Le manoir du diable

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with a large bat flying into a medieval castle. The bat circles the room, before suddenly changing into Mephistopheles, an incarnation of the Devil. Mephistopheles produces a cauldron and an assistant, who helps him conjure a woman from the cauldron.
The room is cleared shortly before two cavaliers enter. The devil's assistant pokes their backs before instantaneously transporting to different areas of the room, confusing the pair and causing one to flee. The second stays and has several other tricks played on him, such as furniture being moved around and the sudden appearance of a skeleton. The cavalier is unfazed, using a sword to attack the skeleton, which then turns into a bat, then into Mephistopheles, who conjures four spectres to subdue the man. Recovering from the spectres' attack, the man is visibly dazed and is brought the woman from the cauldron, who impresses him with her beauty. Mephistopheles then turns her into a withered old crone in front of the man's eyes, then again into the four spectres.
The second cavalier returns and after a brief show of bravery, flees again, this time by leaping over the balcony's edge. After the spectres disappear, the cavalier is confronted face-to-face by the Devil before reaching for and brandishing a large crucifix, which causes the devil to vanish.

Tags: paranormal, gothic

Review:
Containing some elements of later vampire films..
The very first horror movie was not 1896's Le Manoir Du Diable (The Devil's Castle), in fact, Georges Melies' Un Nuit Terrible that features a giant insect, is his first production in the horror genre, anticipating the creature-on-the-loose plots of the fifties.
However, Le Manoir Du Diable is the first film to feature hints of the vampire.
Its running time barely three minutes, and made by and starring Melies.
Looking at it many years later it seems primitive and crude, but it also displays an imaginative exuberance and joy that makes it one of film history's little treasures.The Devil played by Melies himself, has a kind of carnival charm.
In a castle, a flying bat turns into the Devil.
The Devil makes a cauldron magically appear.
Our villain clearly panicked, there is a puff of smoke and the Devil is gone.Because of the brazen, Gothic quality of Le Manoir Du Diable, its brief running time is not a limitation.
Read books like " The Satanic Screen: An Illustrated Guide to The Devil in Cinema" by Nikolas Schreck and Allan Hunter's "Chambers Concise Encyclopedia of Film and Television." Find odd-man-out wonders like Le Manoir Du Diable and enjoy horror's timeless feast..
This Georges Melies film is one of the very first films to dip into the horror genre.
As was usual for a Melies production it's full of visual trickery and invention, while obviously being stagey and crude due to it's incredibly old age.
It certainly must be one of the first films to make reference to vampires with its bat that turns into Satan.
The simple narrative involves this character manifesting himself in an old castle and then conjuring up a cauldron, a young woman and old man.
Like all of Melies films, this one isn't about story-lines.
And it took many years for both audience and film-makers to work out how to do it.
So these early films like the Melies ones were mainly a means of showcasing visual trickery, a way of letting people see the impossible.
It's well worth any fan of cinema taking a few short minutes of their time out to watch these ancient films, not only because they are the very first primitive twitches of cinema but also because they are fascinating historical documents in themselves..
this film, although generally seen as the first horror, was in fact originally intended to amuse rather than scare.
its only when you look at it with todays understanding of horror conventions that we see it as such.
yes, it does correspond with the whole dark and impending thing and have aspects of the supernatural and creatures that we, as a modern cinema going audience connect automatically with horror, but if you view it as those at the time would have, you start to see that contrary to being a fear inspiring piece, it is actually a very interesting and cleverly put together series of artistic images.
So, when I see Georges Méliès with his silly bats, imps and devils appearing and disappearing, I can't help but admire him as this is among the first films to even try such 'advanced' special effects.
Sure, you might laugh at it now, but audiences of the day were mesmerized as these effects seemed to appear and disappear as if by magic--though it's obvious to folks now that the director simply stopped and re-started the film to achieve the effect.
I wouldn't call it comic per say like a view of the previous reviewers thought but a film to try and get a thrill out of an audience.
Georges Melies with his little gem may have kick started the horror genre to a place it may not be at with this type of movie.
House of the Devil has horror elements and essentials such as ghosts, witches, skeletons and the devil himself in form of a bat.
Take a look if you want to watch something very old and neat from a time way way forgotten..
Innovative horror film-making.
Must cinema buffs already know that Georges Melies was a cinema pioneer who single-handled devised many of the tropes that are now familiar to us as modern cinema-goers, and THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is another example of his skill as a film-maker.The story sees the Devil at work in his spooky old castle, summoning up various creatures in a bid to commit evil.
Unfortunately he falls foul of an upright Christian, who uses the power of the cross to dispel his opponent.The three minute running time is chock-full of the special effects work that Melies loved to put on screen, particularly the use of jump cuts to make figures appear and disappear at will.
With a plethora of imps, spirits, bats, and ghouls, Melies single-handedly invented the horror genre, one which is still going strong all these years later..
Impressive For The Era. Melies Is Probably One Of The Best Technicians Of Film Ever.
In Comparison With Films Of The Time This Is Probably The Best Film Of The 1890's.I Have Seen Melies' More Famous Counterpart "A Trip To The Moon", That Is More Entertaining But This Film Has Less References To Racial Slurs (The Moon Men Are Often Criticised For Being Representations Of Africans) And In This You Don't Question Anyone's Movtives (Seriously Who Takes A Nap The Minute They Get To The Moon?) I Heard This Is Considered The First Vampire Film.
Simply, No. The Only Representation Of That Mythology Is Melies' Character Entering As A Bat Then Turning Human, By The Way Named Mephistopheles Who Is A Demon For Those Who Read Up On The Subject.I Can't Really Find A Downside Besides Its Not Really As Entertaining As It Would've Been 116 Years Ago. Besides That I Thought This Movie Was Well Done Technically.Overall I Liked It But Not As Much As "A Trip To The Moon".
Le manoir du diable (1896) *** (out of 4) aka The House of the DevilEarly Georges Melies trick film has a bat appearing inside a castle when it then transforms into the Devil himself.
LE MANOIR DU DIABLE is going to be a big interest to those Melies die-hards such as myself but I think horror fans will also get a real kick out of this.
To say this isn't one of the earliest examples of a horror film would be rather crazy because not only do we get the Devil and black magic but there are also ghosts, a skeleton and various other ghastly images.
Melies was clearly years ahead of everyone else and the effects still hold up quite well today.
I really loved how the different people began to appear even though the editing effects are quite obvious.
Amazing for the time in all sorts of ways.
There are dozens of ways that this three minute movie is amazing for the day.
"Le Manoir du Diable" is one of filmmaker Georges Melies's earliest trick movies.
But, having discovered special effects earlier the same year, he began experimenting with them, reproducing a stage magician's act with "The Vanishing Lady" and going even further to turn out "The House of the Devil".I have many things to say about this film.
I'll begin with the 'first vampire movie' thing.
Yes, there is indeed a bat included--but it is actually Mephistopheles, an incarnation of the devil, which it turns into.
Only looking at movies today about vampires do we look back at this and misinterpret it.
I cannot believe how stupid people can be nowadays.Is it a horror film?
According to Wikipedia, "The House of the Devil" was originally meant to amuse rather than scare.
The thing is, it looks so much like a horror.
The ghosts that appear actually DO look a little creepy.
It may not have originally meant to have been a horror, but one cannot deny that the whole theme makes it so from start to finish.As for the rumor going around that Melies played Mephistopheles, I have something to say about that too.
Wikipedia's article makes no mention of Melies having ever appeared in this short at all; however, according to my own beliefs, he played the cavalier character who is the victim of Mephistopheles's traps.
Melies's acting always has a certain joyful charm whenever he is in front of a movie camera, whether he's playing a frightened inn guest, a magician or the devil.
The devil here doesn't really feel like Melies at all, but instead comes across as sinister and lurking.
On the other hand, the cavalier not only looks like Melies, he comes off as very lively, amusing and every bit as childish as you'd expect from Melies's acting.
The actor for Mephistopheles's role still remains uncertain, though Georges Sadoul, a film historian, believes him to have been played by Jules-Eugene Legris, a performer at Melies's Theatre Robert-Houdin.Now that we've cleared that up, we can get on to see just how amazing this movie is for the time.
As I said before, Melies's earliest films were exactly like other films of the day--documentaries of ordinary life with no attempt to tell a story of any sort.
Just a bunch of guys appearing and disappearing in a castle.
Audiences had no idea how anyone could film stuff like this--they were spell-bound.
Not only does "The House of the Devil" contain special effects, it has a really (and this is sincere) cool looking set which sets the scene for the interior of the castle.
Behind the main set, there is another doorway guarded by a cardboard knight (which was later reused in Melies's films "A Nightmare" and "The Haunted Castle", I believe).
Behind that is another painted backdrop which is supposed to look like other doorways, later replaced by a balcony set so the second cavalier can jump off.
(A little odd, that change of sets, but Melies hadn't yet invented multi-scene narratives).
The dwarf appearing in puffs of smoke effect looks very convincing, while both transformations from bat to devil are actually surprisingly well done.
While all Melies used was just a simple splice to do all the effects, I think it actually looks better than could be hoped for.The whole thing was filmed out in Melies's garden in Montreuil, but watching it you wouldn't really know it since the sets are so convincing looking (at least to me).
While it may be a bit padded, that is actually a good thing since a three minute movie from 1896 was very rare.
This is truly amazing for the time and proof that Melies was one h--l of a guy..
I'm sure the appearing and disappearing in this brief film must have been quite entertaining to the viewers in 1896.
Anyway, at three minutes or so, there is a lot of action and one of the great early masters of film begins to feel his oats.
Titled 'The Devil's Castle' here in the UK, it is claimed to be the very first "horror" film due to the imagery of spectres, demons and vampirism.
In actual fact, it's intended to be a comedic fantasy short where the Devil conjures up phantoms to subdue two cavaliers who have entered a medieval castle.
Méliès managed to translate pantomime to motion picture, where the results have surprisingly aged well considering it's over 120 years old (1896).
Méliès' usage of the quick cut editing technique does seem viscerally raw, where the lack of seamless transitions make the illusory disappearing effect incredibly noticeable, but however marks him as one of the finest experimentalists of that era.
Méliès pioneered cinema with an array of genre firsts and, considering this was presumed lost until 1988, am fortunate he was able to convey his crazy fantasy thoughts onto film.
A simple three minute short that is very rough around the edges, but allowed an illusionist to bewilder his audience through ghostly magic..
Méliès, the Devil..
Georges Méliès was more like an experimenter, who took advantage of the invention of the first film cameras to create innovative techniques in this art.
This is what, as we see, he had more in common with other filmmaking pioneers of that time, such as Lumiere brothers, only the difference is that the latter were "scientists" experimenting with their new creation, while Méliès, who was also a professional magician, aimed to impress the audience with their tricks, something that in this case, he greatly does.This short, while it has a simple set-up (but there was a clear intention to tell a story after all, something that was not very common in other "films" at that time), is quite interesting and reasonably entertaining, and it allows the showcasing of very good special effects.It has a few comic relief characters, such as the cowardly cavalier, whose final scene has a bit of dark humor, or the villain's assistant (a possible precedent of Igor from Frankenstein?), which work all right.Perhaps some will find it confusing due to the pace being too fast but the results are worthy.Even though he would end up doing more notable works, in this one, you can already perceive Méliès' talent to entertain and amaze, something that many directors today do, or at least try.
And the fact that it is said that he played a cunning mastermind (the Devil itself), brings a bit of irony to the table..
It's simply INCREDIBLE what magic Georges Melies - a real-life trained magician - was able to bring to the screen in those very early days of cinema; and "Le Manoir Du Diable" was his first great masterpiece of special effects that must have absolutely baffled the audience at the time.
The way ghosts and devils and people disappear and reappear, the sudden flame bursts, menaces lurking literally everywhere - it's REAL magic.
And there's even an underlying sense of humor, which is so characteristic for Melies' fantasy, sci-fi, and horror shorts; VERY few people have contributed as much to the development of cinema as an ART form as Georges Melies - and this unique masterpiece, born in the 19th (!!) century, is one of the best examples for his genius!.
Is this really the first vampire movie?.
According to The Encyclopedia of Horror Movies, Edited by Phil Hardy, that's what this film is supposed to be.
The version of this on YouTube is listed as 1 minute 28 seconds in length, but the entire beginning portion is a newer introduction showing miniature sets that resemble the actual sets in the 1896 film.
Related films of Georges Melies include LE DIABLE AU COUVENT (1899) and A LA CONQUETE DU POLE (1912), in which a gigantic "abominable snowman" type monster crushes a human explorer.
LE MANOIR DU DIABLE is very much a stage pantomime, with the characters running about, and absolutely no subtitles.
By the way, no one in America that I've met seems to know how to pronounce Georges Melies' name correctly.
Not a official Vampire Movie.
But on first glance, this film is no official Vampire Film and second film was also too short, but 2 minutes!
The French film - Le Manoir Du Diable (1896) (The Devil's Castle) was the first short horror movie.
The 'real' count of the Vampire Films started in the year 1909 - Titel: ''The Vampire of the Coast'' (1909).
This -> Trivia: May be the first horror and "vampire" film is nonsense!
''In a castle, a flying bat turns into the Devil'' - this says enough that this vampire is essentially no!
The titles of this Movie say it enough: Also Known As: Manor of the Devil, The Devil's Castle, The Devil's Manor, The Manor of the Devil (english) - This is not about a Vampire, but the Devil!.
I'm not interested in retroactively assigning early films to the horror genre, as others seem to desire by claiming this film, "Le manoir du diable", as some sort of first horror film or to misunderstand the bat transformation to devil character here to be a vampire.
Rather, this is another trick film, which Méliès made many of.
Mephistopheles is the director-magician's surrogate, allowing a slight narrative construction around the attraction of substitution-splices (a.k.a. stop substitutions), as the devil terrorizes a lord/cavalier with various appearances, disappearances and substitutions.
By the way, I'm quite sure that Méliès plays the Faust-type lord/cavalier character and not Mephistopheles, despite several sources stating otherwise.
Thus, Méliès plays the victim to the magic perpetrated by himself as the film's director and editor.For a film of 1896, this is a rather elaborate fiction subject and production.
Most films at this time were actualities of ordinary events, popularized by the Lumiére Company.
Soon, Méliès would create the first decent movie studio, but for this film, he at least created a makeshift, painted cardboard set in the open air (see the shadows).
According to catalogues, the film originally ended with the devil being bashed into smoke, but this part seems to be lost.
It now ends with Méliès holding a cross to corner Mephistopheles.) EDIT: Flicker Alley has now also put this film on DVD in Region 1..
This short film is packed with fantastic effects for the time.
The film shows a bat transform into the devil who proceeds to conjure all manner of creatures.
It didn't happen too often that the possibly most notable early silent movie director, Georges Méliès, overshoots the mark, but this is one example where he did.
This film is packed with the the diabolically supernatural as well as with Méliès' usual magic tricks, show etc.
Unfortunately he goes for quantity over quality from start to finish and packs so much action in this short film that it's just one spectacular thing happening after the other and the story pays the price for it.
I wish he had focused a bit more on precision instead of turning this basically into a showcase of 3 minutes that also lacks quality in terms of the physical aspect of the film itself.
Méliès has done better many times.