Barbe-bleue (1902 film)
Encyclopedia
Barbe-bleue is a 1902
silent
French
crime film
drama directed by Georges Méliès
. It was released on May 3, 1902.
written by Charles Perrault
who also wrote Cinderella
.
A sinister aristocrat known as Lord Bluebeard is looking for a beautiful woman to become his wife. Lured by his great riches, many noble families bring their most eligible daughters to meet him, but none of the young women want to marry him, both due to his ghastly appearance and because he has already had seven previous wives - all of whom have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Bluebeard's great wealth, however, persuades one father to give his daughter's hand to him. She has no choice but to marry him, and after a lavish wedding feast she begins her new life in his castle.
One day as Bluebeard is going away on a journey, he entrusts the keys to his castle to her, and warns his wife never to go into a certain room. Caught between the fear of her husband's wrath and her own curiosity, she is unsure of what to do regarding the forbidden chamber. Her curiosity manifests itself in the form of an imp who taunts and mocks her with potential promises that the room might contain, whereas her better judgement comes in the form of a guardian angel
, who attempts to dissuade her from entering the locked door.
When her curiosity finally gets the best of her, she realizes that she has placed herself in great danger. She enters the room, Melies at this point builds the suspense by keeping the lighting levels low, making out strange bag shapes. The room is revealed to be a torture chamber and these bags are revealed to be dead bodies; the seven past wives of the murderous Bluebeard hanging on hooks, dripping stale blood on to the floor. The new wife drops the key in her horror, and is stained with dead wives' blood which the wife relentlessly tries to wash off. Later that night she has a dream of seven giant keys haunting her with a sense of Freudian guilt from the dominating presence of Bluebeard. On Bluebeard's arrival he discovers his wife's untamable curiosity and violently shakes her. She runs to the top of the tower, and calls to her sister and brothers. Her relatives save her from death and pin Bluebeard with a sword to the castle walls. The angel appears to restore the murdered wives to life and they are married to seven great lords.
1902 in film
The year 1902 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 10 - Circuit Court's decision disallows Thomas Edison from having a monopoly on motion picture technology....
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
drama directed by Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects...
. It was released on May 3, 1902.
Synopsis
The film is based on the fairy tale of BluebeardBluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
written by Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
who also wrote Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
.
A sinister aristocrat known as Lord Bluebeard is looking for a beautiful woman to become his wife. Lured by his great riches, many noble families bring their most eligible daughters to meet him, but none of the young women want to marry him, both due to his ghastly appearance and because he has already had seven previous wives - all of whom have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Bluebeard's great wealth, however, persuades one father to give his daughter's hand to him. She has no choice but to marry him, and after a lavish wedding feast she begins her new life in his castle.
One day as Bluebeard is going away on a journey, he entrusts the keys to his castle to her, and warns his wife never to go into a certain room. Caught between the fear of her husband's wrath and her own curiosity, she is unsure of what to do regarding the forbidden chamber. Her curiosity manifests itself in the form of an imp who taunts and mocks her with potential promises that the room might contain, whereas her better judgement comes in the form of a guardian angel
Guardian angel
A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person or group. Belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity...
, who attempts to dissuade her from entering the locked door.
When her curiosity finally gets the best of her, she realizes that she has placed herself in great danger. She enters the room, Melies at this point builds the suspense by keeping the lighting levels low, making out strange bag shapes. The room is revealed to be a torture chamber and these bags are revealed to be dead bodies; the seven past wives of the murderous Bluebeard hanging on hooks, dripping stale blood on to the floor. The new wife drops the key in her horror, and is stained with dead wives' blood which the wife relentlessly tries to wash off. Later that night she has a dream of seven giant keys haunting her with a sense of Freudian guilt from the dominating presence of Bluebeard. On Bluebeard's arrival he discovers his wife's untamable curiosity and violently shakes her. She runs to the top of the tower, and calls to her sister and brothers. Her relatives save her from death and pin Bluebeard with a sword to the castle walls. The angel appears to restore the murdered wives to life and they are married to seven great lords.
Cast
- Georges MélièsGeorges MélièsGeorges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects...
... Barbe-bleue - Jeanne d'AlcyJeanne d'AlcyJeanne d'Alcy was the earliest French film actress. She was the wife of French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès from 1926 until his death in 1938....
... La nouvelle épouse de Barbe-bleue - Bleuette BernonBleuette BernonBleuette Bernon was a French film actress, who appeared in five films by Georges Méliès at turn of the 20th century. The first films, which were made in the 19th century, were usually without plot and had a runtime of just a few minutes. However, Georges Méliès evolved the genre of the fictional...
... La fée