A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon 1902

7.90

Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

1902

The Haunted Castle

The Haunted Castle 1896

6.47

In a medieval castle, a dark magician thought to be Mephistopheles conjures up a series of bizarre creatures and events in order to torment a pair of interloping cavaliers.

1896

The Impossible Voyage

The Impossible Voyage 1904

7.20

Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.

1904

The Four Troublesome Heads

The Four Troublesome Heads 1898

7.10

One of the greatest of black art pictures. The conjurer appears before the audience, with his head in its proper place. He then removes his head, and throwing it in the air, it appears on the table opposite another head, and both detached heads sing in unison. The conjurer then removes it a third time. You then see all three of his heads, which are exact duplicates, upon the table at one time, while the conjurer again stands before the audience with his head perfectly intact, singing in unison with the three heads upon the table. He closes the picture by bowing himself from the stage.

1898

Cinderella

Cinderella 1899

6.20

A fairy godmother magically turns Cinderella's rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. Cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the Prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out? Méliès based the art direction on engravings by Gustave Doré. First known example of a fairy-tale adapted to film, and the first film to use dissolves to go from one scene to another.

1899

The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon

The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon 1907

6.10

In this film, Méliès concocts a combination fairy- and morality tale about the foolishness of trying to look too deeply into the workings of an unstable and inscrutable universe. At a medieval school, an old astronomer begins to teach a class of young men, all armed with telescopes, about the art of scrutinising an imminent eclipse. When a mechanical clock strikes twelve, all the young men rush to the windows and fix their telescopes on the heavens.

1907

The Conquest of the Pole

The Conquest of the Pole 1912

6.30

A science fantasy film that deals with an extraordinary race to the north pole by rival parties of balloonists. Based on the novel "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" by Jules Verne.

1912

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc 1900

6.90

A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.

1900

The Merry Frolics of Satan

The Merry Frolics of Satan 1906

6.40

Two travellers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through the heavens courtesy of the Devil before he takes one of them down to Hell and roasts him on a spit.

1906

The Melomaniac

The Melomaniac 1903

6.70

The leader of a marching band demonstrates an unusual way of writing music.

1903

Bluebeard

Bluebeard 1901

6.20

A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances.

1901

The Spider and the Butterfly

The Spider and the Butterfly 1909

5.80

Surviving fragment of a longer film. A magician makes a butterfly woman appear, and a woman in a star. Exhausted, the magician falls asleep and the star woman turns into a spider, dragging the butterfly into her web.

1909

The Infernal Cauldron

The Infernal Cauldron 1903

6.28

A green-skinned demon places a woman and two courtiers into a flaming cauldron.

1903

Divers at Work on the Wreck of the

Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine" 1898

5.91

Divers go to work on a wrecked ship (the battleship Maine that was blown up in Havana harbour during the Spanish-American War), surrounded by curiously disproportionate fish.

1898

After the Ball

After the Ball 1897

5.10

A woman arrives home after the ball. Her servant helps her undress and bathe.

1897

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe 1902

5.50

Georges Méliès adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, the first film adaptation of the story. Filmed in black & white, Méliès would then paint the film by hand to colour it. Originally a 15 minute film, twelve and a half minutes of painted film have been found and have been restored.

1902

The Diabolic Tenant

The Diabolic Tenant 1909

6.80

A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.

1909

The Haunted Castle

The Haunted Castle 1897

5.67

A man has an encounter with several spooky apparitions in a castle that is evidently owned by the Devil.

1897

The Kingdom of the Fairies

The Kingdom of the Fairies 1903

6.87

At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry when a witch suddenly appears. Though driven off, the witch soon returns, summons some of her servants, and carries off the princess. A rescue party is quickly organized, but the unfortunate captive has been taken to a strange, forbidding realm, from where it will be impossible to rescue her without some special help.

1903

Going to Bed Under Difficulties

Going to Bed Under Difficulties 1900

6.51

A man takes off his clothes in preparation for bed, only for new clothes to spontaneously generate, leading to comical consternation.

1900