Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The Infernal Caldron" is not among the French film pioneer's best works in my opinion. It runs for 1.5 minutes and basically shows us the devil cooking all kinds of stuff including a woman. This has to be one of the earliest supernatural fantasy films, even if Méliès liked the subject of the Devil in his works. The only somewhat interesting thing I found were the effects and the strong contrast between the protagonists in terms of their blue and red color. I don't know why another devil arrives at the scene or why he jumps into the pot in the end, but the story is certainly not this film's biggest strength. A bit surprising to see this among Méliès most famous works. Not even the colors can save this one I guess. Worth a watch for silent film enthusiasts, but not for everybody else.

JoeytheBrit Melies' typically lively imagination is once again evident here as he treats us to a macabre little scene in which a couple of demons capture unfortunate souls and bundle them into the eponymous cauldron only to then summon their spirits. The film is hand-coloured and is still in remarkably good condition, and Melies' trademark special effects are up to his usual standard - in fact they can stand comparison with the special effects in movies made 70 years later. There's not much plot, but then plot was never the most important thing to Melies - he was more concerned with visualising his incredible imagination on the screen. This one is a real treat.

Michael_Elliott Infernal Boiling Pot, The (1903) *** (out of 4) aka Chaudron infernal, Le One of the director's most popular films features two demons kidnapping people and throwing them into a boiling pot of water so that the demons can steal their souls. This hand colored film is a real joy and contains all the magic and playfulness that has made the director a legend. It's easy to see why this would be one of the director's most popular films because the special effects are terrific even after all these years. When the spirits begin to fly through the air, these scenes look great as does the finale when the spirits go up in flames. The film runs just over a minute but contains plenty of nice laughs and it's a real treat for the eyes. The coloring done here is also very good and manages to add a lot to the film especially those red flames that are constantly coming up.

Snow Leopard This colorful, macabre feature is also something of an interesting change of pace from Georges Méliès. His impish wit is at its most morbid here, and while the special camera effects are used less lavishly than usual, this also enhances their impact. The hand-tinted color is still vivid enough to add to the overall effect, with the greenish demons and the brightly flickering flames helping to set a sinister atmosphere.The brief story follows two demons as they toss three helpless captives into "The Infernal Boiling Pot", and then stir up the pot to see what comes out. The 'spirit' effect works particularly well, and the ghostly shapes show how versatile Méliès could be in varying his techniques as required. To be sure, the techniques used in much more recent movies have gotten us used to seeing effects like this, but for 1903 it is quite impressive, and it holds up very well.It would be interesting to know how the original viewers of this feature responded to it, since its ghoulish tone and vivid images contrasted with almost any other movie of its day. In any case, it is still an interesting feature that is definitely worth seeing.