Overview
The films of Georges Méliès (1861–1938) are landmarks in the early history of narrative filmmaking and cinematic special effects. He was a harbinger of modern aesthetics and media manipulation, and this book, written by his granddaughter, is the only one that tells his full story. Magnificent Méliès is a thoroughly researched but highly accessible book that is a crucial source for the scholar and an entertaining read for the nonspecialist. The core of the biography provides detailed accounts of Méliès’ filmmaking years (1896–1913), from his first motion pictures shortly after the public premiere of the Lumière Cinématographe through such worldwide successes as his film Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) and his eventual marginalization by the very industry he had helped to found. The biography also chronicles Méliès’ formative work as director of Paris’s preeminent magic theater, the Théâtre Robert-Houdin; his subsequent career staging operettas for the Théâtre des Variétés Artistiques (1917–1923) in Montreuil on the site of one of his former film studios; and his later years selling toys and candy at the Gare Montparnasse (1926–1932) before being rediscovered by journalists and the avant-garde. These and other fascinating chapters highlight the remarkable range of Méliès’ creative work while suggesting how his singular life was nevertheless shaped by the seismic historical shifts of Second Empire and Third Republic France.
Full Product Details
Author: Madeleine Malthête-Méliès ,
Kel Pero ,
Matthew Solomon
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press
Imprint: The University of Michigan Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.454kg
ISBN: 9780472039876
ISBN 10: 0472039873
Pages: 402
Publication Date: 23 October 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
"""Malth�te-M�li�s paints a rich and lively portrait of her grandfather, combining the results of her own extensive research into her family history as well as the life and work of Georges M�li�s with anecdotes and scenes including imagined dialogues.""--Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film ""The revised Magnificent M�li�s is an invaluable book, and it is a blessing that it is newly translated into English, which will--I hope--deepen and expand engagement with M�li�s's films.""--Cineaste, Christopher Small ""There have been many books about Georges M�li�s - I have over a dozen on my shelves - but none has the biographical detail of this one. Only a dedicated family member could have discovered the personal details about the friendships, the amours, the opinions of this remarkable man.""--Journal of Film Preservation, Stephen Bottomore"
""Magnificent Méliès is an invaluable book, and it is a blessing that it is newly translated into English, which will—I hope—deepen and expand engagement with Méliès’s films.""
Author Information
Madeleine Malthête-Méliès was a pioneering early film researcher and historian of early cinema; she was the granddaughter of Georges Méliès. Kel Pero is an editor, writer, and translator. Matthew Solomon is Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Media at the University of Michigan.
