'Cinderella' (1899) - A film by George Méliès

[leeshajoi]

Is the actress playing the fairy godmother pregnant, or is that just a really unflattering dress?

[nickwallacesmith]

hi leeshajoi - your guess is as good as mine, cheers

[ShaunxxD]

imagine showing them one of our movies now xD

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ShaunxxD - yes, and imagine their reaction to 3D!

[pewsterbaby]

@nickwallacesmith It'd be like everyone else's in 2011. Disinterested after the gimmick wears off after 15 minutes.

[27132lower]

wow, colored people in it

[nickwallacesmith]

hi 27132lower - colourised people at least. cheers

[jamielynnfox]

This film was believed to be lost until a copy was found 2005. Thank you for uploading this!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi jamielynnfox - and the film still works as a drama - it doesn't look too creakily like an old melodrama. cheers from sydney

[jamielynnfox]

@nickwallacesmith I love all of the films of George Méliès and being able to see this is real treat! And yes, the film is still quite appealing, even in the 21st century. Thank goodness for people like you who upload films like this one. I hope that the government doesn't try to interfere with what we can view on YouTube, etc., as that would make the Internet much less interesting. Cheers from Los Angeles.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi jamielynnfox - yes happily YT is reasonably unregulated at the moment - as far as being able to upload things here, the main issue for me seems to be copyright. i have a lawyer friend who specialises in intellectual property and he tells me that it runs out fifty years after the death of the main participants - copyright can be sold or given to someone other than the main participants during this 50 year period but it can't be extended beyond the fifty years. be in touch, cheers!

[nickwallacesmith]

a PS jamielynnfox - do you like the Prokofiev 'Cinderella' ballet music i've added as the audio - i like watching it with no sound as well, but am particularly fond of this music and could resist adding it - it seems to fit much of the movement of the drama, fortuitously

[SugarBudgie]

Wow I never thought I'd be able to see a film from the Victorian era! Thank you! So cool being able to look into the past.

[nickwallacesmith]

hey SugarBudgie - yeah, it's pretty cool footage - love the time travelling too!

[jvbrown1995]

Lovely story. Fitting music! AND Méliès! Just needs more hand-painted color... :(

[nickwallacesmith]

hi jvbrown1995 - the story is really well told -still engaging today - i managed to find music that followed the drama a bit - and the hand-painted cells just mkae it realyy lovely as you say, glad you liked it too, nick

[Thrillkill74]

So tech for it's day! Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Thrillkill74 - yep, it's amazing - and i think still holds our attention today, very sweet story-telling

[danny75461]

Wow!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi danny75461 - yep, very wow

[ralahinn1]

Thank goodness this survived, I like when one of the old films makes it into a new era

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ralahinn1 - you are absolutely right - and such a pity so much has disappeared - though occasionally something turns up in someone's attic/dungeon/etc - but as time moves on this is less and less likely

[ralahinn1]

@nickwallacesmith : that is another reason to like the internet, even the" pirates" a lot more is being saved now, I hope that they keep" hard copies" of things anyway when they can though, because something may happen to the internet one day. I hope that people who are making videos or reproducing them find a way to store them in some secure vaults somewhere so that master ones are kept safe from as much potential damage as possible. Even" bad" films,lol, because some of them can be funny.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ralahinn1 - absolutely, as many different kinds of preserving should be used as possible to ensure things don't get lost, destroyed and so on - and yes even some things that are not seemingly important to me should be saved too - who am i / are we to be the ultimate judge of the worth of a thing, good to hear from you!

[ARRISIPPY]

Absolutely brilliant!! Just a decade or so after the first film? Quantam leap!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ARRISIPPY - yep, it's technically amazing for it's time - and the humour and story telling is so gentle

[DemogorghonWhite]

This is a fascinating and amazing! ;D

[nickwallacesmith]

@DemogorghonWhite - very few filsm of this era engage you as immediately - and don't seem creaky old - great you like it too!

[targusintyme]

I love this! I just began reading a book on special effects, its history, etc and it spoke of george melies and some of his films so I figured I'd check out this "father of special effects" myself. Glad I did (: I've never seen early films like this.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi targusintyme - i think this particular me Méliès film is one of his best - not just the effects but the sweet, gentle and effective story telling - jusy hold your attention today - where some ofthers seem part of a distant creaky past. another i've uploaded which i think you'd like for its novel effects is George Albert Smith's 'Santa Claus' of 1898. tell us what you think. best, nick

[usdachoiceass]

Thanks for posting this! It was referenced in my ENG225 Intro to Film class and I was thrilled to find it out here!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi usdachoiceass - yes, i fell in love with it when i saw it - and felt prokoviev's music for the ballet 'cinderella' fitting it well. what was the film used to illustrate in the development of the art form and thr technololgy

[Aidann123]

this is incredible

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Aidann123 - yep, magical

[ThorneAstor]

Amazing!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ThorneAstor - isn't it great - still can grab and hold your attention these days!

[sailorwinxgirl]

fascinating



[nickwallacesmith]

hi sailorwinxgirl - it holds up well - and is really engaging in a way that few old films of that period still are

[nickwallacesmith]

there's a site (bluesplayer.co.uk/youtube_ful­lmovies/) that has a lot of great things like the cinderella film - i just put years (1900, 1901, etc) into their 'search'

[Bomont980]

how is everyone finding these movies?

[SilverLightSpecial]

Thank you for posting this. Impressive as the film is, I'm even more impressed that Melies was able to compress the story into 6 minutes, including a big dance finale.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi SilverLightSpecial - compress it into 6 min and not make it seem rushed - it's full of charm without bathos - not an easy feat with a fairy tale

[simpsonsfreak23]

It's amazing how people can still find treasures such as this film which are already antique. Thank you for uploading this. :)

[nickwallacesmith]

@simpsonsfreak23 - isn't it! they still keep turning up!

[TheNemowh]

scary shet... :D

[nickwallacesmith]

hi TheNemowh - but wonderful scary!

[TheNemowh]

@nickwallacesmith INDEED

[lostsoul808]

woah!where did you get this? 

[nickwallacesmith]

hi lostsoul808 - just found it floating round in cyber space - a few of these old movies (like 'alice in wonderland') are now out of copyright and just seem to be appearing - i can respond to the story telling here in a way that it's sometimes harder in other films of the period

[SuperBilly1992]

Is this the whole movie or a part of the movie ?

[nickwallacesmith]

hi SuperBilly1992 - i understand it's te whole movie - it was put out as public domain not long ago - out of copyright

[nickwallacesmith]

hi SuperBilly1992 again - i should add i added the music as you probably read

[snoopy50534]

I leanded about him in a book called the inventions of hugo calbret its a really good book and he was a magisian too

[nickwallacesmith]

hey snoopy50534 - i'll look out for that book - thanks for the pointer. nick

[snoopy50534]

@nickwallacesmith yeah it is a really good book

[snoopy50534]

I leanded about him in a book called the inventions of hugo calbret its a really good book

[xaxie1]

By far one of the greatest uses of cinematography in any moving picture, even for todays standards

[nickwallacesmith]

hi xaxie1 - it is isn't it!

[ultradumbass]

anyone know where i can find his gulliver's travel movie? i've been sort of interested in watching 100+ year old movies lately and i wanted to see that one.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ultradumbass - i've been googling and looking about for it with no success - like you i love watching these old films - like time travel!

[morinoroba]

Thank you this video,I enjoyed very much.Your channel is fantastic as always !

[nickwallacesmith]

hi morinoroba

glad you liked the little film! it's so sweet - melies was a real artist as the film moves along so sweetly and without awkwardness

and thanks for the appreciation - it's great!

[PIPZZZ02]

The last dance is pure Toulouse- Lautrec.

Thanks for this,Nick, a real treat.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi

PIPZZZ02

isn't it a treat! and while it is of the past it isn't in a way that distracts - it's still powerful story telling

best, nick

[Qbendanny]

It is a work of genius. The placement of the actor/dancers, the movement, cinematic tricks,all rolled into almost 6 minutes. Those brises were damn good!!!

LOVE!! this post Nick! and background music perfect. You are such a Toscanini.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Qbendanny

they ARE good brises - and alexandra danilova was famous for the same in older age - when she demonstrated in class

glad you like the music i added - it sounded right when i included it with the visual but it's hard to get an outside point of view - thanks!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Kitia

thanks - and thanks for the very sweet appreciation - much appreciated

the challenge is to keep finding interesting things to post - i'd better get to it!

best, nick

[hymntonight]

ha! what a wonderful treat. I'm a big fan of Méliès. Nary a dull moment is his wild imagination. Your Prokofiev soundtrack is perfect, too!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi hymntonight

yes, a little gem

glad you liked the soundtrack i added - it's the magically music of the ballroom and even when cinderella is home alone (in the film) the music seems to nicely anticipate what's to come

best, nick

[kitiamuriel]

Thank you for this jewel! A video of yours every day instead of tv news... Kitia

[BernardProfitendieu]

haha - excellent idea kitiamuriel!!