This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films. I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.
Today, we look at the 1900s.
4 Shots From 4 Films
Bluebeard (1901, dir by Georges Méliès)
The Monster (1903, dir by Georges Méliès)
Satan At Play (1907, dir by Segundo de Chomón)
The Sealed Room (1909, dir by D.W. Griffith)
This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films. I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.
Today, we start with the 1890s and the birth of horror cinema.
4 Shots From 4 Films
The Execution of Mary Stuart (1895, dir by Alfred Clark)
The House of the Devil (1896, dir by Georges Méliès)
The Haunted Castle (1897, dir by George Albert Smith)
The X-Rays (1897, dir by George Albert Smith)
One of the most common arguments I’ve seen about why music videos aren’t actually films is that they are just advertisements for a song. Right now Gary has just finished reading that sentence and is digging out his copy of Dewar’s-It’s Scotch (1898), Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee (1930), and other examples that destroy the illusion that even ads aren’t films. I think The Smashing Pumpkins video for Tonight, Tonight is one of the finest examples of why that argument is a bunch of BS. Why? Because it’s a remake of Georges Méliès’ A Trip To The Moon (1902). Even IMDb Data Editors agreed with me when I submitted it as such about a year ago. Tom Kenny and Jill Talley play the man and woman who go through their incredible journey. One that ends with them even being rescued by the S.S. Méliès. Not only have more people probably seen short films since the launch of MTV then since the pre-1915 days of cinema, but this video introduced many kids to Georges Méliès long before Martin Scorsese did with Hugo (2011).
As we wait for me to find the strength to actually review some of the movies I’ve seen recently, why not pass the time with a classic film that came out 109 years ago?
Directed and written by Georges Melies, A Trip to The Moon is often cited as the first sci-fi film and the image of the capsule crashing into the eye of the man in the moon is one of the most iconic in film history. Seen today, the film seems both charmingly innocent and remarkably ahead of its time.
For me, it always takes a minute or two to adjust to the aesthetic of early films. We’ve grown so used to all the editing tricks that modern filmmakers use to tell their stories that these old silent films, with their lack of dramatic camera movement and obvious theatrical origins, often take some effort to get used to. Still, the effort is often worth it.
Here then is Georges Melies 1902 science fiction epic, A Trip To The Moon.
Through the Shattered Lens 