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A Spiritualistic Photographer
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Wikipedia article
'A Spiritualistic Photographer' is a 1903 French short silent film directed by Georges Mlis. It was released by Mlis's Star Film Company and is numbered 477478 in its catalogues.
The film parodies the faked images of ghosts created by Spiritualist mediums; Mlis, a fervent critic of Spiritualism, here uses it as an opportunity to show off a new special effect, a transformation created with a dissolve on a white background. Stage magic tricks featuring a similarly mocking attitude toward Spiritualism were often performed in the French fairgrounds for which Mlis produced many of his films. The film's concept can be seen as the reverse of those in Mlis's films 'The Living Playing Cards' and 'The Lilliputian Minuet'; in those films, living people come out of portraits, while in this case the portrait comes second.
Mlis appears in the film as the magician. The gilded setting and stools used here reappear in several of his other films. The special effects were created with pyrotechnics, substitution splices, dissolves, and multiple exposures.
The film survives in the form of a 35mm paper print.
References
Category:French black-and-white films
Category:French silent short films
Category:Films directed by Georges Mlis
Category:1903 films
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