For a good chunk of his output in 1899, Georges Méliès committed himself to creating a series of short films detailing the events of the Dreyfus Affair political scandal, which was still progressing in France as the series was made. The serial, centering around Capt. Alfred Dreyfus who was accused of writing treasonous letters and discharged as a result, flared up the public which had already been divided into two groups: the Dreyfusards and the Anti-Dreyfusards (Méliès was one of the former). In the end, censorship was the answer--theater owners couldn't handle the disputes that the serial caused during showings. Thus, "The Dreyfus Affair" is now considered the first censored political movie.
"The Attempt Against the Life of Maitre Labori" is the second most violent movie in the series ("Suicide of Colonel Henry" being the first due to its gore effects, of which none are seen here). Labori, the lawyer of Dreyfus who is portrayed by Méliès himself, is seen to be entering the scene, talking with Colonel Picquart and M. Gast, the Mayor of Rennes. The interesting aspect about this installment is that instead of having them walk on from the side of the screen, Méliès had them come on from the camera's perspective and eventually progress into typical long shot, causing a brief close look and taking away some of the staginess of the film. As they are talking, the anonymous assailant is seen to be playing it casual at the side of the screen before suddenly whipping out a gun and shooting him twice in the back, with realistic gun-smoke effect, and escaping the scene while Labori writhes in pain on the ground.
For some reason, however, there's also a cut before the firing of the second shot. Presumably, this had to do with the fact that the poudre de riz cosmetic powder used for the smoke needed to be thrown on twice for two shots, and the person doing the effect had to get a second pinch--hence they probably had to stop filming briefly so this could occur offstage. As it is, this little episode is pretty well acted, not to mention the fact that Méliès's resemblance to Labori increases the realism. The set is the only blatantly fake part, but that probably couldn't be helped unless they just took the camera to an outdoor setting.
"The Attempt Against the Life of Maitre Labori" is the second most violent movie in the series ("Suicide of Colonel Henry" being the first due to its gore effects, of which none are seen here). Labori, the lawyer of Dreyfus who is portrayed by Méliès himself, is seen to be entering the scene, talking with Colonel Picquart and M. Gast, the Mayor of Rennes. The interesting aspect about this installment is that instead of having them walk on from the side of the screen, Méliès had them come on from the camera's perspective and eventually progress into typical long shot, causing a brief close look and taking away some of the staginess of the film. As they are talking, the anonymous assailant is seen to be playing it casual at the side of the screen before suddenly whipping out a gun and shooting him twice in the back, with realistic gun-smoke effect, and escaping the scene while Labori writhes in pain on the ground.
For some reason, however, there's also a cut before the firing of the second shot. Presumably, this had to do with the fact that the poudre de riz cosmetic powder used for the smoke needed to be thrown on twice for two shots, and the person doing the effect had to get a second pinch--hence they probably had to stop filming briefly so this could occur offstage. As it is, this little episode is pretty well acted, not to mention the fact that Méliès's resemblance to Labori increases the realism. The set is the only blatantly fake part, but that probably couldn't be helped unless they just took the camera to an outdoor setting.
