(1906) Georges Méliès' The Hilarious Posters : Bringing Advertising to Life

In the realm of early cinema, Georges Méliès reigned as a master of illusion and spectacle. His films brimmed with fantastical transformations, clever special effects, and a whimsical sense of the impossible. The Hilarious Posters (1906) exemplifies Méliès' playful imagination, transforming static advertising posters into a chaotic and comedic world come to life.
The film opens with a seemingly ordinary street scene. A man walks along, pasting up various advertising posters on a large wall. However, once left alone, the figures on these posters magically spring to life. A gentleman offers a lady a drink, a maid pours them beverages from the adjacent poster, and the lady shifts to sample makeup from a cosmetics advertisement. Jealousy ensues, and soon the various animated characters engage in playful battles and absurd transformations.
The Hilarious Posters showcases Méliès' talent for crafting cinematic illusions:
Stop-motion Animation: This basic, yet effective, technique gives the impression of the static images gaining sentience. Méliès would halt filming, make changes to the scene, and then resume, creating the illusion of movement.
Superimposition: Méliès frequently used multiple exposures to seamlessly bring disparate elements together. Here, the animated poster people interact with their real-world surroundings and objects.
The humor in the film derives from absurdity and slapstick action. The poster figures, confined by their original advertisements, engage in increasingly ridiculous antics. A man attempting to court two women at once leads to a brawl, a man inflates like a balloon after imbibing too much drink, and figures constantly disappear and reappear as they interact with different posters. The chaos builds to a crescendo, with the poster-dwellers finally breaking through the confines of their paper world.
Music: Pappageno, W.A. Mozart.

[@neilfoster814]

Goerges Melies starred in the film 'Hugo', played by Sir Ben Kingsley. That was how I became aware of him and his amazing and pioneering work in the film industry. For the time, he was a genius.

[@RS3DArchive]

What a genius that guy was! Thanks for sharing. I usually don't go in for colorization but Melies would often tint his films to make them colorful. I think he would approve of what you've done here.

[@seandelap8587]

This could easily pass for any theatre act today but it was filmed in 1906 the colour really does give it a different connotation from what it would otherwise have

[@itsjuliescottyay]

I so enjoyed this. Amazing effects! The actors looked like they were having so much fun.

[@user-qt7nq5xl1m]

1906 brought to life in living color... Very awesome and fascinating.... Excellent choice

[@jett8193]

SO worth the watch, to the very end! Clever, delightful & very humorous~ I know I wouldn't wanna have to be the one to clean up stage after that show... Thanx much for sharing this gem!

[@Angela-Aberdeen]

Fantastic ‼️

[@troy4340]

Absolutely wonderful! ❤

[@jayjay-bz3rr]

Very creative

[@grannyh1143]

This was so fun!

[@jamiefoyers2800]

Earliest "Kit Kat" ad...I think all the poster characters coming to life says it all..."Have a break...have a Kit Kat"..then as soon as somebody passes along...back to still life in the poster...nice piece of film...

[@joryyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Magnifique, trop drôle 🤣🤣🤣

[@pattitroy5706]

Delightful ❤

[@bernardphilips3423]

Georges m’élise aurais aimé notre époque pour les immenses possibilité technique de notre epoque

[@davidlong1786]

The movie makers back then had to work with what tech they had, just like what the present day people do but of course with LOTS more options to use. Imagine some of the older movie makers in today's world. They would be some of the top techs. You make do with what you have.

[@candie2222]

Trop cool 😅

[@Abdulellahis300]

Amazing hahaha 😂 ❤

[@DesertLake35]

You know Bob Ross was here

[@dagobertkrikelin1587]

The AI interpolation seems a little off...

[@oliverfalco7060]

Zack King in the early 20th century

[@JohnnyChicago]

The AI someone used on this blurs the action out and makes the coloring worse on this short. The awful choice of a lazy piano classical song for such a joyful subject like this also threw me off too. Overall? 3/10😮‍💨

[@user-xh5dw4qy6q]

Was this film released in 1789?

[@donnabaardsen5372]

What? Read the title.

[@mrfunfart357]

1789?!?!? What your school teach you 1789 was way WAY WAY before flim was even Invented

[@seandelap8587]

No

[@bartobruintjes7056]

It was released in 1732.

[@itsjuliescottyay]

@@bartobruintjes7056😂

[@Sceolawylie]

That is remarkable coloring for a film made in 1906… true artists.