The fantasy film has proven to be one of the most durable of all genres.
It started in full at the end of the 19th century, maintained itself throughout the 20th century, and continues to prove one of the most popular forms entering the 21st century.
Key works over the past 120 years of cinema fall squarely within the fantasy genre: Fritz Lang’s epic Metropolis, the musical fantasy The Wizard of Oz, Alexander Korda’s majestic and enthralling production of The Thief of Bagdad, right up through to George Lucas’ Star Wars films and the successful Harry Potter franchise.
As with any genre, it’s interesting to go back to its cinematic roots, to look at what it grew out of. Unquestionably, the fantasy film owes its origin to one film maker: Georges Méliès.
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| Méliès and Méliès in Méliès’ The Man With the Rubber Head |
Méliès came from a background in theater, where he performed as a magician.
His transition to the cinema began on the night of the Lumieres’ landmark “first show”, on December 28, 1895 at the Grand Café.
Melies was in the audience that night when the scenes of Workers Leaving the Factory and other Lumiere actualities were first unveiled before a captivated audience. Melies was immediately entranced by this new medium and the opportunities it afforded. When the Lumieres refused to sell him one of their cameras, Méliès went out and acquired one of his own, and his career as a film maker was born.
Before he began making the kind of fantastic trick films for which he is best remembered today, Méliès photographed any number of subjects, ranging from actualities – recordings of every day events and life – similar to those of the Lumieres, to short sketches, such as men playing cards, and other fairly routine and even mundane subject matter. When watching the films of other early pioneers, such as Lumiere or Alice Guy, it is interesting to note the degree to which they borrowed subjects from one another.
Méliès worked in this tradition until, as legend has it, his camera jammed while recording a street scene of passing traffic. By the time he got his camera working again, the traffic had changed, and the result, when viewed, gave the illusion of an instant transformation. This would become the technique that Méliès would perfect in the development of the fantasy film.
Starting as early as 1896, Méliès would make a number of trick films based around the idea of a transformation. Many of these films “justified” the complicated illusions by presenting them as part of a dream.
One of Méliès’ favorite recurring motifs was that of the moon and outer space, which featured prominently in An Astronomer’s Dream. In this subject, an astronomer falls asleep while observing the moon, and has a series of nightmarish dreams involving the moon appearing at his window, complete with gnashing teeth!
It was with A Trip to the Moon, in 1902, that Méliès created his most iconic, lasting work.
In this incredibly extravagant and elaborate (for its time) production, Méliès adapted material borrowed from works by both Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to create an unprecedented work of cinematic fantasy. A group of astronomers embark on a journey to the moon, where they find themselves in an unfamiliar landscape. After taking a nap, during which they dream of various celestial icons, the astronomers descend underground when they are awoken by snowfall. Once beneath the surface of the moon, they encounter a group of inhabitants – the Selenites – who capture the astronomers and take them to their king. Professor Barbenfoullis, the leader of the expedition (played by Méliès), finds that – by striking the Selenites with his umbrella – they burst into smoke. After getting rid of their king, the astronomers beat a hasty retreat to their spaceship, and quickly return to Earth, with the rocket landing in the sea. They are then given a heroes’ welcome upon their return.
Though he continued working in all genres, Méliès forever became associated with the fantasy film as a result of this production.
Its elaborate painted sets, incredible special effects, and above all, its sense of wonder in discovery and exploration, would make A Trip to the Moon one of the really key works in the history of the fantasy film.
Méliès worked extensively in fantasy during the coming years.
While it’s impossible to go into detail of all his fantasy films here, it is worth looking at a couple of his other major touchstones in the development of the genre. The Impossible Voyage, from 1904, is in many ways an advancement on A Trip to the Moon. In this film, a group of travelers are given passage across a series of locations, including outer space, in a magical train that takes them to every conceivable destination. With incredibly detailed hand-painted color, the film achieves a sense of pure wonder as Méliès unveils one whimsical trick after another. The pacing of this film differs from that of A Trip to the Moon in that Méliès allows more time for little bits of business, such as one of the travelers just missing the departing train at the station.
It showcases not only his love of magic and trickery, but also his wonderful sense of humor.
Finally, no discussion of Méliès and the fantasy genre would be complete with what is almost certainly his most elaborate production.
The Conquest of the Pole (1912) tells the story of a group of travelers who embark on an expedition to the North Pole. By 1912, the types of trick films that Méliès had specialized in were already seeming increasingly out of step with the fuller narratives that directors like Griffith had developed. Indeed, compared to the cross-cutting and action of the films of directors like Griffith and Ince, Méliès’ still-largely theatrical style seems almost out of place. However, to view his approach as outdated is to miss the point. Méliès, an old veteran of the theater, reveled in the artifice of the theatrical experience.
Far from being outdated, his work instead represents another approach entirely from the Griffith-narrative forms.
Unfortunately, after attempts to operate a US-based extension of his Star Film production company in San Antonio, Texas, Méliès was forced to close up shop due to rampant piracy of his films. By the 1920s, Méliès was reduced to working in a subway kiosk, selling toys. Thankfully, his work was re-discovered, which resulted in rejuvenated interest in Méliès himself. He would pass away in 1938, but his iconic work lives on.
Méliès once claimed to be disappointed that students of film only knew of his fantasy work, when he had in fact worked in nearly every conceivable genre.
While it’s understandable that he regretted being pigeonholed for only one genre, it is undeniable that it is within the fantasy film that Méliès made his most indelible impression. His image of the rocket landing in the eye of the man in the moon has become one of cinema’s most iconic moments. The music video for The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight” was inspired by several of Méliès’ works, including A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage.
Méliès’ films continue to breathe with excitement and the sense of discovery over the new medium that Méliès felt himself, and that is why they will continue to inspire joy and wonder as long as there are people interested in the possibilities held by emerging art forms.
