La Tentation de Saint-Antoine

Temptation of Saint Anthony, The (1898)

*** (out of 4)

aka Tentation de Saint Antoine

A strange religious film from director Melies takes place in what appears to be a cave where St. Anthony is looking at Jesus, attached to the cross, when the devil tries to temp him with various women. It's hard to tell if this was meant to be a serious religious film or just a way for Meiles to bring laughs with his special effects. I'm going to guess that this was meant to be more serious than anything else as it contains lesser special effects than we've seen from the director in previous films. There's one sequence where Anthony goes to pray to Jesus but he turns into a woman as well. The effects aren't anything special but this remains a pretty unique film.

It is a little interesting - Just over a minute long so it doesn't take long to watch the film but it's only worth watching if you want to see Jesus turn into a vixen and quickly shooed away by St. Antony.

6/10

Once again a lot of quick changes. As St. Anthony worships a statue of Christ on a cross, he is tested. From somewhere an attractive young woman tries to tempt him. He resists. Then another one comes and they tug and pull at him. But he is resistant to their wiles even though a third one comes along. At one point Christ turns into a woman on the cross. That must have turned a few heads. Anyway, it is a packed single minute of film.

Having invented the trick film and the stag film (with the same year's APRES LE BAL), Melies also pioneered the religious film, with this account of the temptation of St. Anthony, using the same sort of camera tricks he was using for his magic works.

But I wonder: what was the placement order of his catalogue? Did this come immediately after APRES LE BAL?

This is one of the many previously lost or infrequently seen Melies pictures that have been made available by Serge Bromberg, David Shepherd and a myriad of other hands in the newly issued DVD set GEORGES MELIES: FIRST WIZARD OF CINEMA. Required viewing for anyone interested in the history of movies ..... and a lot of fun.

Considering how The Temptation of Saint Anthony is such a popular artistic subject and was used as a motif in many haunting classical paintings, it's a bit weird to consider that it never has been adapted to film with the sole exception of this one minute short directed by Georges Melies. (According to Wikipedia, there was also a previous short made by Eugene Pirou, but is nowhere to be found)

Done properly, the story of Saint Anthony could be made into a great religious horror film (It could take the Flaubert novel as inspiration). At least it would be a nice variation for this subgenre instead of yet another exorcist film.