Bluebeard

Bluebeard (1901)

aka Barbe-bleue

** 1/2 (out of 4)

An interesting if not totally successful film from Georges Melies. After seven wives have mysterious died, Bluebeard holds a contest to pick his eighth wife. Things are going as planned until the ghosts of the seven previous wives show up. This here is certainly a horror film from start to finish but it's a shame the film gets off to such a weak start. The ending, with the wives returning, is very well done.

In early 2008 a box set with over 170 Meiles films will be released and it's certainly long overdue.

This lavish, well-crafted version of the legend of "Bluebeard" also contains plenty of distinctive touches from the great cinema pioneer Georges Méliès. He must have enjoyed making this story, which offers a good variety of material, and to which he added his own richly detailed background sets and special camera effects.

The first half of the story begins with Bluebeard about to be married for the eighth time, and while this part has none of the special effects for which Méliès is usually remembered, it's pretty good without them. The backgrounds are quite interesting, and there is a funny banquet preparation scene that combines wit and slapstick. The second half focuses on the grimmer part of the well-known legend, and in this part there are plenty of good visual effects to go with the story itself.

As was often the case with his movies, especially in his earlier years, Méliès planned for a spoken narration to accompany this when it was shown. Actually, the movie is probably good enough that most of it could probably stand on its own, with the possible exception of portions of the earlier scenes. The DVD release does have the narration, which makes sure that you don't miss any of the detail in this imaginative version of the story.

For 1901, this is a completely extraordinary film. No other film director or producer of the time could even come close to equaling the complexity and watchability of his films. Think about it--in 1901 when this film was made, almost all films were only about a minute long (more or less) and almost all of them were just ordinary films featuring ordinary activities (such as babies crying, waterfalls or street scenes). There was absolutely no writing, no plot and no acting as we came to know it. Yet, at the same time we have films like BLUEBEARD that have wonderful sets (kind of kitchy compared to today--I really think they are cute and charming), acting and scripts! Plus, after about the first half of this film, you'll see the absolute best trick cinematography of the era!! When the little imp jumps in and out of the book, the horrific scene of the seven dead wives hanging in the basement and the amazing not to be missed final scene you realize that for his time, Méliès was an absolute genius and tremendous innovator. The only negative at all about this film was the lack of inter-title cards--something that you can't blame him for since they hadn't yet come into vogue. Brilliant and every bit as wonderful as his 1902 breakout film Le Voyage dans le Lune.

If you want to see this film online, go to Google and type in "Méliès" and then click the video button for a long list of his films that are viewable without special software.

Georges Méliès Bluebeard is one of the earliest examples of narrative film-making. It is a dry run for Méliès later hugely influential A Trip to the Moon. Up until this point in time cinema was the preserve of visual trickery and pure realist reproduction. No one had really worked out how to tell stories via this new medium. It was left to the ultimate cinematic innovator Méliès to start thinking of film as a narrative form. And with this little movie we have a definite story; one which is also replete with the director's famed visual invention. It's one of the first times that he utilised his special effects into an actual story. There are several different sets, all of which have detailed design. The story itself is about the evil character Bluebeard. It's a much more macabre subject than Méliès more common fantasy based tales. This one still has those elements too but also has darker, more nightmarish content. In its most memorable moment, for instance, the heroine enters a secret room where the dead bodies of Bluebeard's seven previous wives hang. It's quite striking and one of the earliest examples of horror cinema. The whole fantasy dream sequence is overall very effective with a sprite that leaps out of a book, ghostly apparitions and giant dancing keys. It's an entertaining film whose main historical importance is that it is one of the very first twitches of narrative cinema.

I don't know the story of Bluebeard, so this ten minute motion picture is my first introduction. I could gather that he was wealthy and wanted to marry a recalcitrant woman. She reluctantly agreed and was given a huge wedding feast. After the wedding Bluebeard bestowed upon her the keys to his castle--and they were many--essentially telling her that the entire estate was at her disposal, except for one room. One room he made a big show about being off limits, then, laughably, he gave her the key to that room. So what do you think she did?

Of course, she entered the room where she saw the corpses (I'm assuming) of former wives.

I'm intrigued. I now must read the story of Bluebeard.

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