It is extremely rare for a film or television biography, even at its best, to be nothing more than impressionistic. This film is remarkable not for its own filmic qualities (although they are nonetheless most respectable) but for its wealth of information, impeccably presented and for its honesty ans accuracy as a work of scholarship that, for all that, is so cleverly organised and sensitively edited that it remains of absorbing interest for the most casual viewer. One very small point but an indicative one. The documentary like any biography (filmed or written, popular or academic) is parti pris to some extent in favour of its subject, especially as it involves the Méliès family who have been so active in promoting the memory and reputation of their remarkable ancestor. In spite of that, whenever a statement is made, usually by Méliès himself (whose own autobiography is very skilfully used) that might be a shade exaggerated, the narration very csrefully chooses its words, so as not on the one hand to disrespect Méliès or his (unfailingly intelligent)commentary but, at the same time, to admit a certain scepticism where appropriate.
It is rarissime for a film or television biography to be almost equally acceptable to the ordinary viewer and to the specialist in the field (which is my own case) and to have a good deal to offer to both. I must confess I expected a hagiography an a repetition of all the usual clichés concerning Méliès and was astonished to find that it virtually never erred in either of these respects.
It is a piece of work of the highest quality that does justice superbly to a man who remains one of the most important figures in the history of cinema.
