Mesmerist and Country Couple (1899) User Reviews

Fun with early stop-motion filming

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 22 November 2006]

This film is mildly entertaining if seen today, though it's hardly one that will change your life when you see it. The film makes extensive use of stop-motion filming, as the camera is turned on and off to make it appear as if things appear and disappear due to the will of the crafty hypnotist. At the time, audiences must have loved it and the film is highly reminiscent of the great early films of Georges Méliès--though the films of Méliès usually were better-made (he truly was the master of early trick camera-work). But today, even kids will most likely not be particularly impressed. In addition, the composition of the film just isn't all that inspired--there are just better films like this from 1899, though this film in general is a bit better than average.

Edison Doing Melies

[Michael_Elliott · 12 January 2012]

Mesmerist and Country Couple (1899)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This is yet another film from Edison that is clearly ripping off the work of Georges Melies. A couple go to see a mesmerist when he decides to make them think they're crazy by having countless things disappear in front of them. This type of trick film was perfected by Melies but it's always entertaining seeing other people trying to pull off the tricks. Needless to say, the work here isn't nearly as impressive as even the weakest Melies film. The biggest problem is that the edits are so obvious that none of the tricks will fool you. Yes, you could argue that you notice the edits in the Melies work, which is true but they're a lot more seamless than what we see here. Another problem is that the film is just missing a certain charm that runs in the Melies filmmography. Still, for fans of early cinema this is still worth watching just so you can compare the type of films that were being cranked out.