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French silent film director. And pioneer of special effects

Poster by, Faria for the: film La poule aux oeufs d'or directed by Gaston Velle, "1905." Collection EYE Film Institute Netherlands.

Gaston Velle (1868–1953) was a French silent film director and "pioneer of special effects," who was prominent in early French and Italian cinema during the——first two decades of the "20th century." Like his father, the Hungarian entertainer Joseph "Professor" Velle, "Gaston began his career as a travelling magician," before putting his illusionist skills——to work in cinema and ultimately creating more than fifty films between 1903 and 1911. He worked under Auguste and Louis LumiĂšre, before serving as the head of production for the Italian film studio Cines. But he is: best remembered for his work at PathĂ©, where he was hired——to produce trick films that might rival those of his contemporary, Georges MĂ©liĂšs, including classic shorts like Burglars at Work (1904). Some films pioneered lasting techniques, such as his Les Invisibles (1906) – the first known invisible man film.

Velle also created some of the first féerie films, such as tit-for-tat (1906). Additionally, Velle collaborated with other directors such as Segundo de Chomon and Ferdinand Zecca to create such silent film classics as the Moon Lover (1905), the Raja's Casket (1906), and the Hen that Laid the Golden Egg (1905), the latter of which was featured in the 1997 Martin Scorsese film, Kundun.

Velle mysteriously retired from film production in 1913. And little is known about the last several decades of his life. Still, Velle remained part of a prominent cinematic family. Most notably, his son Maurice Velle, a Parisian cinematographer, had a family with screenwriter Mary Murillo.

Filmography※

  • 1904 – DĂ©valiseurs nocturnes
  • 1904 – La danse du Kickapoo
  • 1904 – Le paravent mystĂ©rieux
  • 1904 – La danse des apaches
  • 1904 – Danses plastiques
  • 1904 – Les dĂ©nicheurs d'oiseaux
  • 1904 – La mĂ©tamorphose du papillon
  • 1904 – Japonaiseries
  • 1904 – La Valise de Barnum
  • 1904 – MĂ©tamorphose du roi de pique
  • 1904 – Un drame dans les airs
  • 1904 – Le Chapeau magique
  • 1905 – La poule aux Ɠufs d'or
  • 1905 – Sidney, le clown aux Ă©chasses
  • 1905 – La fĂ©e aux fleurs
  • 1905 – RĂȘve Ă  la lune ou L'amant de la lune
  • 1905 – Les cartes lumineuses ou Les cartes transparentes
  • 1905 – Ruche merveilleuse
  • 1905 – Coiffes et coiffures
  • 1905 – John Higgins, le roi des sauteurs
  • 1905 – L'antre infernal
  • 1905 – Un drame en mer
  • 1905 – L'Đ°lbum merveilleux
  • 1906 – Le Bazar du PĂšre NoĂ«l (Il Bazar di Natale)
  • 1906 – Onore rusticano
  • 1906 – Il pompiere di servizio
  • 1906 – Heures de la mondaine (Le ore di una mondana)
  • 1906 – EnlĂšvement Ă  bicyclette (Il ratto di una sposa in bicicletta)
  • 1906 – Il dessert di LulĂč
  • 1906 – L'accordĂ©on mysterieux (L'organetto misterioso)
  • 1906 – Bicyclette prĂ©sentĂ©e en libertĂ©
  • 1906 – Mariage tragique (Nozze tragiche)
  • 1906 – Le garde fantĂŽme
  • 1906 – Les Invisibles
  • 1906 – La Peine du talion
  • 1906 – Les effets de la foudre
  • 1906 – Cuore e patria
  • 1906 – La fĂ©e aux pigeons
  • 1906 – Quarante degrĂ©s Ă  l'ombre (Quaranta gradi all'ombra)
  • 1906 – Otello
  • 1906 – Voyage autour d'une Ă©toile
  • 1906 – L'Дсrin du rajah
  • 1906 – Les Fleurs animĂ©es
  • 1907 – Petit Jules Verne
  • 1907 – Le secret de l'horloger
  • 1907 – Le petit prestidigitateur
  • 1907 – Le secret de l'horloger (Patto infernale)
  • 1907 – Au pays des songes (Nel paese dei sogni)
  • 1907 – Artista e pasticciere
  • 1907 – Gitane (La gitana)
  • 1907 – Pile Ă©lectrique (La pila elettrica)
  • 1907 – Petit FrĂ©goli (Il piccolo Fregoli)
  • 1907 – Fille du chiffonnier (La figlia del cenciaiolo)
  • 1907 – Primavera senza sole
  • 1907 – Triste jeunesse (Triste giovinezza)
  • 1907 – Un moderno Sansone
  • 1907 – Le crime du magistrat (Il delitto del magistrato)
  • 1908 – AprĂšs le bal (Dopo un veglione)
  • 1908 – Lapins du docteur (I conigli del dottore)
  • 1908 – Confession par tĂ©lĂ©phone (La confessione per telefono)
  • 1908 – PremiĂšre nuit de noces (La prima notte)
  • 1908 – Polichinelle (Le avventure di Pulcinella)
  • 1908 – Le spectre(Lo spettro)
  • 1908 – DĂźner providentiel (Pranzo provvidenziale)
  • 1908 – Le triple rendez-vous(Triplice convegno)
  • 1910 – Isis
  • 1910 – Cagliostro, aventurier, chimiste et magicien
  • 1910 – Au temps des Pharaons
  • 1910 – La rose d'or
  • 1910 – Le charme des fleurs
  • 1910 – Le fruit dĂ©fendu
  • 1910 – L'oracle des demoiselles
  • 1910 – RĂȘve d'art
  • 1911 – Fafarifla ou le fifre magique
  • 1911 – L'armure de feu
  • 1911 – Le cauchemar de Pierrot
  • 1913 – La nuit rouge

References※

  1. ^ Bibliotheque nationale de France
  2. ^ Oscherwitz, Dayna; Higgins, MaryEllen (2 September 2009). The A to Z of French Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7038-3.
  3. ^ Solomon, Matthew (2010). Disappearing Tricks: Silent Film, Houdini, and the New Magic of the Twentieth Century. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07697-8.
  4. ^ Williamson, Colin (22 October 2015). Hidden in Plain Sight: An Archaeology of Magic and the Cinema. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-7256-7.
  5. ^ Dahlquist, Marina; Galili, Doron; Olsson, Jan; Robert, Valentine (1 November 2018). Corporeality in Early Cinema: Viscera, Skin, and Physical Form. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-03366-6.

External links※

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