| Tunneling the English Channel | |
|---|---|
 Production still for the film | |
| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
| Starring | Georges Méliès |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 23 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | Silent film |
Tunneling the English Channel (French:Le Tunnel sous la Manche ou le Cauchemar franco-anglais /Tunnel under the Channel, or the Franco-English Nightmare) is a1907silenttrick film by pioneer filmmakerGeorges Méliès.[2] The plot followsKing Edward VII and PresidentArmand Fallières dreaming of building a tunnel under theEnglish Channel.
The idea of building a tunnel under the Channel was much discussed in 1907; Méliès's film is a highly topical take on the popular subject.[3] Méliès appears in the film as the engineer who presents the blueprints for the tunnel.[2]Fernande Albany, an actress who also appeared in Méliès'sThe Impossible Voyage,An Adventurous Automobile Trip, andThe Conquest of the Pole, plays the leader of theSalvation Army parade.[4] King Edward was played by a wash-house attendant who closely resembled the monarch, reprising a role he had played five years before in Méliès's filmThe Coronation of Edward VII.[5] Special effects used in the film includestage machinery,pyrotechnics,substitution splices,superimpositions, anddissolves.[3]
Tunneling the English Channel was released by Méliès'sStar Film Company and is numbered 936–950 in its catalogues, where it was advertised as afantaisie burlesque à grand spectacle en 30 tableaux.[2] For many of his longer films, Georges Méliès prepared aboniment, a spoken commentary explaining the action, to be read aloud while the film was shown; according to the recollections of Méliès's son André Méliès, theboniment forTunneling the English Channel included dialogues between the French president and English king, with the latter speaking French in a thick English accent.[3] The composerBétove (real name Michel Maurice Lévy, 1883–1965) recorded a piano score for the film in 1946.[3]
American film criticJonathan Rosenbaum named it as one of his 100 favorite films.[6] The academic Elizabeth Ezra called it "one of Méliès's wittiest and most engaging films."[7]
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