Georges Méliès

Georges Méliès December 9 1861 January 21 1938 full name MarieGeorgesJean 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 timelapse photography tracking shots dissolves and handpainted 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 andor 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 bestknown 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 Edisons 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 mid1920s 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 industrys retirement home in Orly