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Dislocation Extraordinary
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Wikipedia article
'Dislocation Extraordinary' , also known as 'Extraordinary Illusions', is a 1901 French short silent film by Georges Mlis. It was sold by Mlis's Star Film Company and is numbered 335336 in its catalogues.
Production and themes
The film is one of many in which Mlis plays with the idea of living body parts separated from their body; living dismembered limbs had been a feature of stage magic for some time, notably in the work of Nevil Maskelyne, one of Mlis's major influences. For 'Dislocation Extraordinary', Mlis combined this stage-magic tradition with the stock character of Pierrot, a commedia dell'arte character. The character had been familiar in Mlis's France since Jean-Gaspard Deburau's revival of commedia techniques in the first half of the 19th century.
The special effects were carried out with substitution splices and multiple exposures, aided by a black cloth background.
The film's Pierrot is played by Andr Deed, a music-hall acrobat. He worked with Mlis for some years, leaving in 1904 when he was hired by Path, to whom he revealed some of Mlis's secrets for special effects. Deed's later work includes the 'Cretinetti' (Foolshead) series. Mlis returned to 'Dislocation Extraordinary's "free-floating limbs" in 1903, when he featured them again in his film 'The Infernal Cakewalk'.
Release
The film's title for English-language markets was 'Dislocation Extraordinary'; however, Mlis scholar John Frazer, confusing it with a later Mlis film, referred to it as 'Extraordinary Illusions'. The latter title is also used for the film on at least one home video release.
References
Category:French black-and-white films
Category:Films directed by Georges Mlis
Category:French silent short films
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