Magical leprosy on the banks of the Nile Movie focus, which was so fond of Georges Méliès, sometimes went so far as to become black comedies. First, I must say. Untrained viewers probably believed that they were being bullied, watching the instant transformations that were created with the help of the magic of primitive editing, and any ancient sorcerer would be deeply envious when he saw this film, since in real life it is impossible to repeat this.
An old sorcerer leads a warrior to the bank of the Nile, who asks for a beautiful wife. A very promising beginning, but the first thing that catches the eye is a drunken sphinx. Seriously, the statue looks like it was made with a drunken model. Did the background artist decide to make such a joke on Méliès and the audience? The answer to this question is unlikely to come. Ignoring the strange beast, the sorcerer begins to wield magic, and what black comedies still hold on to begins. Specific humor. A dancing skeleton, a dancing witch, a merry magician and a perplexed warrior probably made a very ambiguous impression on the first audience, since the interweaving of humor and fear at that time was found, perhaps, in some children's fairy tales.
“Monster” was probably the first movie to feature caustic taunts like “Haha, you’re a loser!” Such flirtation with the topic of love interests was, is and will be popular, so it is not surprising that Méliès got to such a plot at the height of his fame. The times when cinema and theater in the classical sense went hand in hand, did not last long, and at the beginning of the XX century was already over. Progressive cinema has moved on to a grand success, but dedicated viewers remember where it all began. We can only hope that the short story shown to us ended behind the scenes in favor of the victim. It’s not about the sphinx, as you might imagine.
8 out of 10