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Le sorcier
Also known as La Vengeance du sorcier in France; The Sorcerer’s Revenge in the United Kingdom; Revenge is Sweet and The Witch’s Revenge in the USA
(1903) France
B&W : 220 feet
Directed by Georges Méliès
Cast: [?] Georges Méliès? [the sorcerer]
Méliès Star-Film production. / Produced by Georges Méliès. / [?] 35mm spherical format? / The film was released in the USA by S. Lubin on 25 July 1903 (in an unauthorized version?).
Comedy: Fantasy.
Synopsis: [From Lubin promotional materials] Two guards bring a sorcerer into the hall of a palace of the time of the Middle Ages. The king who follows them orders the sorcerer to be chained and to be condemned to death for his practice of witchcraft. He begs the king to permit him just one hour of liberty, assuring the king that he will create, thanks to his power, a charming woman, worthy of becoming the king’s consort. The king, after a moment of hesitation, agrees. The sorcerer asks the king to remove the guards. The king commands them to retire, but not to go far away so as to be within easy call. The sorcerer evokes a spirit. A demon emerges from the floor, and at the command of the sorcerer goes and finds a palanquin, which is brought in by beautiful pages. In this palanquin which the sorcerer shows, at first, to be empty, three lovely Greek goddesses slowly appear. The king is charmed, but he remarks to the sorcerer that the Greek costumes do not please him. But they are quickly transformed, under the spell of the magician, into rich court dresses. The lady in the middle becomes a haughty queen, the two others are changed to ladies in waiting. The king takes the hand of the queen and escorts her, followed by her two attendants, to a seat beside his throne. The pages remove the palanquin. The king asks the magician to amuse the company by some of his wonderful tricks. So the magician takes a chair which he makes waltz about the hall. Then he throws it into the air, where the chair is transformed into a royal clown who performs some feats of dislocation. He ends his performance by a perilous leap and falls back to the floor in the original form of the chair, makes a saucy face at the king and disappears turning somersaults. The king rushes down to the chair in astonishment. The chair disappears and at the same time the magician reappears upon the royal throne. The king in a rage summons the guards and orders them to arrest the magician. The latter throws down the guards, transforms them to demons, whom he orders to arrest and chain the king. Then, putting on the royal crown, the sorcerer goes out dancing with the queen and her attendants, who are no other than diabolical personages, while the king, because he was too credulous, remains chained to the spot — a condition in which he wished to place the sorcerer at the beginning.
Survival status: Print exists.
Current rights holder: (unknown) [France]; Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 12 April 2024.
References: Altman-Sound p. 99; Lahue-Collecting p. 32 : Website-IMDb.
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