Jeanne D’Arc. France. 1900. 11 min.
Les aventures de Robinson Crusoë (Robinson Crusoe). France. 1902. 15 min.
Le Chaudron Infernal (The Infernal Cauldron). France. 1903. 2 min.
Voyage á travers L'impossible (The Impossible Voyage). France. 1904. 21 min.
Le Merveilleux éventail Vivant (The Wonderful Living Fan). France.1904. 5 min.
Le Raid Paris-Monte Carlo en Automobile (An Adventurous Automobile Trip).1905. 10 min.
La Légende de Rip Van Winkle. France. 1905. 15 min.
La Fée Carabosse, ou le poignard fatal (The Witch). France. 1906. 11 min.
From the collection of the Cinémathèque française, preserved in collaboration with the Méliès family, comes this program of lesser-seen works by the foundational filmmaker, demonstrating his thematic range and his masterful and witty use of hand-coloring. Curator Laurent Mannoni writes, “by adopting the bright colours of magic lantern plates, Méliès first gave additional life to the grey images of the cinematograph that had so dispirited Maxim Gorky in 1896. But he went even further, by literally creating a cinematographic language of colour: some of his special effects were not truly effective unless the film was painted with a brush. Obviously, his pyrotechnical tricks, gushes of smoke, lightening bolts, and starry effects on moving panoramic backcloths take on a completely different dimension in colour.”