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Le tunnel sous La Manche ou Le cauchemar franco-anglais (1907) Online

Le tunnel sous La Manche ou Le cauchemar franco-anglais (1907) Online
1907 Fernande Albany Jehanne dAlcy Georges Méliès Georges Méliès
Original Title :
Le tunnel sous La Manche ou Le cauchemar franco-anglais
Genre :
Movie / Short / Adventure / Fantasy
Year :
1907
Directror :
Georges Méliès
Cast :
Fernande Albany,Jehanne d'Alcy,Georges Méliès
Type :
Movie
Time :
23min
Rating :
6.6/10

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Le tunnel sous La Manche ou Le cauchemar franco-anglais (1907) Online

Just as Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902) imagined a manned moon landing nearly seventy years before it happened, so, too, does he anticipate the opening of the Channel in 1994 with this 1907 short. King George VII of England and President Armand Fallières of France meet to discuss digging a tunnel under the English Channel and then dream about the venture in their adjoining staterooms. Fascination with the scientific advances of the time in air transportation and engineering mix with fanciful dream images. The hand tinting that still survives in the second half of the film enlivens the proceedings.
Credited cast:
Fernande Albany Fernande Albany
Jehanne d'Alcy Jehanne d'Alcy - (as Jeanne d'Alcy)
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès


User reviews

Arthunter

Arthunter

Tunneling the Channel (1907)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

aka Le Tunnel sous la Manche ou le cauchemar anglo-français

This fourteen-minute film is the perfect example of the saying "The Magic of Melies." The French president and the English king have a meeting and then that night they both dream about building a tunnel to connect their beloved homes. We then see how the tunnel would be built and the final outcome of such an adventure. TUNNELING THE CHANNEL is a perfect film to show someone unfamiliar with what the French master could do because it's just so entertaining and the level of imagination going on will keep a smile on your face from start to finish. I think some of the greatest moments happen when we see the tunnel once it's finished and we get to see how it's going to be used. I really enjoyed the little touches that Melies brought to the picture including the fish in the water above the tunnel. I also really liked the special effects and especially the one at the very end, which I won't mention so that I don't give the surprise away. The film starts off in B&W but turns over to the hand tint and it's quite beautiful and very effective.
Ximinon

Ximinon

"Tunnelling the English Channel" is a slightly amusing fantasy- adventure film from Georges Méliès. In it, England's King Edward VII and France's President Armand Fallières share a dream (literally) of creating a tunnel through the English Channel, or, as the French call it, "La Manche". Although the tunnel wouldn't become a reality until nearer the end of the 20th Century, this wasn't really science fiction back in 1907, as there had been proposals and plans for it for some time even by then, but which were largely held up for political and national security concerns. Nevertheless, it served Méliès well for lampooning. One scene has the two leaders in giant form on their respective sides of the Channel stretching their arms like rubber in an attempt to shake hands. There's also a split-screen view of the politicians' adjoining rooms that's actually a double-chamber set, a good crosscut of two cutaway scenes of both sides making their way to completing the undersea connection, plenty of flag waving and some mild knockabout humor.

(Note: The print is in bad shape for the first half of the film— being dark and contrasty—but the second half is of decent quality and is hand colored.)