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Melies Gets 'Real' and Goes to War
While Georges Melies is chiefly remembered today for his fantasy films, he actually filmed in a wide range of genres - from porn to documentary - and in this year, he filmed his first reconstruction. Travelling to Cuba to film the Spanish-American War was impractical for Melies, but realising that films of the conflict would be big sellers, he refused to be discouraged by such trifling matters. In April, in his studio in Montreuil, he reconstructed the sinking of the USS Maine - much as Smith and Blackton had in the States. This 20-metre film was one of a series of five depicting various scenes 'from the war' and was entitled Quais de La Havane et Explosion du cuirassé Le Maine (The Explosion of the Battleship Maine in Havana Harbour). In order to achieve that crucial authentic feel, Méliès filmed his actors through an aquarium filled with fish. Sadly, this film - like approximately two-thirds of the Frenchman's output - no longer exists. [ADD]
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