Les Quatre Cents Farces du diable

The copy of "The 400 Tricks of the Devil" I watched had no sound at all. That means no music for atmosphere and mood. That severely hampers a silent film, because then it is truly silent. Now you have nothing to listen to except the various sounds of your environment and maybe your own breathing.

This was another Georges Melies film. By this point his motion pictures are getting longer and more complex; meaning that they are getting harder to decipher without dialogue or a helping bit of text. The film is an updated comedic adaptation of the Faust legend. At the beginning the devil shows the main character, perhaps a scientist, some magic balls that, if thrown to the ground, produce whatever you fancy. The scientist doesn't know he's dealing with the devil even after the devil refuses money for the magic balls.

Watchable on YouTube.

Merry Frolics Of Satan, The (1906)

*** (out of 4)

aka Les Quatre cents farces du diable

Entertaining 14-minute film from the French master has two gentlemen being haunted by Satan as they travel from one hotel to the next. Before long Satan throws them into a special carriage and takes them on a trip to Hell. The actual story here really doesn't mean too much because the real highlight here are all the special effects and various tricks that pop up. This here, thanks in large part to the title, remains one of Melies most popular films and it's understandable as there's a lot of fun to be had here. As with many of his longer movies, this one here features some narration and it's also hand colored, which is a big plus. The colors look great and they are used with quite a bit of imagination. Some of the best stuff in the film deals with Satan, painted red of course, popping out of various places and scaring the men. Another major plus is when we actually get to Hell and various other demons take form.

"The Merry Frolics of Satan" is a fairly enjoyable fantasy adventure from early cinema magician Georges Méliès. As historian Richard Abel ("The Ciné Goes to Town") points out, these spectacles from Méliès were becoming increasingly elaborate and expensive to produce, especially by comparison to the smaller costs of his competitor's films, such as those by Pathé. As with some of his other pictures around this time, "The Merry Frolics of Satan" was produced specially for music-hall screenings. In this case, it was for the Chatelet's stage féerie "The Merry Deeds of Satan", from which this film is based (Abel).

In the film, Satan, disguised as a person, leads some misfortunate people on a hellish journey, including via a train the size of a child's amusement ride and a phantom carriage pulled by an apocalyptic skeletal horse. In the end, they're roasted by performers dressed in pig-like costumes. "The Merry Frolics of Satan" has its moments, including the phantom-carriage ride where movement is simulated by a moving backdrop of space stuff. This scene has become famous for having been used in many documentary clips on Méliès and early cinema. The print available from Flicker Alley is also hand-colored and tinted and includes narration. Yet, Méliès, unfortunately, also seemed to be relying more on theatrical tricks and less on cinematic ones as he had in his earlier spectacles. Stop-substitution splices and multiple-exposure photography remained the basis for his single-scene trick films, but his longer multi-scene fantasy adventures seemed to be becoming increasingly theatrical. The preference to use trap doors here instead of stop motion and editing for appearances and disappearances seems to evidence this increased theatricality.

Visionary Director Georges Melies' THE 400 TRICKS OF THE DEVIL is about the fantastic journey of Crackford and his companion, John, through Europe, into Mount Vesuvius, into outer space, and ultimately winding up in Hell itself.

Considering the year in which the Director made this film, it's a marvel of special effects, slapstick humor, and acrobatics. The sets and props are simple, but add to the overall dream / nightmare atmosphere of the film, especially the magic train, the cadaverous horse and carriage, the trip through stars and comets, and the depths of the inferno. Mr. Melies saves the part of Satan for himself.

Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy, horror, and historical films in general...

A carriage pulled by a skeletal horse is making its way to hell. The man in the carriage has signed a deal with the devil and must face the music. The backgrounds and the carriage itself are great fun. Of course, it's really cruel and deals with that old time religion. I don't know what this guy did, but he ain't gonna like where he's going. There are some pretty solid pyrotechnics which make it fun.