Le Chaudron infernal (1903) - film review

In a dark Gothic castle, a green-skinned demon places a women and then two courtiers into a burning cauldron.  He performs an incantation and three spirits suddenly appear from the flames, before dancing above his head.  Frolicking in Hellish joy, the demon watches as the three spirits burn up and fall to earth.

Although it was made at the very dawn of cinema history, this short film still has the capacity to surprise and impress a modern cinema audience.  In one of his most imaginative films, Georges Méliès shows total mastery of the special effects available to him, which still look impressive when set aside today’s state of the art computer generated graphics.  The film is in colour, a feat which was achieved by colouring each individual frame by hand.  The result is a stunning work of art, and great fun to watch.

© James Travers 2003

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