Kobelkoff (1900)
This short film about “Human Torso” Nikolai Kobelokoff reminds us how different the world was a century ago.
With no arms or legs, Kobelkoff became a circus freak. In this short snippet it looks like he is enjoying his life despite his severe handicap.
Some viewers will see this as exploitation; they have a point, but the man does not look unwilling to participate in this life and his options at the time were obviously limited.
It’s a fascinating few minutes which encapsulates what freak shows were about and reminds us why they had so much appeal.
The Prince of Magicians (1901)
One of my favorite quotes about Shakespeare, “He has no equal, nor second.” I feel the same way about Georges Méliès.
His use of elaborate, hand painted sets and props makes his films look like elaborate paintings and they often revolve around a trick shot, a subterfuge of audience expectations, but his imagination and creative energy towers over other filmmakers of the era and makes their films feel dull and plodding.
The Little Match Seller (1902)
As a little girl uses matches to keep warm on a winter night, she imagines a better life for herself, but, sadly, her efforts to fend off the cruel winter fail.
This short film by James Williamson, adapted from the Andersen fairy tale does more to humanize poverty in two minutes than most politicians do in a thousand speeches.
The Kingdom of Fairies (1903)
A princess is kidnapped before her wedding, and a search party travels to a strange land to rescue her.
The story is an excuse to unleash the vividness of Méliès imagination. There’s color, numerous camera tricks, and an addictive, frenetic energy.
Georges Méliès films demonstrate the creative, anarchic impulse of early cinema. Before a standard set of rules and conventions stifled creativity, if you could think it, you could film it.
This was the early master’s apex, none of his other films achieved this level of creative beauty.
An Interesting Story (1904)
An unnamed reader is so obsessed with a novel, he ignores everything around him. He pours coffee into his hat, falls over a maid, and runs into a jump rope, before absent mindedly walking into a steam roller, which flattens him Judge Doom style. Luckily, two kind bicyclists use their pumps to blow him back up.
Surprisingly, this film builds quite a bit of suspense before its unexpected and bizarre conclusion.
The Living Playing Cards (1905)
Méliès is in his element: a magician performing card tricks. Here, he brings the cards to life, first the queen of hearts, then a king. The editing is sloppy; the seams are visible, but Méliès’s unfettered enthusiasm, like a kid screaming for his parents to watch him jump into the pool, is infectious.
The Merry Frolics of Satan (1906)
A variation on the Faust legend with director Méliès playing Mephistopheles, this inventive film features more vivid imagery in six minutes than most contemporary feature length films.
When Méliès was playing with demonic imagery, he soared. He allegedly enjoyed playing the devil because it gave him an excuse to use his amateur magician background.
This film’s horrific imagery continues to resonate over a century later.
Laughing Gas (1907)
After receiving a dose of nitrous oxide at the dentist, an unnamed black woman cannot stop laughing. As she goes home, her infectious laughter spreads to everyone she encounters.
This fun, silly short is a rare early film focused on minority experiences.
Legend of a of Ghost (1908)
Segundo de Chomón’s short film about three vagrants who stumble upon an abandoned house is short on characterization, but high on frenetic energy and inspired visuals, including an impressive stop motion sequence featuring a self-setting table.
Slippery Jim (1909)
The authorities invent ever more elaborate ways to incarcerate a notorious pickpocket, but because of his various supernatural abilities, he keeps escaping and eluding them. Eventually the thief turns the tables and imprisons the police chasing him.
For the most part, Segundo de Chomón’s films are derivative of ideas and images already explored with greater skill and depth by Georges Méliès, but this film deviates from that paradigm. It possesses a few genuinely inventive gags and a dark sense of humor, and unlike Méliès, incorporates stop-motion techniques. It’s probably a little too long, but it has a lot of charm.