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2.05. Fantasy on the screen. Mephistopheles cinema
1902 year. The second of May. Georges Méliès film "Journey to the Moon" in length 21 minutes, a parody based on Jules Verne, was the first in the genre of science fiction.
As soon as George did not call: magician, a magician, and for the greater persuasiveness - Mefistofelesom as master was fond of occult and filmed not only in the fantasy genre, but also is the founder of the horror section. And the special effects in the movie raised to a new level. That there is a famous miniature Beheading head. Well, more accurately, create one illusion. At the unsophisticated spectator of the last century created a sense of belonging to a certain demonic act. It should be remembered that most of the stunts and special effects Méliès himself well and came up. In particular, this applies to single-frame shooting, fast and slow pulling the film, multiple exposure, effects, based on the still image.
And everything was fine, but the largest market - the US - it was not destined to get. Well, more accurately, to get money for it. The history is very interesting from the point of view of copyright. Someone A.Edison Thomas believed because he is the owner of US patent rights to cinema technology, it has the right to copy and sell to display any made without his authorization movie, including Méliès films. Piracy in large-scale ...
As a result, Méliès sold the studio, many negatives films burned.
Only in 1928, after Chaplin said of Méliès as an "alchemist of light," and the same David Griffith and even stated "I owe him everything", French magician he became widely known. Even the Order of the Legion of Honor was awarded in 1931. A Film Society put him at Orly castle as finances Georges was not much.
Even in our time - in 2011, according to the biography Méliès was filmed "The keeper of time" with Ben Kingsley ...
