GEORGE MÉLIÈS

George Méliès was a famous illusionist and magician that worked in Paris. When he discovered the cinematograph, he thought that it had many possibilities as a show.

Méliès used the cinematograph to make magic tricks:

Méliès also filmed fantastic stories, with sets, actors and actresses, scripts, make-up and wardrobe. He imagined fantastic plots, like a trip to the moon:

Finally, he configured a new show conception with the cinematograph. Films had to be watched in a movie theatre with live music. A pianist or an orchestra played accompaniment music with images. For all these reasons, George Méliès is one of the greatest filmmakers in history.
In the "invention of Hugo", we can see the life and works of Méliès.

THE CINEMATOGRAPH: CINEMA IS BORN

In 1895 the Lumière Brothers invented the cinematograph. this machine can film or record images in motion.

What did the Lumière Brothers film? Quotidian activities in Paris, in 1895. For instance:
- A little boy eating.
- Workers getting out of the factory.
- Builders destroying a wall.
- Men playing cards.

But the Lumière Brothers also filmed humorous gags. Like this:

Lumière Brothers' films are very short and limited (whithout colour and sound).

But they are very important because they were the permit us to know the past.

Cinema also works as a historic document.