Founding Film: The Man Who Pulled Off His Head

By Hanna Martz

Do you know who made this? Melies
developed the techniques and directed this
amous silent movie, La Voyage dans la Lune.

Movies are consistently trying to reach a higher peak of performance. Better plot twists, more life-like animation, and bigger explosions create waves of movie-goers each year aiming to see the next coolest thing. 

Where did those special effects we tend to take for granted come from? That is what UH English professor David Maine has explored, and will talk about this Thursday with his own work, The Man Who Pulled off His Head. For anyone who's watched popular movies, I highly recommend checking out Professor Maine's reading this Thursday November 18^th in Kuykendall Hall, room 410, at 3pm.

To be honest, when I heard about yet another professor reading something they wrote, I rolled my eyes. But after talking to Professor Maine, whatever preconceived notion I had flew away as I was drawn in by the story, the life of Georges Melies. How this unknown man had changed the course of history and I, and likely many others, had no idea.

The first cine-magician - the founder of 

filming special effects, George Melies.

In the early days of film, people didn't really know what they could do – so they experimented and fiddled and sought out new forms of manipulation. Georges Méliès was one such man – a man who founded an art and industry that continues today. As a visionary, Melies brought many things into the world, "He had a marvelous imagination and more or less single-handedly invented the art of special effects," Professor Maine told me. "He invented whole realms of cinema that are still hugely popular—he made the first vampire movie, the first science fiction film, the first product placement, the first docudrama." For a man who brought entertainment and industry such leaps and bounds, Melies has largely been forgotten. We (the public) rarely remember the men and women behind-the-scenes, let alone give them any thought while watching films.

The Man Who Pulled of His Head could very well change that.

 "I would love it if people walked away with a stronger appreciation for Méliès and the innovation he brought to the cinema. More than that, I'd like people to have some respect for all the early pioneers in the movies," Professor Maine said.  

Melies' story translates over the generations, and parallels current cinematographic issues; continuing to find new and better special effects, finding the balance between making art and making money, even movie piracy! This pioneer directed over 500 films, but still faced bankruptcy and war-torn France at the turn of the century.