Extraordinary Illusions (1903)

• 58%
• 1903
• Comedy
• Georges Méliès

As the film begins, Georges Melies himself is sitting on a table before a painted stage backdrop, wearing an Asian outfit, fanning himself. He rises, and in a blink the Asian outfit is replaced by his magician's tux. He makes a stool flip itself in the air, then change into a box labeled [in English] "Magical Box." From it Melies produces a woman's limbs and separate torso, all of which he drapes onto a clothes rack. At his command a woman's head flies out of the box and into his hand; he places it atop the other parts, and instantly it becomes a live woman. They dance together, then he yanks off her clothes in one sweeping gesture to reveal another outfit underneath. He flings a wig and hat onto her, and they dance once more. When the woman turns herself into a male chef in white uniform, complete with hat, Melies is displeased; he strikes the chef who explodes in white feathers. He reconstitutes the feathers into the woman, but as they take a bow together she turns herself back into the chef. Enraged, Melies strikes the chef, dismembering him. The stage is littered with body parts, which then vanish. Melies returns to his original position on the table and dances merrily as he fades to nothingness, and the film ends.