Top 10 Films of 1902

1. "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (Georges Méliès, France)

2. "Par le trou de serrure" (Ferdinand Zecca, France)

3. "How To Stop A Motor Car" (Percy Stow, UK)

4. "The Little Match Seller" (James Williamson, UK)

5. "L'Homme mouche" (Georges Méliès, France)

6. "Sage femme de première classe" (Alice Guy, France)

7. "Jack And The Beanstalk" (George S. Fleming, Edwin S. Porter, Edison)

8. "La Fee Printemps" (Segundo de Chomon, France)

9. "Fun In A Bakery Shop" (Edwin S. Porter, Edison)

10. "Les Chiens savants" (Alice Guy, France)

Top Guilty Pleasure of 1902:

"Le Jugement de Paris" (Georges Hatot, France)

Weak shorts of 1902:

La Clownesse fantôme (France)
La Danseuse microscopique (France)
La Douche du colonel (France)
L'Equilibre impossible (France)
Foxy Grandpa And Polly In A Little Hilarity
Le Sacre d'Édouard VII (France)
Les Trésors de Satan (France)
Uncle Josh At The Moving Picture Show
Le Voyage de Gulliver à Lilliput et chez les géants (France)

Uncle Josh At The Moving Picture Show (1902) **

A country bumpkin thinks what he sees on the movie screen is real. He even jumps out of his seat to try to stop a kissing scene. Directed by Edwin S. Porter for the Edison Company.

Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) ****

Impressive science-fiction epic about a trip to the Moon. Georges Méliès' most famous film. Length: 8 minutes.

The Little Match Seller (1902) ***

Profoundly sad tale of a match vendor dying in the cold. Adapted from a short story by Hans Christian Andersen. Directed by James Williamson.

La Fee Printemps (1902) ***

Segundo de Chomon's film debut.

Les Chiens savants (1902) ***

A sexy dog trainer.

Fun In A Bakery Shop (1902) ***

 

Comedy set in a bakery.

How To Stop A Motor Car (1902) ***

A cop tries to stop a car.

Par le trou de la serrure (1902) ***

A voyeur peeps through several key holes. One of the earliest films to use POV shots. Directed by Ferdinand Zecca and produced by Pathé.

Le Jugement de Paris (1902) ***

Jack And The Beanstalk (1902) ***

The famous fairy-tale has been brought to life by George S. Fleming and Edwin S. Porter. Produced by Thomas Edison.

Les Trésors de Satan (1902) **

Satan and his treasure.

Foxy Grandpa And Polly In A Little Hilarity (1902) *

Polly and Foxy Grandpa perform a vaudeville style dance on a small stage in a ragtime rhythm. Produced by American Mutoscope & Biograph.

Le Sacre d'Édouard VII (1902) *

The crowning of Edward VII in 1902. It's not a documentary of the actual event, but a theatrical reconstruction with hired actors.

L'Homme mouche (1902) ***

This is how the film was described in its promotional material: "This is a moving picture that moves. Positively the greatest magical picture ever offered. A Hindoo magician appears and dances for the entertainment of six pretty maidens. Then, to the astonishment of all, he runs up the wall, dances and turns handsprings in mid-air, introducing many tricks that are entirely new in animated photography. The most puzzling of all (in) the mystical series". The illusion of a person walking on walls was achieved by filming from the ceiling. Directed by Georges Méliès.

L'Equilibre impossible (1902) *

Short film about acrobats (all played by the same person). Directed by Georges Méliès.

Le Voyage de Gulliver à Lilliput et chez les géants (1902) *

Very unimpressive adaptation of Swift's classic.

La Clownesse fantôme (1902) *

Vaudeville actors clowning on stage.

La Danseuse microscopique (1902) *

A magician and a tiny balerina.

La Douche du colonel (1902) *

A colonel and a bucket of paint.

Sage femme de premiere classe (1902) ***

Top 10 Films of 1901

1. "Fire" (James Williamson, UK)

2. "The Big Swallow" (James Williamson, UK)

3. "Histoire d'un crime" (Ferdinand Zecca, France)

4. "L’Homme à la tête en caoutchouc" (Georges Méliès, France)

5. "Stop Thief" (James Williamson, UK)

6. "La Maison tranquille" (Georges Méliès, France)

7. "The Countryman And The Cinematograph" (Robert W. Paul, UK)

8. "Nain et géant" (Georges Méliès, France)

9. "Rêve et réalité" (Ferdinand Zecca, France)

10. "Le Diable géant" (Georges Méliès, France)

Top Guilty Pleasure of 1901:

"Birth Of The Pearl" (USA)

Other great films:

Boys Diving Honolulu

Trapeze Disrobing Act

Weak films of 1901:

À la conquête de l'air (France)
L'Antre des esprits (France)
Barbe-bleue (France)
Le Chapeau à surprise (France)
Chez la sorcière (France)
Le Chrysalide et le papillon (France)
Dislocation mystérieuse (France)
Excelsior! (France)
What Happened On Twenty-Third Street, New York City

Boys Diving Honolulu (1901) ***

The Countryman And The Cinematograph (1901) ***

Innovative British film about a country bumpkin who sees a film for the first time. Directed by Robert W. Paul. Remade a year later in the USA as "Uncle Josh At The Moving Picture Show" (1902).

The Big Swallow (1901) ***

A man, objecting to being filmed, comes closer and closer to the camera lens until his mouth is all we see. Then he opens wide and swallows camera and cinematographer. He steps back, chews, and grins. British short film directed by James Williamson.

L’Homme à la tête en caoutchouc (1901) ***

Celebrated Georges Méliès' short about an inflatable rubber head. Wonderfully surrealistic.

Le Diable géant (1901) ***

Aka "Le miracle de la madone". The Virgin Mary saves a young maiden from the Devil.

Dislocation mystérieuse (1901) **

Trick film about a dancing clown's body parts floating away and coming back again.

Nain et géant (1901) ***

Short, but visually memorable film by Georges Méliès.

Stop Thief (1901) ***

James Williamson directed this innovative film about a man running after a thief.

La Maison tranquille (1901) ***

"La Maison tranquille" ("The Quiet House) ? A very misleading title, because this George Méliès' film is a wacky comedy set in a house that is far from "quiet". A very innovative use of on-screen space, similar to Ferdinand Zecca's "Histoire d'un crime" (1901).

À la conquête de l'air (1901) *

Ferdinand Zecca directed this very short film about a flying machine. Produced by Pathé.

Barbe-bleue (1901) *

A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances. An ambitious film by Georges Méliès, but slow and too long.

Birth Of The Pearl (1901) ***

Chez la sorcière (1901) **

A bachelor visits a witch hoping to find a wife. A surprise awaits him.

Trapeze Disrobing Act (1901) ***

Le Chapeau à surprise (1901) *

A magician organizing a dinner party literally pulls his guests out of a hat.

L'Antre des esprits (1901) **

Georges Méliès' film set in a magician's cavern, with dancing skeletons, chairs and tables.

Rêve et réalité (1901) ***

A man dreams of a beautiful woman, but wakes up in bed with his ugly wife. Directed by Ferdinand Zecca.

What Happened On Twenty-Third Street, New York City (1901) *

And the sad answer is - not much. This Edison film was possibly an inspiration for that classic Marilyn Monroe scene in "The Seven Year Itch".

Le Chrysalide et le papillon (1901) *

A worm is put inside a cocoon et it emerges as a butterfly woman. Directed by Georges Méliès.

Excelsior! (1901) *

A magician performs various tricks.

Fire (1901) ****

 

Made two years before “Life Of An American Fireman” (1903), this British film, directed by James Williamson, is far more innovative than the Copyright Version of Porter's film, and almost as innovative as the Cross-Cut Version.