''Le Congrès des Nations en Chine'', released in the US as ''China Versus Allied Powers'' and in the UK as ''China Versus the Allied Nations'',
and also known as ''The Congress of Nations in China: A Topical Creation'' and ''China Against the Allies'',
was a 1900 French
silent satirical trick film
In the early history of cinema, trick films were short silent films designed to feature innovative special effects.
History
The trick film genre was developed by Georges Méliès in some of his first cinematic experiments, and his works remain th ...
directed by
Georges Méliès. It was released by Méliès's
Star Film Company and is numbered 327 in its catalogues.
[
]
Plot
According to a surviving catalogue description of the film:
Production
The film, probably made in the late summer of 1900, satirizes the allied coalition (Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, Japan, the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
) that was then staging military interventions in China, shortly before the Boxer Rebellion. (The rebellion itself is not mentioned in the surviving description of the film, and probably postdates it.)[ Méliès, whose films often side with the ]underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
(as is evidenced, for instance, in his film series '' The Dreyfus Affair''), reveals a pro-China stance in this film; this was a highly unusual position among European filmmakers, and indeed no other known film made at the time about the Chinese conflict portrays China sympathetically.[
The film is currently presumed ]lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
.[
]
Related films
The American film ''The Congress of Nations'', directed by J. Stuart Blackton of Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...
for the Edison Manufacturing Company
The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison and incorporated in New York City in May 188 ...
and copyrighted in September 1900, has a very similar plot, and may have been modeled on Méliès's film.[ Blackton's film, made in collaboration with the English magician and filmmaker Albert E. Smith and featuring Smith onscreen, survives as a ]paper print
Paper prints of films were an early mechanism to establish the copyright of motion pictures by depositing them with the Library of Congress. Thomas Alva Edison’s company was first to register each frame of motion-picture film onto a positive pape ...
. Blackton and Smith also borrowed the dissolve technique used in the film from Méliès, who had pioneered it in his successful 1899 film ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
''.
References
External links
*
{{Georges Méliès
1900 films
1900s lost films
French black-and-white films
French silent short films
Films about magic and magicians
Films directed by Georges Méliès
Lost French films
Trick films