Méliès the Great

director: Georges Franju

original title: Le Grand Méliès

country: France

year: 1953

running time: 30 min.

synopsis

This brief overview of the life and work of Georges Méliès includes numerous excerpts from his films. It also consists of reconstructed scenes from the artist's life, featuring his son André (playing his father), Méliès' first wife and first film star Jeanne d'Alcy (A Trip to the Moon), and Méliès' collaborator François Lallement. Georges Franju also reconstructs the first film screening of the Lumière brothers. Although it is overall more of a memorial tribute, there are still a number of inspiring ideas and valuable shots, such as the ninety-year-old widow of the famous director laying flowers on her husband's grave.

biography

Georges Franjou (1912-1987) started out in the theater field, and participated in the creation of the French Cinematheque in the 1930s. Starting from the 1950s he became an unmissable documentary essayist. His highly stylized feature films oscillate between genres (from gore and horror to thriller) and have become an inspiration for many creators of the past and the present.

more about film

director:

Georges Franju

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