Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb (1899)
- Original title
- Cléopâtre
- Directed by
- Georges Méliès
- Genre
- fantasy film, horror film, silent film
- Country
- France
- Runtime
- 2 min
- Rating
- 1.7 of 10 from 3 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A man breaks apart Cleopatra's mummy and then summons a woman from a smoking brazier. It is an early silent trick film about resurrecting the ancient queen.
early-cinemawhimsicalsurrealplayfuluncannyfantasticalhistorically-tinged
What happens
Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb (French: Cléopâtre, literally Cleopatra) is an 1899 silent trick film directed by Georges Méliès. One of the earliest horror films ever made, it is about resurrecting the mummy of Cleopatra. In it, a man chops the mummy of Cleopatra into pieces, and then "produces a woman from a smoking brazier." While today director Méliès is more known for his iconic film A Trip to the Moon, it was this film which caught the attention of producer Charles Urban, who released the film in the United States (under the title Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb; its British release was simply titled Cleopatra's Tomb) and subsequently distributed many of Méliès other films. It is numbered 175–176 in the Méliès catalogue. The film was considered a lost film; however a print was reported to have been discovered in France on 22 September 2005, despite the IMdB page of the short mentioning the discovered film was in fact a different Méliès film involving tomb robbery, The Oracle of Delphi (1903). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
An Up-to-Date Conjuror (1899)
Summoning the Spirits (1899)
The Pillar of Fire (1899)
The Four Troublesome Heads (1898)
A Mysterious Portrait (1899)
La Pyramide de Triboulet (1899)
The Misfortunes of an Explorer (1900)
Christ Walking on the Water (1899)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.