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The long-lost autobiography of Georges Méliès
IN 1896, GEORGES MÉLIÈS WAS THE MAN WHO FIRST BROUGHT MAGIC TO CINEMA.
Writer, director, actor, magician, he was the first great storyteller of the moving image and the pioneer of special effects.
In 1937, a year before he died, he hand-wrote his autobiography in a 32-page document. He told the decades-long story of his central role in the creation of cinema and the subsequent fall which left him bankrupt and forgotten.
This is a first-hand account of the birth of cinema from its greatest innovator, an illuminating and eccentric testimony which has been out-of-print for many decades and never previously available in English.
Writer, director, actor, magician, he was the first great storyteller of the moving image and the pioneer of special effects.
In 1937, a year before he died, he hand-wrote his autobiography in a 32-page document. He told the decades-long story of his central role in the creation of cinema and the subsequent fall which left him bankrupt and forgotten.
This is a first-hand account of the birth of cinema from its greatest innovator, an illuminating and eccentric testimony which has been out-of-print for many decades and never previously available in English.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 21, 2021
If you have any interest in George Méliès and his films, or the early history of cinema, including all the technology and science that had to be worked out to even just begin, then this is a worthwhile read. The second half after the autobiography was just as interesting as the first, including the article from Méliès himself from 1907 describing all the many steps involved in those early days. Add to that the beauty of this hardback, with its embossed silver printing on the front and back covers, and you have a gem. Am more than happy to have supported this project on Kickstarter when I became aware of it.
June 18, 2020
Georges Méliès, not long before he passed away, wrote a short autobiography. It was briefly published (under somewhat shady circumstances) in French many decades ago, but has never been widely available. Jon Spira has finally brought the autobiography to the masses, translated to English and supplimented with useful commentary. It's a great release of an interesting text, very much worth reading for those interested in film history. Spira has done an excellent job on the whole project.
That said, it's an odd autobiography (something Spira comments upon in the book). Méliès has written it in third person, pretending to be a journalist that got a scoop with a film legend. It's an odd attempt to frame ones own legacy, and it is perhaps telling that two of the three "experts" interviewed from this book seem somewhat ambigious to Méliès. One prefers not to say much about his impression of Méliès so as to not hurt his living family, while the other doesn't want to acknowledge that Méliès made art. So while the book is informational, it also leaves a little bit of a hole when it comes to who Méliès really was.
But then again, this is not supposed to be a new "take" on a Méliès biography. It's more of an annotated autobiography, and thus forced to with on the self-image presented in the text.
That said, it's an odd autobiography (something Spira comments upon in the book). Méliès has written it in third person, pretending to be a journalist that got a scoop with a film legend. It's an odd attempt to frame ones own legacy, and it is perhaps telling that two of the three "experts" interviewed from this book seem somewhat ambigious to Méliès. One prefers not to say much about his impression of Méliès so as to not hurt his living family, while the other doesn't want to acknowledge that Méliès made art. So while the book is informational, it also leaves a little bit of a hole when it comes to who Méliès really was.
But then again, this is not supposed to be a new "take" on a Méliès biography. It's more of an annotated autobiography, and thus forced to with on the self-image presented in the text.
June 24, 2020
I've been a Melies fan for about thirty years. Back in the VHS days, I used to pick up any new compilation video if it had even one film by him that I hadn't seen. Bought books on the man by Hammond, Frazer, Ezra, Robinson, Solomon and even a book on brother Gaston.
This latest entry is easily worthy of being placed along side of any of them. Not only did Mr. Spira dig up the rare autobiography but he annotated it and supplemented it admirably. For instance, having (as previously mentioned) delved into Gaston Melies' life and works, I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of information that Spria was able to obtain on the "other Melies". Clearly, Spira knows his material and never fails to lend an interesting perspective when appropriate. Also spicing things up were other essays by Melies on his profession as well as interviews with experts on the topic of Melies and early film.
I'm glad that I was one of those that pitched in on Kickstarter. I'm proud that my name is listed in the book for having done so.
Well done!
This latest entry is easily worthy of being placed along side of any of them. Not only did Mr. Spira dig up the rare autobiography but he annotated it and supplemented it admirably. For instance, having (as previously mentioned) delved into Gaston Melies' life and works, I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of information that Spria was able to obtain on the "other Melies". Clearly, Spira knows his material and never fails to lend an interesting perspective when appropriate. Also spicing things up were other essays by Melies on his profession as well as interviews with experts on the topic of Melies and early film.
I'm glad that I was one of those that pitched in on Kickstarter. I'm proud that my name is listed in the book for having done so.
Well done!
September 4, 2020
The title, 'long-lost autobiography' is a misnomer and misleading. The memoirs were never lost and in fact I have copies of the two previously published editions sitting on my shelves! This version is translated into English, however, in case you can't read French. Almost everything else in the book is unoriginal. Quite a few misspellings as well.
September 23, 2020
This is a truly fantastic book. The physical book itself is gorgeous to look at and includes charming illustrations throughout.
Onto to Méliès' autobiography itself. It is an engrossing read, this is mostly due to his fascinating work, but also partially due to the conceit in which it is written. Méliès wrote it as if he was a journalist who had interviewed Méliès. This leads to some passages where Méliès hypes himself up and brags about himself in the third person (I didn't find it excessive though thankfully). Personally, I found these moments amusing, but I can see how others might find it off-putting or annoying. Either way, I feel the conceit lends some insight into a man who found himself essentially penniless and nearly forgotten at the end of his career. The autobiography is also annotated by Jon Spira, which I found provided interesting context and depth to Méliès' words.
This book far more than just Méliès autobiography though. The introduction includes a nice overview of the early days of film making. There's a translation of an article written by Méliès where he goes into detail about film making and the associated work that I found very interesting. There was also an intriguing section of Georges Méliès' brother Gaston who was also in the film making industry, I actually found myself wanting to learn and read more about Gaston and his work after reading this section. The book finishes up with a couple nice interviews with people in various aspects of the current film industry.
Overall, this is a great book that is more than worth a look!
Onto to Méliès' autobiography itself. It is an engrossing read, this is mostly due to his fascinating work, but also partially due to the conceit in which it is written. Méliès wrote it as if he was a journalist who had interviewed Méliès. This leads to some passages where Méliès hypes himself up and brags about himself in the third person (I didn't find it excessive though thankfully). Personally, I found these moments amusing, but I can see how others might find it off-putting or annoying. Either way, I feel the conceit lends some insight into a man who found himself essentially penniless and nearly forgotten at the end of his career. The autobiography is also annotated by Jon Spira, which I found provided interesting context and depth to Méliès' words.
This book far more than just Méliès autobiography though. The introduction includes a nice overview of the early days of film making. There's a translation of an article written by Méliès where he goes into detail about film making and the associated work that I found very interesting. There was also an intriguing section of Georges Méliès' brother Gaston who was also in the film making industry, I actually found myself wanting to learn and read more about Gaston and his work after reading this section. The book finishes up with a couple nice interviews with people in various aspects of the current film industry.
Overall, this is a great book that is more than worth a look!
December 28, 2021
Strangely written (a man writing about himself in the third person), but well annotated, this book is an indispensable account of one of the pioneers of early cinema. Beyond the title work are supplemental features: articles, a filmography, and interviews with present day filmmakers; that enrich an already engrossing history of film.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews