The Legend of Rip Van Winkle

"The Legend of Rip Van Winkle" (aka "Rip's Dream") is a 14 minute long film from French filmmaker Georges Méliès. IMDB says it's 10 minutes in length but the version I found on YouTube lasted 14. Some difference can occur due to cranking speed (silent cameras were hand-cranked...and so speeds varied widely), but not four minutes worth.

As far as the story goes, it looks as if no one associated with the movie ever actually READ "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving. So much of the story is wrong that it looks as if they just took the broadest notionn of the story and put it on film. The back story is gone and much of what follows is wrong. It's a real shame, as what Méliès did otherwise was terrific--really nice sets, costumes and decent acting for the time. It's also a shame that some portions are degraded and the hand-colored stock is ugly (especially at the bginning).

Provided you don't really want to learn about Rip Van Winkle, this isn't a bad film. I think it's of much more value as an example of the craft of Georges Méliès and the story itself is of little interest.

Legend of Rip Van Winkle, The (1905)

*** (out of 4)

aka La Légende de Rip Van Winckle

French filmmaker Georges Melies does his version of the famous Washington Irving story about a man who runs into the woods to get away only to take a nap that lasts for twenty-years. Certain key points of the story are left out here so purists might be upset but this is a pretty good take on the story. This 14-minute film is hand colored and we also get the added narration that Melies added for the majority of his longer movies. The color is extremely imaginative and really adds a lot to the film but I'm starting to feel that many of the added narration isn't really needed for the movie to be entertaining. I'm sure back in 1905 it was important to keep the viewers aware of what was going on since they were sitting through a longer movie but I don't think it's really needed. The highlight of the film is when Rip must fight off a giant serpent and cut it into three different pieces only to then have more bad things happen. The ending is handled pretty well and while this isn't the greatest version of the story Melies at least keeps it entertaining from start to finish.

The best bit in this film from legendary pioneer Georges Méliès had nothing to do with the story of Rip Van Winkle. It's when Rip (Méliès himself) sees a gymnast turn into a large snake, then hacks it up into three pieces, each of which continue to writhe about. The pieces then turn into three men, who eventually turn back into the original man when they hop onto one another's backs. That scene has the feel of the fantastical combined with innovative special effects for the period.

Most of the rest of this seemed like a straightforward, theatrical telling of the story. It takes about 10 minutes for Rip to be old and return to his village, and then nothing all that noteworthy happens. I am always in admiration of the sets he constructed, which seem hand-drawn, and yet the cast move about in them, coming down stairs or down trails in the forest. There is an impish quality as well; look for the guy who brings Rip back to his wife sticking the end of the rifle into his mouth at the very end.

Frenchman Georges Méliès's film is quite removed from the original American story by Washington Irving. John Frazer ("Artificially Arranged Scenes") says it was based more on the fellow Frenchman Robert Planquette's comic operetta. In this 14-minutes-long forest fantasy, the revolutionary American politics are gone and Rip's 20-year-slumber is framed as a drunken dream. And, of course, it's made to display Méliès's usual magical, cinematic and theatrical tricks.

This is the first instance I've seen of title cards describing parts of the story in a Méliès film. The narration on the Flicker Alley DVDs doesn't make them necessary, but they were probably helpful for any viewers back then without a lecturer to describe the film.

According to Frazer, this film "did not sell well despite the fact that Irving's story is a natural vehicle for Méliès' fantasy. To a certain extent Méliès was beginning to have Rip Van Winkle's problem. He was a dreamer from another century and somewhat out of touch with the directions that the film world was beginning to take." While I generally agree that Méliès's films were in decline, this particular film, "Rip's Dream", is actually enjoyable compared to other Méliès films from around the same time. In addition to the benefit of seeing a hand-colored print, there's quite a lot going on in this one. One aspect I particularly liked was the synchronized stylized movements and walking early on.

This Georges Méliès adaptation of the legend of Rip Van Winkle is certainly interesting, if not always successful. It is a relatively lavish production for its time, with detailed sets and hand-tinted color in the final print. It changes the story considerably in order to allow for some of Méliès's special camera effects, yet there are several stretches of the movie in which the camera tricks take a back seat to slapstick or exposition.

While it keeps the basic character and some of the story developments of the tale as it is usually told (from Washington Irving and earlier legends such as Peter Klaus), it also changes quite a bit. Rip's domineering wife is replaced by other problems, and the dream that Méliès imagines for him takes center stage.

There are certainly many Méliès touches, in the interesting details and in the special effects, but overall, it doesn't have as many high points as do his best features. Aside from his adaptations of Jules Verne, he was usually at his best when coming up with his own ideas. Nevertheless, this is a watchable adaptation, and the changes to the story make it unpredictable even if you are well familiar with the original story.