Alcofrisbas, the Master Magician

L'Enchanteur Alcofribas, sold in the United States as Alcofrisbas, the Master Magician and in Britain as The Enchanter, is a 1903 French short silent film by Georges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 514–516 in its catalogues.[1]

Alcofrisbas, the Master Magician
Directed byGeorges Méliès
StarringGeorges Méliès
Production
company
Release date
  • 1903 (1903)
CountryFrance
LanguageSilent

The magician's name, variously spelled Alcofribas or Alcofrisbas, is derived from Alcofrybas Nasier, a character in the book Pantagruel (and a near-anagram of François Rabelais, the book's author).[2] Méliès himself stars as Alcofrisbas; the woman whose head appears in closeup, sometimes misidentified as Jehanne d'Alcy, is unknown.[3] The film's special effects include pyrotechnics, a waterfall, substitution splices, multiple exposures, and dissolves.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Malthête, Jacques; Mannoni, Laurent (2008), L'oeuvre de Georges Méliès, Paris: Éditions de La Martinière, p. 346, ISBN 9782732437323
  2. ^ Ezra, Elizabeth (2000), Georges Méliès, Manchester: Manchester University Press, p. 93, ISBN 0-7190-5395-1
  3. ^ a b Essai de reconstitution du catalogue français de la Star-Film; suivi d'une analyse catalographique des films de Georges Méliès recensés en France, Bois d'Arcy: Service des archives du film du Centre national de la cinématographie, 1981, p. 160, ISBN 2903053073
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