"Behind the theater is life and behind life, the theater. … Why not make reconstructed newsreels like Méliès did? Today we should showCastro andJohnson, played by actors. … People would love all that."
Between 1897 and 1902, the French filmmakerGeorges Méliès (1861–1938) made numerousactualités reconstituées ("reconstructed actualities"[2] or "reconstructed newsreels"[3]). Unlike conventionalactuality films, which presented real-life events or simple naturalistic scenes filmed in adocumentary style, these reconstructed actualities were dramatically stagedreenactments of current events, employingminiature models and theatrical techniques. Méliès particularly focused on capturing the spectacular nature of the events he recreated.[3] While little is known of the exact release dates for many of Méliès's films, it appears that the reconstructed actualities were offered for sale soon after the events they portrayed, when the news was still fresh in viewers' minds.[4]
These reconstructed actualities are part of a wider tradition of "faked" news film, a genre very popular in the early years of cinema. Between 1894 and 1900, every major film studio regularly produced reenactments of current events. Some of these films were deliberate hoaxes, intended to be misconstrued as actual footage of the events they portrayed; others were made with no intention to mislead audiences, and were designed simply as illustrations of the events.[5] In the case of Méliès, the reconstructed actualities were deliberately described as reenactments, and were not intended to be misconstrued as real. However, contemporary accounts suggest that some viewers assumed the films were genuine, and a few exhibitors even advertised the films falsely as such.[5] After a sustained period of popularity, the genre fell out of favor in the 1910s, apparently due to growing public distaste for artificiality in film reportage.[6]
Méliès's reconstructed actualities have been described as an early form ofdocudrama.[7] They can also be compared to the newspaper and magazineengravings of Méliès's time, many of which made a similar attempt to capture the essence of a news event rather than to simulate it realistically.[3]
The following annotated list collects the Méliès films identified by scholars as reconstructed actualities. The list includes the numbers assigned to them in the catalogues of Méliès's studio, theStar Film Company; the original French and English titles; the date of release; and whether the film survives or is presumedlost. Unless otherwise referenced, these data are derived from research published in 2008 by Jacques Malthête and Laurent Mannoni.[8]
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In the 1890s, about two-thirds of Greek people lived in lands controlled by Turkey (i.e., theOttoman Empire), such as the Greek island ofCrete.[9] Greek uprisings had occurred sporadically within the Empire from the 1860s onward;massacres occurred on both sides.[10] On 10 February 1897, a group of Greeks on Crete were killed in a massacre led by Turks.[4] Numerous European powers intervened, and war between Greece and Turkey was declared on 18 April. TheGreco-Turkish War ended when the involved European forces, not wanting Greece to be annexed by Turkey, arranged an armistice on 18 May.[9]
The Greco-Turkish War was the first military conflict to be captured on motion-picture film, as well as the first one to be recreated for the cinema with staged reconstructions.[11] One contemporary reviewer described Méliès's Greco-Turkish War films as "wonderfully realistic and extremely popular" thanks to "good scene-painting and realistic actors."[12]
| No. | French title | English title | Date | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103–104 | Épisode de guerre | War Episodes | 1897 (1897) | Lost | |
Very little is known about this film, which was listed as a Greco-Turkish War reconstruction by some twentieth-century Méliès scholars, includingGeorges Sadoul.[13] However, it is not included in Malthête and Mannoni's more recent list of Méliès's Greco-Turkish War films.[4] Since it appears to have been advertised under the titleLa Défense de Bazeilles, it was probably a film about theBattle of Bazeilles during theFranco-Prussian War of 1870.[13] | |||||
| 106 | La Prise de Tournavos | The Surrender of Tournavos | 1897 (1897) | Survives | |
In a skirmish in the Greek town ofTyrnavos, 20–23 April 1897, Turkish forces overpowered Greek forces, who subsequently left the city. Méliès's film shows Greek and Turkish soldiers fighting in a walled courtyard during this skirmish.[10] See themain article for more information. | |||||
| 107 | Exécution d'un espion | Execution of a Spy | 1897 (1897) | Lost | |
According to a British advertisement, this film showed a Greek spy being executed inFarsala, where the Greek forces had retreated (23–25 April) before it in turn was attacked by the Turks. In Germany and the Netherlands, however, exhibitors claimed that the film showed the execution of a Turkish spy.[10] | |||||
| 108 | Massacres en Crète | Massacre in Crete | 1897 (1897) | Lost | |
This film recreated one of the Turkish massacres of Christian Greeks, shortly before the beginning of the war.[10] The following recollection of a faked Greco-Turkish War film, reported secondhand byFrederick Villiers, is probably a description ofMassacre in Crete:[10] "Three Albanians came along a very white, dusty road toward a cottage on the right of the screen. As they neared it they opened fire; you could see the bullets strike the stucco of the building. Then one of the Turks with the butt end of his rifle smashed in the door of the cottage, entered, and brought out a lovely Athenian maid in his arms. You could see her struggling and fighting for liberty. Presently an old man, evidently the girl's father, rushed out of the house to her rescue, when the second Albanian whipped out hisyataghan from his belt and cut the old gentleman's head off."[14] | |||||
| 110 | Combat naval en Grèce | Sea Fighting in Greece | 1897 (1897) | Survives | |
In one of the Greco-Turkish War's few naval engagements, the Greek Navy attacked the town ofPreveza (18–20 April). According to a British advertisement, this was the engagement featured in the film,[10] which simulates the pitching and rolling deck of aman-of-war under fire.[12] See themain article for more information. | |||||
In June–August 1897, on the northwestern frontier ofIndia, Indians revolted against British colonists. Méliès made two films about the revolts.[4]
| No. | French title | English title | Date | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 134 | Combat dans une rue aux Indes | Fighting in the Streets in India | 1897 (1897) | Lost | |
No further information available. | |||||
| 135 | Attaque d'un poste anglais | Attack of an English Blockhouse | 1897 (1897) | Lost | |
No further information available. | |||||
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TheSpanish–American War broke out when, after the explosion and sinking of theUSSMaine inHavana Harbor on 15 February 1898, the United States intervened in theCuban War of Independence. The Spanish navy was defeated in theBattle of Santiago de Cuba and theBattle of Manila Bay, and theTreaty of Paris on 10 December 1898 signaled the end of theSpanish Empire.[15]
Méliès's films about the war, produced to a more ambitious standard than his Greco-Turkish reconstructions had been,[12][16] cover the sinking of theMaine as well as the ensuing conflict between Spain and the United States.[16] According to an announcement published on 1 May 1898, these films were presented at Méliès's theatre of illusions in Paris, the Théâtre de Robert-Houdin.[15]
| No. | French title | English title | Date | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 143 | Collision et Naufrage en mer | Collision and Shipwreck at Sea | 1898 (1898) | Lost | |
| 144–145 | Quais de La Havane (Explosion du cuirassé Le Maine) | The Blowing up of the "Maine" in Havana Harbor | 1898 (1898) | Lost | |
This film, showing the sinking of theMaine, may have used aminiature model. Since it was of double length, the film may have included two shots, one of which may have beenactuality film footage.[18] An American screening of the film was described as "illustrating the manner in which the Spaniards blew up our Battleship;" in Britain, theWarwick Trading Company called it simply "a faithful portrayal of this deplorable incident of the Spanish–American War."[18] | |||||
| 146 | Visite de l'épave du Maine | A View of the Wreck of the "Maine" | 1898 (1898) | Lost | |
No further information is available about this film, which may simply have been an alternative version of the ensuing film, number 147.[18] | |||||
| 147 | Visite sous-marine du Maine (plongeurs et poissons vivants) | Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine" (US) Divers at Work on a Wreck Under Sea (UK) | 1898 (1898) | Survives | |
This film, the most successful of the series, was shot through an aquarium to create an "underwater" effect with real fish, and shows divers retrieving a corpse from the wrecked ship.[18] See themain article for more information. | |||||
| 150 | Combat naval devant Manille | Defending the Fort at Manila (US) Defending the Fort (UK) | 1898 (1898) | Lost | |
This film showed a Spanish shore fortification being attacked by American gunfire. A contemporary synopsis described it as follows: "The interior of a fort. A big gun fires a salvo at the enemy. Many shells hit the fort and smash the walls. An enemy shell falls on the artillerymen, killing and wounding some of them."[18] Since this film showed a war incident from the Spanish point of view, it is possible that Méliès, like most of the French public, supported the Spanish side of the war rather than the American intervention.[19] | |||||
During or shortly after the trial ofAlfred Dreyfus inRennes, Méliès made a series of eleven short films about theDreyfus affair.[15] The series remains the most famous of Méliès's works in the reconstructed actuality genre,[20] and the film historianGeorges Sadoul described it as the first "politically engaged" work in cinema history.[21] See themain article for more information.
In 1902, Méliès made three final works in the reconstructed actuality genre:The Eruption of Mount Pelee,The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax", and his most complex reconstruction,The Coronation of Edward VII.[22]
| No. | French title | English title | Date | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 397 | Éruption volcanique à la Martinique | The Eruption of Mount Pelee (US) The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelée and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique (UK) | 1902 (1902) | Survives | |
This film uses miniature models to illustrate the eruption on 8 May 1902 ofMount Pelée, which destroyed the town ofSaint-Pierre, Martinique.[23] See themain article for more information. | |||||
| 398 | Catastrophe du Ballon Le Pax | The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax" | 1902 (1902) | Lost | |
This film was based on aballoon disaster that occurred in Paris on 12 May 1902.[24] See themain article for more information. | |||||
| —[a] | Le Sacre d'Édouard VII | The Coronation of Edward VII[25] | 1902 (1902) | Survives | |
This film, simulating thecoronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra before the actual event took place, was Méliès's most complex reconstructed actuality, and was successful worldwide.[22] See themain article for more information. | |||||
