Georges Méliès
Directing
Born 1861-12-08
Died 1938-01-21
Paris, France
357 credits
Knight of the Legion of Honour 1
Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame 1
Awards
Won 1 Knight of the Legion of Honour Award
Knight of the Legion of Honour 1 won
- — Knight of the Legion of Honour Won
Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame 1 won
- 2015 Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame Won
Award data from Wikidata (CC0). Coverage may be incomplete.
Read biography
Georges Méliès (December 8, 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.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 357
Directing
53 credits
A Trip to the Moon
A Terrible Night
Justinian's Human Torches
The Impossible Voyage
The Mysterious Retort
A Nightmare
The Four Troublesome Heads
Cinderella
The Man with the Rubber Head
The Mermaid
Joan of Arc
Le manoir du diable
The Vanishing Lady
The Melomaniac
The Kingdom of the Fairies
Dreyfus Put in Irons
The Magician
An Extraordinary Dislocation
Playing Cards
The Astronomer's Dream
Whimsical Illusions
Robinson Crusoe
Bluebeard
The Hallucinated Alchemist
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Tunneling the English Channel
The Monster
The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelee and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique
The One-Man Band
The Bewitched Inn
The Christmas Dream
Le château hanté
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Infernal Cauldron
Summoning the Spirits
After the Ball
The Temptation of St. Anthony
The Ballet Master's Dream
The Enchanted Sedan Chair
The Untamable Whiskers
The Witch
The Conquest of the Pole
Rip's Dream
Sightseeing Through Whisky
The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen
Pygmalion and Galatea
The Spider and the Butterfly
Naval Combat in Greece
Gugusse and the Automaton
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
The Prince of Magicians
Addition and Subtraction
The Hilarious Posters
Acting
40 credits
A Trip to the Moon
Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
A Terrible Night
The Extraordinary Voyage
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
The Impossible Voyage
A Nightmare
The Four Troublesome Heads
Cinderella
The Man with the Rubber Head
Joan of Arc
Le manoir du diable
The Vanishing Lady
The Kingdom of the Fairies
Cinematógrafo 1900
The Magician
Playing Cards
The Astronomer's Dream
Whimsical Illusions
Robinson Crusoe
Bluebeard
The Merry Frolics of Satan
The Magic of Méliès
The Monster
The One-Man Band
The Bewitched Inn
The Christmas Dream
Le château hanté
The Infernal Cauldron
The Temptation of St. Anthony
The Untamable Whiskers
The Witch
The Conquest of the Pole
Rip's Dream
The Méliès Mystery
Pygmalion and Galatea
Naval Combat in Greece
Gugusse and the Automaton
The Prince of Magicians
The Hilarious Posters
Producing
26 credits
A Trip to the Moon
A Terrible Night
The Impossible Voyage
A Nightmare
The Four Troublesome Heads
Cinderella
The Man with the Rubber Head
Joan of Arc
Le manoir du diable
The Vanishing Lady
The Kingdom of the Fairies
The Astronomer's Dream
Whimsical Illusions
Robinson Crusoe
Bluebeard
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Tunneling the English Channel
The One-Man Band
The Bewitched Inn
Le château hanté
The Infernal Cauldron
The Witch
The Conquest of the Pole
Rip's Dream
The Prince of Magicians
The Hilarious Posters
Other credits
23 credits
A Trip to the Moon
A Terrible Night
The Impossible Voyage
A Nightmare
The Four Troublesome Heads
Cinderella
Joan of Arc
Le manoir du diable
The Vanishing Lady
ORG
The Kingdom of the Fairies
The Astronomer's Dream
Whimsical Illusions
Robinson Crusoe
Bluebeard
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Tunneling the English Channel
The Bewitched Inn
Le château hanté
The Infernal Cauldron
The Witch
The Conquest of the Pole
Rip's Dream
Writing
17 credits
A Trip to the Moon
A Terrible Night
The Impossible Voyage
Joan of Arc
Le manoir du diable
The Kingdom of the Fairies
Playing Cards
The Astronomer's Dream
Whimsical Illusions
Robinson Crusoe
The Merry Frolics of Satan
The Bewitched Inn
Le château hanté
The Infernal Cauldron
The Witch
The Conquest of the Pole
Rip's Dream
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