La Cinémathèque Méliès
Les Amis de Georges Méliès | |
Formation | 0 May 1961 |
---|---|
Founder | Madeleine Malthête-Méliès, Dr René Malthête |
Type | Non-profit |
Registration no. | 61/570, now 61/0005701 |
Purpose | Locate, gather, preserve and promote the work of Georges Méliès |
Headquarters | 11 rue de Belzunce, 75010 Paris |
Location |
|
Présidente | Mathilde Delamotte |
Secrétaire général | Anne-Marie Quévrain |
Website | cinemathequemelies |
The Cinémathèque Méliès – Les Amis de Georges Méliès is a non-profit French organisation (under French law "
Creation
In May 1961, Georges Méliès' granddaughter, Madeleine Malthête-Méliès,[3] and her husband Dr René Malthête, created an association called "Les Amis de Georges Méliès" ("Georges Méliès's Friends"), with the support of family members and of people who knew Méliès.[4] It was officially registered as an association in the French "Journal Officiel" on 16 June 1961.[5] On the same year, they all contributed to the exhibition held at the Cinémathèque française to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Georges Méliès’ birth[6]
History
Before 1961
In 1936,
As a screenwriter, film director, theatre director,
From 1961 to 2009: Locating, gathering and screening the lost films
The rights heirs decided that the royalties they received from screenings or exhibitions would be used to
In March 1961, 113 members attended the first founding meeting. Actors (like Françoise Rosay, Noël-Noël, Pierre Blanchar), politicians (such as President Albert Sarraut, and minister Henri Ulver), cinema historians (Georges Sadoul), and institutions (international film libraries and the French Federation of Magic) were present. Filmmaker René Clair was the honorary president of the association registered with the Préfecture de Paris in 1961.
In late 1961, the association could project 18 film copies bought by Dr Malthête from the
Thanks to solid and long-lasting relationships with film library directors (like Ernest Lindgren at the National Film Archive (N.F.A.) and David Francis at the BFI (British Film Institute) in London, Margareta Akermak and Eileen Bowser in New York City, Dr Breitenbach and Paul Spehr at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Myrtil Fryda and O. Svoboda in Prague as well as Jerzy Toeplitz (Poland), President of the F.I.A.F., and many others like Paolo Cherchi Usaï), films were identified, retrieved and exchanged.
In 1962, as they were touring the US, Dr Malthête and Madeleine located 31 films by Méliès deposited as Paper print in the Library of Congress in Washington. In 1977, Leon Schlesinger’ widow authorised Blackhawk Films to restore and copy some films: 49 were then added to the collection. In 1979, the Library of Congress (Washington) bought the whole Schlesinger's collection: Les Amis de Georges Méliès acquired 8 new films.
With those additions, the association put together a few programmes screened in Paris (at cinemas like Le Ranelagh, Le Seine, Studio 43, at
In 1981 the association organised at
In 1982, the association published a liaison bulletin deposited at the
In 1986, the association published 158 scénarios de films disparus de Georges Méliès by Jacques Malthête. It compiled 158 lost screenplays and enabled several researchers to identify films belonging to archives or collectors.
In 1988, "Cinémathèque Méliès" was added to the name of the association for Méliès' contemporaries had been passing away. It is under this denomination that the association started gaining attention from the public.
In addition to her activities in France, Madeleine Malthête-Méliès carried on touring North and South America, Africa and Europe. From the 1990s onwards, Marie-Hélène Lehérissey (André Méliès' granddaughter) stood in for her and toured the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. Musicians Jacques Pailhès and Lawrence Lehérissey accompanied the screenings on piano.
In 1996, a second Méliès colloquium took place at CCIC (led by Jacques Malthête and Michel Marie). The association took this opportunity to publish a supplement to the 1981 catalogue record analysis called Analyse descriptive des films de Georges Méliès rassemblés entre 1981 et 1996 par la Cinémathèque Méliès (27 films). 167 films were then part of the collection. This symposium led to a collaborative project with
Later, 17 previously unreleased films were found at a French collector's place and 6 more at the Filmoteca de Cataluña ; others were found in surprising (headquarters of the French Communist Party) or unlikely places (New Zealand, Australia). In 2002, Cinémathèque Méliès was official partner of the exhibition organised by EDF and the Cinémathèque Française. The association gave about a hundred musical screenings at EDF Espace Electra[9] and made a 25-minute documentary about the exhibition.
In 2008, the Cinémathèque Française organised an exhibition about Méliès
In 2009, 211 Méliès' films had been preserved. Some are available in various versions, which in terms of footage represents half his production. This is one of the best-preserved collections of works by a cinema pioneer.
After 2009
Still uncovering nitrate films in acceptable condition over a century after they were made is a miracle. Archives all over the world have been working hand in hand and the elements enabling the identification of a "Star Film" are known all over the world. Finding lost Méliès' films has now become highly unlikely. Yet film libraries from some countries can still hold some good surprises.
Méliès' films are copyright free in the United States and easily available on the Internet. In Europe (excluding Spain) his work has been in the public domain since January 2009 and therefore many musical screenings (ciné-concerts) have been organised all over the world.
In 2011, the Cinémathèque Méliès participated in the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Méliès' birth. It organised and made a great contribution to a third colloquium at the CCIC in Cerisy-la-Salle: Méliès, carrefour des attractions (led by André Gaudreault and Laurent Le Forestier).[12] The Cinémathèque Méliès decided to work with Studio-Canal again and gave them a batch of never before digitised films. A book was born from this collaboration: Georges Méliès à la conquête du cinématographe[13] containing the 2 previously released DVDs and a third one featuring unreleased films (music by Lawrence Lehérissey). Last but not least, the Cinémathèque Méliès contributed to publish a revised edition of Madeleine Malthête-Méliès' Georges Méliès l’enchanteur.[14]
In 2014, it became far too difficult for the Cinémathèque Méliès to preserve the films at the right temperature and humidity level. Therefore, the association gave the Cinémathèque Française 16 mm positive and negative elements (441 elements from 145 different films). But it has kept the ciné-concert programmes (some of which are digitalised) and many 35 mm elements.
Publications by the association
- 1961: Georges Méliès, créateur du spectacle cinématographique (in French). Published with the assistance of the Montreuil Georges Méliès cinema club, the Tourist office and the City of French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. p. 20.
- 1982: The Cinémathèque Méliès started publishing a bi-annual bulletin deposited at the BNF ISSN 0758-539X. It was replaced in 2000 by a newsletter.
- 1985: Malthête-Méliès, Madeleine (1985). Méliès l'enchanteur (in French). biography republished with an enhanced filmography by Jacques Malthête. p. 467. ISBN 2-9501060-0-5.
- 1986: 158 scénarios de films disparus de Georges Méliès (in French). 1986. ISBN 2-9501491-0-3.
- 1988: Méliès, Gaston; Malthête, Jacques (1988). Le voyage autour du monde de la G. Méliès Manufacturing Company, juillet 1912-mai 1913 (in French). p. 143. ISBN 2-9-501-491-1-1.
- 1996 :
- Malthête-Méliès, Madeleine; Combe, Jean-Paul (1996). "Analyse descriptive des films de Georges Méliès rassemblés entre 1981 et 1996 par la Cinémathèque Méliès". Cinémathèque Méliès (in French): 136. ISSN 0758-539X.
- The Cinémathèque Méliès also keeps copies of Malthête, Jacques (1996). Méliès images et illusions (in French). Exporégie. p. 256. ISBN 2-9504493-7-9.
- Malthête-Méliès, Madeleine; Combe, Jean-Paul (1996). "Analyse descriptive des films de Georges Méliès rassemblés entre 1981 et 1996 par la Cinémathèque Méliès". Cinémathèque Méliès (in French): 136.
Non-film collection and archives
The non-film collection belonging to Madeleine Malthête-Méliès — who bought most of the pieces with Dr René Malthête – was entrusted to the C.N.C. in 2004. The Cinémathèque Française now preserves this collection. It contains original drawings, productions stills, handwritten letters, costumes and objects.
The association also preserves the archives of activities and events it participated in from its creation, like letters from people and organisations who helped locating, gathering and bringing back to France a substantial part of Méliès' work.
Organisation
Presidents and general secretaries:
President: Jacques Peyrou (1961–2005), Mathilde Delamotte (2006 – Now)
general secretary: Dr René Malthête (1961–1978), Anne-Marie Quévrain (1979 – Now)
Association Headquarters: 11 rue de Belzunce, 75010 Paris, France.
References
- ISBN 978-2-7324-3732-3.
- ISBN 978-2-917819-12-8.
- ^ Madeleine Malthête-Méliès (1923–2018), Méliès’ granddaughter, lived with her grandfather from 1928 to 1938. She travelled around the world to find the lost films and reintroduce them in France. So, she held a collection of 192 films. From 2011 to 2014, she gave a major part of her collection (152 films) to the Cinémathèque française.
- ^ Voir l'article de Madeleine Malthête-Méliès, " La Cinémathèque Méliès: son histoire et ses activités ", Journal of Film Preservation, no 48, avril 1994 (ISSN 1609-2694)
- ^ Under number 61/570, now 61/0005701
- ^ "Henri Langlois". cinematheque.fr.
- ISBN 2-86563-077-3)
- ISBN 2-903053-07-3)
- ISBN 2-87900-598-1)
- ISBN 978-2-7324-3732-3)
- ^ "Jacques Malthête et Laurent Mannoni: Méliès, magie et cinéma – Vidéo dailymotion". Dailymotion. 4 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-2-7535-3394-3)
- ^ Auteur Julien Dupuy, Préface de Serge Toubiana, Éditions Studio Canal, Cinémathèque française, Fechner Productions, Issy-les-Moulineaux, EAN 505-0-582862-01-0
- ISBN 978-2-917819-12-8)