Les Hallucinations du baron de Münchhausen

This film was a fun one to see. Georges Melies has come a long way, since he did his masterpiece, A Trip to the Moon (1902). This one is fun too. It does repeat his normal staples, like dancing people, creatures who know acrobatics and lots of puffs of smoke, but his attention to detail and credibility of the fantasy he is trying to convey, seems more sharp in this film. He has had nine years to hone his craft. He tells a story, utilizing the classic, fictional, literary, German character, Baron Munchausen. This is the first film adaptation (at least the earliest I could find), about Baron Munchausen. The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen (1911), would further the French director's accomplishments and cement him even more in the annals of film history.

My only real familiarity with the character stems from seeing the 1988, Terry Gilliam classic, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), so this was a cool foray into the character, seeing it in an earlier incarnation. This film does capture that familiarity right off the bat too. After a party he throws one night, the drunk Baron makes it to bed with the aid of some friends and falls asleep in front of a huge mirror. This is where the hallucinations start, which the audience gets to view in the mirror, while the Baron dreams. Lying on the couch, he is annoyed and assailed by an assortment of creatures, visions and eventually the Moon itself, or is it an elephant with glasses, not sure. It totally captures the wackiness seen in the Terry Gilliam film.

I hope Melies was proud of this one too. It didn't disappoint me at all. I do worry that some viewers might take points off of their grade for this film, because of a weird edit near the end of the film. Without giving anything away, I think that was a splice of lost film, that was never replaced. It wasn't the filmmakers mistake and I don't think it should be scrutinized. It just is a reminder of what the ravages of time can do to old movies. The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen (1911), is a great commentary on the incredible, evolved growth, that the pioneering era of film has gone though, in the first 15 years of film history.

8.5 (B+ MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.

The good Baron has too much to drink and is put to bed. What happens next are a series of wild dreams. It's non-stop. We go from Egyptian pharaohs to female statues, to lizard men, elephants, Spanish conquistadors, and so on. Each provides a threat to the Baron and he is in constant distress. There are some clever effects such as using other actors too provide mirror images (ala Harpo Marx who may have seen this). The last minute is a bit unsatisfying, but the whole thing is quite a bit of fun.

Baron Munchhausen was a character created in the late 18th century. This fictional guy was a German character who had a great penchant for lying and exaggerating his adventures. However, in this Georges Méliès film, you have the Baron....but he really seemed little like the fictional character. He doesn't exaggerate anything and the film consists of him seeing a ton of weird things during a long series of nightmares following his eating a huge meal.

To describe the plot of this one is practically impossible. It honestly looked as if the director simply was reusing every set and prop and costume he'd accumulated! It's interesting but also nonsensical Not one of the director's best efforts.

I think at first Melies' putting Baron Munchausen in the middle of these hallucinations or dreams or what have you distracted me; this is why cross-cutting between different points of view became such a wonderful innovation in cinema, because prior to that, like here, you had to simply show the actor in the middle of the situation. That's what Baron does for the first few dreams/hallucinations he is having, which includes mysterious and alluring women, historical backdrops (ancient Egypt and Rome), and, uh, other women acting like giant water fountains spraying out water from their mouths in formation... sure, why not.

But what is in this short's favor is that Melies isn't afraid to get weird and disturbing with the imagery; on the contrary, he is soaking up what is one of the hallmarks of Munchausen stories: the bizarre, the alluring, the devilish, the exciting and the truly surreal. Oh, and the moon makes an appearance, or two or more. For those who come to this having seen Terry Gilliam's Munchausen (and this was just something I thought of watching it, ironically, the main actor playing Munchausen looks like Gilliam in a wig, major hammy comic acting included), the moon is a big part of it, as are the alluring women (remember Robin Williams and Uma Thurman?)

I think what makes Melies film distinct is how fluid all of the set pieces go, like in an actual dream, where one thing goes into another into another, and moments like the women suddenly turning into lizard people, or when a monster in a f***ed up suit (almost like a pet dragon or something with googly-eyes), it feels all OF a piece. It's all stream of consciousness and maybe repetitive in a few points, but it carries a boldness that makes this director's work so distinct even today. It's playful, erratic, and magnificent.

After a night of hard drinking, Baron Munchausen is brought to bed by his servants. He has a series of bizarre dreams and nightmares. He wakes up outside hung by his iron fence as his servants gather to help him.

This is a French silent short film directed by Georges Méliès. It's almost a decade after his iconic A Trip to the Moon. I really love some of the costumes, the set designs, and a few of the transitions. This doesn't have many of the Baron Munchausen story's most memorable scenes. He doesn't ride a cannon ball. On the other hand, this has other imagines. I really like the dragon and the moon. The camera is stationary which leaves the screen confined. It's still a fun silent short, but it was probably not pushing any envelopes back in the day.