Thursday, October 15, 2020

I Watched Something Called The Merry Frolics Of Satan

It is a 1906 French silent from the legendary Georges Meiles. I'll even post a link to this macabre delight at the end of this review:

The past 24 hours I've been busy; thus, my brief review of this 21:44 short (at least that was the length of the video on YouTube which had this in restored quality... be warned that other copies are rather horrid in appearance) is going up later in the night than usual. While more comedy than horror, this Georges Melies short is still a macabre delight.

While this does not have any intertitles, this is based on the Faust story so it's not too hard to follow; still, there's always Wikipedia. A scientist wishes to travel around the world in a high-speed contraption. A mysterious entity grants him those powers, and signs a contract... unfortunately for him he did not read the terms & conditions as he sold his soul to the Devil, played by the director himself. Various misadventures happen-this poor SOB gets trolled by Satan to the point that he can't even have a meal-and yes, he does end up in Hell.

What made this so appealing was the unique world that Melies created-it along with all the trick effects-still looks impressive 114 years later. Plus, the literal translation of its original French title is pretty badass: The Four Hundred Tricks of the Devil.


 

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