Alcofrisbas, the Master Magician (1903)

Original title

L’Enchanteur Alcofribas

Directed by

Georges Méliès

Genre

fantasy film, silent film

Country

France

Runtime

4 min

Rating

5.1 of 10 from 16 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A magician performs a series of tricks and illusions. He conjures a woman's head and other marvels using pyrotechnics and visual effects.

whimsicalplayfulfantasticaltheatricalold-timeyinventivecapricious

What happens

L'Enchanteur Alcofribas, sold in the United States as Alcofrisbas, the Master Magician and in Britain as The Enchanter, is a 1903 French short silent film by Georges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 514–516 in its catalogues. The magician's name, variously spelled Alcofribas or Alcofrisbas, is derived from Alcofrybas Nasier, a character in the book Pantagruel (and a near-anagram of François Rabelais, the book's author). Méliès himself stars as Alcofrisbas; the woman whose head appears in closeup, sometimes misidentified as Jehanne d'Alcy, is unknown. The film's special effects include pyrotechnics, a waterfall, substitution splices, multiple exposures, and dissolves. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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