Wonderful Movie

Fantastic!

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is a tip that you can give basically everybody who works in a creative profession, but the composer that Georges Méliès plays in this 3-minute, black-and-white silent short film takes it as literally as it gets. "Le mélomane" or "The Melomaniac" or "The Music Lovers" was made by Méliès shortly after his 40th birthday, pretty much in the middle of his career. In my opinion, there are better and worse short films from the early 20th century out there. Still, I have to say I was not too impressed by this movie here. The comedy quickly disappears after the heads are on top and everything afterward is fairly forgettable. Still, it's one of the more known Méliès works, so I thought why not give it a chance. Slightly disappointing and I won't recommend it.

Le mélomane is another of Georges Méliès trick films. In it he plays a musical instructor who teaches a group of female musicians in his own eccentric manner. In this case by using several Méliès heads to illustrate the notes. It's typically insane stuff from the master of innovation.It recalls some of the ideas he invented in previous films. It's almost like a collision of L'homme orchestre and Un homme de têtes. It has the musical theme of the former and the multiple Méliès heads of the latter. So it doesn't really bring anything especially new to the table but it is well crafted nevertheless. Perhaps the oddest aspect about this production is that it appears to be a silent movie with a musical theme. Not exactly the most obvious combination it has to be said. The result is another charming oddity from this cinematic pioneer.

Though filmmakers had been toying with synchronised sound for almost as long as motion pictures have existed – William K.L. Dickson's 'Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)' is a remarkable piece of cinema history – audiences didn't get their first non-silent feature film until 'The Jazz Singer' in 1927. Why, then, would the "Cinemagician" turn his attention so early towards a short film based around music? Viewed today, and often presented in complete silence, the two-minute film seems to be lacking a certain rhythm, regardless of its visual triumphs. But, of course, I am, once again, underestimating the resourcefulness of these early filmmakers, as Georges Méliès usually accompanied his films with a live musical performance and spoken narration. My viewing of 'Le Mélomane / The Melomaniac (1904)' {also known as 'The Music Lover'} was today supplemented by Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera's "Por una Cabeza," a 1935 tango basically chosen at random from my music collection.Much as he did six years earlier in 'Un homme de têtes / The Four Troublesome Heads (1898),' Méliès uses this brief gimmick film to show off his talent for visual effects, employing extensive substitution cuts, multiple exposures and cross-fades to create the illusion of real magic. The plot is simple enough: a music teacher (our usual host, Mr. Méliès himself) begins to show his marching-band students how to play music, but won't settle for writing down the notes on a small piece of paper. Instead, he fashions the music notes out of his own head (yes, you heard correctly!), removing his skull from its proper position and tossing it upwards at the telegraph wires above him, where it sticks in the appropriate place. Immediately, a new head appears on the teacher's shoulders, and the process is repeated several times. As the band marches off, presumably playing the aforementioned music, the multiple heads are still swivelling about in their places.The film's ending is one of the absolute finest I've seen from the director, and was obviously a product of his former experience as a magician. With the stage empty except for the extant heads, Méliès performs a majestic coup de grâce when they are suddenly transformed into live birds, which flutter gracefully across the set. Interestingly, the uniquely-constructed musical notes form the opening of "God Save the King," an interesting choice for the French filmmaker. 'The Melomaniac' is an interesting Méliès short in many ways. Though not quite as revolutionary as his earlier efforts, as most of the techniques seen here can be glimpsed in earlier films, it is nonetheless an admirable attempt to add some "music" to silent cinema. Give me a video camera, and I'd probably be unable to reproduce the visual effects, which are meticulously-constructed while maintaining a sense of fun about them.

You've just got to see the films of Méliès, as they are the cleverest and best made films of his era--period. Unlike the relatively plot less, setless and pointless films of Edison and Lumiere, Méliès' films were pure genius and inspired--with a strong dose of fantasy. His Le Voyage Dans le Lune is a landmark film due to its amazing special effects, camera tricks and watchability.This film carries on in this same tradition--with the absolutely wildest and strangest trickery I've seen from the era. The film begins with a conductor explaining to his musicians how to write music. So, the conductor begins throwing notes up into the air where they magically stick. And, the notes?! Yep, they are his head--he pulls off his head and throws it upwards--and a new one appears in its place! You just gotta see it to believe it!If you want to see this film online, go to Google and type in "Méliès" and then click the video button for a long list of his films that are viewable without special software.