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Sadly Over-hyped

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It was fun to use the ridiculous pun for my title. That said, this is the story of a man who can draw a head and bring it to life, even though it is disembodied. Through the full minute, the head is put on various standards and on a sword. Eventually, we are treated to the entire person, but that is only temporary.

The story was really nothing too exciting in this short film. It's another magic show by the grandmaster. Méliès has done that a couple times already, often better. But the visual aspects from this short film make it interesting. The lone head we see for most of the 90 seconds chattering wildly or was he singing? Not sure and sadly we didn't have sound yet. Also this short film is a perfect example of how his art direction and set decoration was miles ahead of everybody else in the business back then. The large owl is just perfect. All in all, the film is worth a watch for silent film enthusiasts, but that's pretty much it.

Mysterious Knight, The (1899) ** 1/2 (out of 4) aka Le Chevalier mystere Another magic show from director Melies has him playing a knight who draws a head on a chalk board and then brings it to life before attaching it to a body. This film runs just over a minute and while it's pretty good it really can't touch some of the director's better work. One of the special effects, the head through a sword, is somewhat botched but the disappearing acts are all well done as is the placing of the head on a body. If you're new to the director's work then you'll find this amusing but there are better films out there.