The Sprocket Society
Seattle, WA
Past Events
Georges Méliès: Impossible Voyager
Special effects epics from the early 1900s, with unusual musical accompaniment.
Plus special guests Climax Golden Twins on dueling Victrolas!
Thurs. May 15, 2008 / 8:00 PM — one show only!
Northwest Film Forum - 1515 12th Ave.(on Capital Hill between Pike and Pine)
Tickets: 8.50 / $5.00 for NWFF members / $6.00 for children under 12 and seniors
Advance tickets available online at BrownPaperTickets.com
Event Details | Program Notes | Related Links | Press Release | Photographs | Event Poster | Further Reading
Spectacular sci-fi and fantasy epics made between 1901–1912 by the father of special effects, accompanied by unusual musical selections including early electronic music, avant garde jazz, and the Master Musicians of Jajouka. One film will be shown with a rare live performance of its original 1904 narration, accompanied by Victrola DJing by Climax Golden Twins.
Long before Star Wars, King Kong, or even Birth of a Nation there was the greatest and most influential film illusionist of all time: a puckish French magician named Georges Méliès. One hundred years later, the whimsical "trick films" made by Monsieur Méliès include some of the most iconic images in movie history and continue to amaze and delight with their jaw-dropping creativity and vision.
On May 15, 2008 at 8:00 PM, the Northwest Film Forum and The Sprocket Society join to celebrate the magic of Georges Méliès with a program of his greatest sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure mini-epics made between 1901 and 1912. All films will be shown from hard-to-find 16mm prints. Included are well-known favorites like A Trip to the Moon and Conquest of the Pole, as well as rarely-shown delights such as The Merry Frolics of Satan, Palace of the Arabian Nights, and others.
As a special treat, 1904's The Impossible Voyage will be presented with a rare live performance (in English) of the original narration penned by Méliès himself. The musical accompaniment will be provided by the experimental group Climax Golden Twins, who will create an audio collage using 78 RPM records from their vast collection of rarities, played live on real Victrolas right there in the theater.
The remaining program includes two tinted and hand-colored prints, a rare extended version of A Trip to the Moon, and an equally rare "complete" print of The Kingdom of the Fairies. The musical selections chosen for these are as adventurous as the imagery they accompany, and include:
- A special remix of Eskimo by The Residents, prepared by Seattle producer Scott Colburn
- The Master Musicians of Jajouka
- Free jazz by Chicago's legendary Hal Russell NRG Ensemble
- Dada scat jazz by Fred Lane
- ...and more.
A brief introductory talk about Georges Méliès and his work will precede the films.
Please note that this program is not affiliated with Flicker Alley, although we do encourage you to check out their wonderful new Méliès DVD box set. All films shown tonight are 16mm prints; no video will be used.
Special thanks to David Shepard of Film Preservation Associates for permission to use his translation of Méliès' original narration for "The Impossible Voyage."
Program Notes
- Georges Méliès: Impossible Voyager - Special Effects Epics, 1901-1912 — 15pp. illus. (PDF, 1.9 mb)
Related Links
- Georges Méliès bio – from Who's Who of Victorian Cinema by Stephen Herbert and Luke McKernan
- Georges Méliès: An in-depth look at the cinema's first creative genius by Michael Brooke (@ FilmJournal.net) – a growing blog devoted to documenting Méliès' hundreds of films.
- George Melies: The Birth of the Auteur by Elizabeth Ezra (Manchester University Press, 2000) – read online at Google Books
- Climax Golden Twins – official web site.
- Scott Colburn – official web site.
Press Release
- Georges Méliès: Impossible Voyager press release – Sprocket Society, issued May 1, 2008 (PDF, 112 kb)
Photographs
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| From: The Palace of Arabian Nights (1905) |
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| From: A Trip to the Moon (1902) | |
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| From: The Impossible Voyage (1904) | |
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| From: The Merry Frolics of Satan (1906) | |
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| From: Conquest of the Pole (1912) | |
Production Photos and Drawings
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| Interior and exterior views of the glass-house studio Méliès built in his garden at Montreuil, France — the first movie studio of its kind in the world. At far left, Méliès can be seen at work. The short extension with the sloping roof visible at far right is where the camera was placed. | |
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| Méliès (at right) and company at work building sets outside the Montreuil studio. |
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| A rare behind-the-scenes photo showing an ornate set (from A Trip to the Moon) within the tight confines of the Montreuil studio. Below the dangling actor can be seen one of the numerous trap doors Méliès built into the floor. |
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| Detailed construction plan for the life-sized Giant of the Snows puppet in Conquest of the Pole (1912). |
| Below, a set of Melies' own production drawings for A Trip to the Moon (1902) show his gift for illustration, which he had from an early age. | ||
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Event Poster
Web version. Original poster design by Brian Alter.
Further Reading
- John Frazer, Artificially Arranged Scenes (Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1979). Invaluable. Hands-down the best English-language book about Méliès and his films. Sadly, it's also rare as hens' teeth. Includes extensive biographical information, a history of Star Films, and an exhaustive filmography with detailed descriptions and production notes about all Méliès films known to survive at the time of publication. Illustrated throughout.
- David Robinson, Georges Méliès: Father of Film Fantasy (London: BFI/Museum of the Moving Image, 1993). An extremely thin but well written and researched book published as a companion to a Méliès retrospective by the British Film Institute. Probably the best introduction, but somewhat hard to find.
- Paul Hammond, Marvelous Méliès (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975). Thin but very worthwhile, albeit organized in rather scattershot fashion. Profusely illustrated throughout, with solid research for the time. Includes a non-annotated filmography with survival status (circa 1975). A fine if dated book.
- Maurice Bessy and Lo Duca, Georges Méliès, Mage (Paris: Jean-Jacques Pauvert, 1961; orig. Prisma Editions, 1945 in an edition of 2,000) Alas, only ever published en Français and also fairly rare, but the first extensive biography and a true treasure trove of rare illustrations, including original production sketches. Also includes extensive excerpts of Mes Memoires by Méliès.
- Stan Brakhage, The Brakhage Lectures: Georges Méliès, David Wark Griffith, Carl Theodore Dreyer, Sergei Eisenstein (Chicago: The Good Lion/School of the Art Institute, 1972) Transcripts of lectures given as part of a credit course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the fall and early winter of 1970-71. Available for free (legal) download.
- Elizabeth Ezra, Georges Méliès: The Birth of the Auteur (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000). A slim book emphasizing analysis and geared toward the film school and theorist crowd. Still, it has a lot of useful information.
- Frank Thompson, The Star Film Ranch: Texas' First Picture Show (Plano, TX: Republic of Texas Press/Wordware Publishing, 1996). The only book devoted to the film work of Georges' brother, Gaston Méliès, who ran the US office of Star Films. Relocating to Hot Wells, TX in 1910, Gaston began producing his own films, primarily westerns, very few of which survive today. Includes an extensive filmography, with lengthy quotes from the trade press of the day. Illustrated.