Left pane: A real moustache on a real magician; Top right: Rocket crash lands in the eye of the moon; Bottom right: Méliès in his own film.

Morning Finger Lickers! Today I bring you news from the world of French film. No sighing at the back. French film is wonderful! No, no, really, if you’re moaning about subtitles you shouldn’t be on this site.

Parisian and 1900s filmmaker Georges Méliès is not only credited as the forefather of special effects but is also one of the first true independent filmmakers. He not only developed cinema technically but also narratologically, wowing audiences with such spectacles as Le Voyage dans la lune (1902), that’s A Trip to the Moon for all you linguistically challenged Finger Lickers. A Trip to the Moon also features the iconic image of a rocket crash landing in the man in the moon’s eye, a still which has become synonymous with filmmaking and is identifiable by film scholars worldwide. Méliès was a magician and owned the famed Theatre Robert-Houdin in Paris, he built the first film studio and the likes of D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin credit him with a huge debt of gratitude.

This is man that was hugely powerful as both an entertainer and an innovator. His work is inspirational and magical. And now through the power of DVD you can see a huge number of his films restored, stablised and re-scored. The box set, entitled Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema, features 173 of Méliès films that have been collected from all over the world by Lobster Films in Paris and were found in the possession of the likes of the British Film Institute, the Academy Archives and private collectors. Really, truly, honestly if you care about film in any way at all you must see Georges Méliès work. The DVD, as usual, seems to be only available in North America at the moment but that shouldn’t stop us Finger Lickers. Lets face it folks, the US dollar is like Monopoly money these days, God bless George W. for helping us feed our DVD habit.

That’s it from me for now,

K

Check out A Trip to the Moon here, and remember folks, it’s 1902!

Buy yourself a copy of the DVD box set:

Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913)
Price: USD 80.99

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Evening finger painting Finger Lickers! So, I have some great news for all you documentary fans. Buzztastic flick My Kid Could Paint That, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, has been released on DVD in North America by Sony Pictures Classics.

The film itself follows the amazing story of four-year-old Marla Olmstead who caused a huge stir in the art world when her paintings started selling for big money. Marla, who loved to paint with her father, was suddenly thrown into the media spotlight when the New York Times got hold of the story. Inspired by what he read in the press, New York documentary filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev sprang into action and gained the Olmstead’s permission to document Marla’s story.

At first all seems well, then shortly after Bar-Lev’s arrival USA TV show 60 Minutes runs a probing investigation into whether it is actually Marla or her father doing the painting. Bar-Lev, wondering what he has stumbled upon, begins to investigate the claims himself and ultimately ends up producing an unusually balanced picture. The film has, in fact, been praised for its ethical journalism, at no time does Bar-Lev demonize Marla’s parents or take a purely accusatory stance in his investigations, however, the overtone does seem to suggest that something shady is going on in Binghamton, N.Y.

So, what can you expect from the DVD? Well, in addition to the feature length documentary, you also get an audio commentary by director Amir Bar-Lev, and two behind-the-scenes features. All you British Finger Lickin’ documentary fans need to bear in mind that this is only available as a region 1 DVD from the USA. So, ensure you have a multi-region DVD player, and then check out the Amazon link below to get your hands on this critically acclaimed documentary.

That’s it from me,

K

Check out the My Kid Could Paint That trailer:

My Kid Could Paint That
Price: USD 17.99

73 used & new available from USD 5.95

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