''Tunneling the English Channel'' (french: Le Tunnel sous la Manche ou le Cauchemar franco-anglais / ''Tunnel under the Channel, or the Franco-English Nightmare'') is a

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

by pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès. The plot follows

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and President

Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 – 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. He was born at Mézin in the ''département'' of Lot-et-Garonne, France, where his father was clerk of ...

dreaming of building a tunnel under the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Production

The idea of building a tunnel under the Channel was much discussed in 1907; Méliès's film is a highly topical take on the popular subject. Méliès appears in the film as the engineer who presents the blueprints for the tunnel.

Fernande Albany Fernande Françoise Raoult, known professionally as Fernande Albany (22 December 1889, Lison – 25 November 1966, Paris), was a French actress in theatre and film. Career Albany appeared in many of the films of Georges Méliès. Her work ...

, an actress who also appeared in Méliès's ''

The Impossible Voyage ''The Impossible Voyage'' (french: Le Voyage à travers l'impossible), also known as ''An Impossible Voyage'' and ''Whirling the Worlds'', is a 1904 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by Jules Verne's play '' Journey Throu ...

'', ''

An Adventurous Automobile Trip ''An Adventurous Automobile Trip'' (french: Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en automobile or ''Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en deux heures'') is a 1905 French short film, short silent film, silent comedy film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, ...

'', and ''

The Conquest of the Pole ''The Conquest of the Pole'' (french: À la conquête du pôle) is a 1912 French silent science fantasy film directed by and starring Georges Méliès. The film, loosely inspired by contemporary events and by Jules Verne's ''Voyages Extraordinai ...

'', plays the leader of the Salvation Army parade. King Edward was played by a wash-house attendant who closely resembled the monarch, reprising a role he had played five years before in Méliès's film '' The Coronation of Edward VII''. Special effects used in the film include

stage machinery Stage machinery, also known as stage mechanics, comprises the mechanical devices used to create special effects in theatrical productions. See also * Scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the ...

, pyrotechnics, substitution splices,

superimposition Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. Graphics In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to t ...

s, and dissolves.

Release and reception

''Tunneling the English Channel'' was released by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 936–950 in its catalogues, where it was advertised as a ''fantaisie burlesque à grand spectacle en 30 tableaux''. For many of his longer films, Georges Méliès prepared a ''boniment'', a spoken commentary explaining the action, to be read aloud while the film was shown; according to the recollections of Méliès's son André Méliès, the ''boniment'' for ''Tunneling the English Channel'' included dialogues between the French president and English king, with the latter speaking French in a thick English accent. The composer Bétove (real name Michel Maurice Lévy, 1883–1965) recorded a piano score for the film in 1946. American film critic

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...

named it as one of his 100 favorite films. The academic Elizabeth Ezra called it "one of Méliès's wittiest and most engaging films."

References

External links

* 1907 films French silent short films French black-and-white films Films directed by Georges Méliès 1900s French films {{1900s-France-film-stub