A devil appears in a burning cave. He shows the tormented spirits he has trapped in bottle. Then, with much smoke and fire, he summons spirits of beautiful women.
It's a very late example of Segundo de Chomon directing the sort of magic act which Melies had made in his shorts, combing stagecraft and camera trickery. It's very well done, as it should be, after more than a decade of previous examples. He summons woman out of burning pits, which he sets on fire; he summons pale shades of women. It's all very sexy.
Yet the time for this sort of movie was at its end. Melies' film-making was exhausted. He would make three spectacles in 1912 and 1913. Then, his resources exhausted, he would end production. A decade and a half later, movie fans would assemble a show of his works in Paris and could only find eight for exhibition. De Chomon, too, was near the end of his string of movies for Pathe. After 1913, he would direct only two more movies. Instead, he retired to work as a cameraman, a specialist in special effects. He would die in 1929, only 57.
But for the moment... what a fine magic act!
It's a very late example of Segundo de Chomon directing the sort of magic act which Melies had made in his shorts, combing stagecraft and camera trickery. It's very well done, as it should be, after more than a decade of previous examples. He summons woman out of burning pits, which he sets on fire; he summons pale shades of women. It's all very sexy.
Yet the time for this sort of movie was at its end. Melies' film-making was exhausted. He would make three spectacles in 1912 and 1913. Then, his resources exhausted, he would end production. A decade and a half later, movie fans would assemble a show of his works in Paris and could only find eight for exhibition. De Chomon, too, was near the end of his string of movies for Pathe. After 1913, he would direct only two more movies. Instead, he retired to work as a cameraman, a specialist in special effects. He would die in 1929, only 57.
But for the moment... what a fine magic act!
