The Christmas Dream
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''The Christmas Dream'' (french: Le Rêve de Noël) is a 1900 French silent Christmas-themed trick film directed by
Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use of ...
. It was released by Méliès's
Star Film Company The Manufacture de films pour cinématographes, often known as Star Film, was a French film production company run by the illusionist and film director Georges Méliès. History On 28 December 1895, Méliès attended the celebrated first publi ...
and is numbered 298–305 in its catalogues, where it was advertised as a ''féerie cinématographique à grand spectacle en 20 tableaux''.


Synopsis

In a richly decorated bedroom, two children are tucked into bed by an older woman, who then sits at a bedside table and begins to read. What follows is a series of images and vignettes related to the Christmas season. First is a fantastical landscape full of toys. A wizard in a crown and long robes supervises Christmas boxes being sent out. When he leaves, the scene is filled by a parade and a dance of dolls, led by a jester-like Pulcinella. As the dance grows into joyful pandemonium, the wizard rushes on in great annoyance and makes an attempt to restore calm. Next, on the roofs of an old village, snow falls as angels distribute boxes. The scene shifts to the entrance of a Catholic church, where young
bell-ringer A bell-ringer is a person who rings a Bell (instrument), bell, usually a church bell, by means of a rope or other mechanism. Despite some automation of bells for random swinging, there are still many active bell-ringers in the world, particularl ...
s are pulling their bell ropes and congregants are arriving from the snow for Mass. At the top of the belfry, a huge bell rings. Outside in the dark street, attendants with lanterns show the way into the church. At a sumptuous feast, a beggar is let in and given a seat at the table. The scene returns to the bedroom. It is Christmas morning, and the children awake to find presents waiting for them at the fireplace. The adults of the family arrive to greet the children. Finally, in a winter landscape with snow and icebergs, dancers celebrate the season and children marvel at a huge
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
.


Production and themes

The film, one of Méliès's cinematic contributions to the '' féerie'' genre, may have been inspired by a stage production of the same name, produced in 1896 at the
Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
music hall in Paris. The film's structure is highly theatrical, alternating familiar
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
scenes with fantasy elements in the manner of a stage féerie; the sequence with the hungry poor in the streets calls back to scenes from nineteenth-century
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
. Méliès appears in ''The Christmas Dream'' twice, as the wizard and as the beggar. The film includes symbols derived from the Christian tradition, including a sheep and a lion, as well as a motif emblematic of Méliès himself: a jester. The long and (for Méliès) unusually serene shot of a church bell ringing also functions as a symbol; it can be read as a communal ritual of peace, seen through a gently nostalgic lens. The production style is eclectic and theatrical, with a mix of clothing styles from several different eras and stylistic juxtapositions such as live pigeons in the same frame as a flat, painted cutout church bell. However, the film also includes more in-depth diagonal staging, realistically painted scenery, and naturalistic acting than is usual in Méliès's major productions. Special effects used in the film include stage machinery (for the church bell and the
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
that opens up),
substitution splice The substitution splice or stop trick is a cinematic special effect in which filmmakers achieve an appearance, disappearance, or transformation by altering one or more selected aspects of the mise-en-scène between two shots while maintaining th ...
s, and dissolves, which are used partially to help connect adjacent spaces, such as the inside of a church followed by the inside of its
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
. Méliès, one of the first filmmakers to use dissolves as a connecting transition, was likely inspired by the smooth scene changes in theatrical melodramas, which often used lighting, stage machinery, and other effects to flow continuously from one scene to another without dropping a curtain. The scene arrangement and staging combine to give a sense of dynamic, free-flowing movement, helping build a coherent atmosphere for the film's urban spaces.


Survival

An incomplete print of ''The Christmas Dream'', structured differently from Méliès's catalogue description and seemingly missing about 20 feet of film, survives at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
in London. It was released to home video in the 2000s, still incomplete. In a 1979 study, another print of the film was believed to survive in a private collection, but was unavailable for viewing at the time.


See also

*
List of Christmas films Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television; since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year d ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Dream, The 1900 films 1900 short films Films directed by Georges Méliès French silent short films French Christmas films Santa Claus in film French black-and-white films 1900s Christmas films Trick films