MADTUNESMITH: WHY I LOVE GEORGES MELIES

it’s been a while. recently, although the obsession started back in may, i’ve been watching melies films often. i’ll share my thoughts on him here (blog exclusive waowww you guys are so lucky).

A Trip To The Moon

i think what i love so much about melies isn’t the spectacular fantasies, or the pioneering special effects. i’ve been trying to figure out why i love these movies so much, to some avail. it’s not the fact that they’re silent films— i don’t love silents by other directors as much (although i still enjoy them greatly! shoutout to caligari). it isn’t the shitty effects of primitive film, in fact, the effects melies uses are spectacular, even by today’s standards.

The Man With The Rubber Head

i think my love for melies can be traced back to the issues i have with most modern film. firstly, watching a melies film isn’t as much of a time commitment (most of his films are under 5 minutes long). i have to set an evening aside to watch a modern movie, but i can watch melies films between classes.

The Four Troublesome Heads

also, his work is incredibly unique. no one did it like him back then, and no modern director is as unique. all the technological advances have already been made, so modern films just work with the vast variety of methods available to them. melies was an inventor. his work is unique because it was revolutionary. no one had tinted color as extensively as him, or made body parts fly around the room, or turned men into devils, women, or clowns. filmmakers took inspiration from him after his decline, but no one exceeded his discoveries, in my opinion.

The Astronomer’s Dream

my most personal reason for loving melies so much is his simplicity. yes, he was revolutionary, he did things no filmmaker had thought of before, but at the end of the day, his plotlines are incredibly simple! men go to the moon and fight creatures. astronomer has a crazy dream. man’s head is made of rubber. two men box each other to an extreme degree. haunted castles. one-man bands. devils and villains. all of these are so straightforward! and by no means is this a critique.

i’m autistic, and while i can understand books very easily, films get lost on me quickly. even my favorites: re-animator, phantom of the paradise, repo— i had to watch multiple times and read the wiki summary before i understood what was going on. embarrassingly, i didn’t know why nathan was made into a repo man, why dan did what herbert asked of him, or why winslow killed beef, until at least the third watch of each. with books, i can spend as much time as i want on a page, and flip back if i get confused. i can’t do the same with a movie, without driving my friends insane from rewinding or asking for clarification.

but with melies, the plots are so short and straightforward that i don’t have any issue comprehending. and even if i did, the plots aren’t as important as the visuals. i don’t need to understand them. additionally, with the film being silent, low-res, and black/white, there is much less nonverbal communication to pick up on. i think that’s what draws me to silent films in general. i don’t have to decipher any looks when i can barely make out the eyes.

The Eclipse

anyway, that’s my love letter to melies. i’m still working through all his films— i have a curse where if i try and watch one of his that i haven’t seen, i start jumping around and giggling. for now, i’ll stick to my favorites, which i’ll list below.