style were no accident...he had been a stage magician before becoming a filmmaker in 1896. So, while he might be wearing all sorts of garb (wigs, beards and outrageous costumes), the magician in his film is played by the director himself.
"La Guirlande Merveilleuse" is another one of his magician films and like most, he has lady assistants and a stage. And, like most of these, he makes things seem to appear and disappear...namely a pretty lady and later a weird face--both of which are familiar if you've seen a lot of his films. And, like so many of the films, his trick is achieved by superimposing footage onto the stage Another technique he uses here, and he used it in most of his films, is stopping the camera and restarting it to make it look as if folks disappear or appear. All of the film is very, very familiar...no new innovations here but pretty good for 1903.
"La Guirlande Merveilleuse" is another one of his magician films and like most, he has lady assistants and a stage. And, like most of these, he makes things seem to appear and disappear...namely a pretty lady and later a weird face--both of which are familiar if you've seen a lot of his films. And, like so many of the films, his trick is achieved by superimposing footage onto the stage Another technique he uses here, and he used it in most of his films, is stopping the camera and restarting it to make it look as if folks disappear or appear. All of the film is very, very familiar...no new innovations here but pretty good for 1903.
