Review by gagewyn

I watched this as one of the shorts on The magic of Melies video cassette released by Kino on Video, 1994. Image quality was good. Music matched the mood of the film. No color was added. Cropping did not appear to interfere with the film. Frame speed appeared to be adjusted. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

This film was pretty. Some of the special effects in it are extremely good. I could'nt pick out exactly where the editing was done when the clown pulls rabbits from a hat. If it did'nt go so quickly I think that many of the effects would come off as cheesy and played out, given that they have been used in so many films since. As it is the dizzying pace keeps things interesting. I think that an interesting aspect of the film is Melies experience as a magician. He directs eye movement away from the effect much as a magician distracts the eye to perform a trick.

I recommend watching this. It has an intriguing feel. I don't know that one should go to a great deal of trouble to find this film, but it's worth a look.