Georges Méliès's Robinson Crusoé film resurfaces in Pordenone

October 15, 2012 6:10 AM

Méliès's best known film is, of course, Le Voyage Dans La Lune, but Les Aventures de Robinson Crusoé, the newly discovered film, is an even more ambitious work; a landmark in the history of narrative cinema. Georges Méliès's Robinson Crusoé film resurfaces in Pordenone.
posted by Mezentian (11 comments total)

Thanks for posting this, how exciting! Can't wait to watch it!

For anyone who might just recently be discovering the magic and historical significance of his work (perhaps after seeing Hugo) there is a lovely documentary from last year called The Extraordinary Voyage which covers the amazing and improbable discovery/restoration of a color (hand painted) print of Le Voyage Dans La Lune.
posted by trackofalljades at 6:18 AM on October 15, 2012 [4 favorites]

perhaps after seeing Hugo

Ugh.

I did like scenes where they recreated the sets and the filming though.
posted by Artw at 6:33 AM on October 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

"It's a very important piece of cinema history, which was not known until Saturday night"...

That is one incredible sentence. Particularly before my first coffee.

But yes -- I cannot wait to see this. I accidentally caught a Méliès exhibit at the Cinematheque Francaise a few years back, and have been absolutely mesmerized by his work ever since.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:39 AM on October 15, 2012

Wow, this is really something. Love it when the past suddenly shows itself, as if to say to us "Ha! You think you know everything that's gone down? Check THIS out!"
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:41 AM on October 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

I love stuff like this. There are thousands of silent movies lost forever but you always have hope that there are more a few more hidden away in some long forgotten stash like this one or the recent complete Metropolis find.
posted by octothorpe at 7:15 AM on October 15, 2012

Awesome. This gets my vote for short post of the month.
posted by outlandishmarxist at 7:17 AM on October 15, 2012

Excellent, thanks. Swiped this for my tumblr, which is also concerned with lost films.
posted by muckster at 7:18 AM on October 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is awesome.

That colour Le Voyage Dans La Lune is also definitely something to see if you haven't.
posted by brilliantmistake at 10:50 AM on October 15, 2012

A bit more info here. The owner of the original nitrate print was a collector named Olivier Auboin-Vermorel. I am surprised that he had this but did not let anyone else know he had it. He had to have known it was rare - perhaps that is why he kept it a secret.

Obviously he kept the film in good shape. But I'm curious who had it before him? Nitrate does not last this long unless you store it in a cool dry location and wind through it every once in a while. I would be amazed if the print of the film just sat around for over 100 years in a can somewhere. I'm sure we'll hear more.

Here's a one minute clip of the movie, which was orignally all that was available.
posted by Rashomon at 11:47 AM on October 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow. Thanks for the post. As a little aside I connected to this little beauty of a "horror" film through the program cover of the Pordenone Festival. Insects getting revenge on the entomologist, by Gaston Velle.
posted by Isadorady at 2:21 PM on October 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Previously
posted by Start with Dessert at 8:17 PM on October 15, 2012