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Georges Melies
Life Time
8 December 1861 - 21 January 1938
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Georges Méliès is a French director, actor and one of the founders of world cinema. Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès was born in 1861 in Paris in the family of an industrialist. The boy had the opportunity to spend time with his hobbies, among which were theater and the art of stage illusion. In 1895, Méliès visited one of the first film screenings of the Lumière brothers, which impressed him very much. Georges then purchased a similar English-made camera and began experimenting. He created the first special
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Georges Méliès is a French director, actor and one of the founders of world cinema.
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès was born in 1861 in Paris in the family of an industrialist. The boy had the opportunity to spend time with his hobbies, among which were theater and the art of stage illusion.
In 1895, Méliès visited one of the first film screenings of the Lumière brothers, which impressed him very much. Georges then purchased a similar English-made camera and began experimenting. He created the first special effect using a stop frame.
In 1897, Méliès opened his own Star Film studio and began making his own short films and pseudo-chronicles. Among the famous works of that time can be noted “The Dreyfus Affair”, “The Coronation of Edward VII” and some other works.
Between 1896 and 1913, Georges Méliès directed more than 500 films ranging in length from 1 to 40 minutes. One of the most famous was the comedy.
"Journey to the Moon" 1902, which became the first science fiction film.
Méliès wanted to enter the US market, but failed to do so. The fact is that all the rights to the shows belonged to Edison. He just took copies of Méliès' films and showed them to the United States. When Georges found out, he burned most of his negatives in the studio. No one knows how many movies they have made.
In 1914, Méliès sold his studio due to the fact that he received almost nothing from showing films in America, and his business became unprofitable. Then he began to work for the company Pate. Soon, many forgot about his achievements in cinema and remembered only in 1932. Méliès died in 1938.
Biography of Méliès formed the basis of the film 2011
The Timekeeper. It was played brilliantly by Ben Kingsley. For his merits, the French director was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.