Punch and Judy (film)
| Punch and Judy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
Production company | |
Release date | 1906 |
Running time | 40 meters/140 feet[1] Approx. 2.5 minutes (14 fps)[2] |
| Country | France |
| Language | Silent |
Punch and Judy (French: L'Anarchie chez Guignol) was a 1906 French silent comic trick film directed by Georges Méliès.
Plot[edit]
A group of children are watching a puppet show in an outdoor booth (identified as Guignol in the French release and Punch and Judy in the English one). The puppets are engaging in knockabout farce, battling with sticks, when in their excitement they jump off the puppet stage and become miniature people fighting on the ground. The puppet master, rushing out of the booth, tries frantically to herd the puppets back to the stage, but they grow to human size and get him entangled in their brawl. The puppets finally escape for good, and the delighted children rush upon the puppet master and bury him in a shower of confetti.[3]
Release[edit]
The film was released by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 871–873 in its catalogues. The complete film is currently presumed lost,[4] though a brief fragment was relocated in time for a 2008 DVD release.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ "L'Anarchie chez Guignol", le grimh, Groupe de Réflexion sur l'Image dans le Monde Hispanique, retrieved 7 August 2018
- ^ Frame rate calculation produced using the following formula: x feet / ((y fps * 60 seconds) / 16 frames per foot) = z minutes. See Elkins, David E. (2013), "Tables & Formulas: Feet Per Minute for 35mm, 4-perf Format", The Camera Assistant Manual Web Site (companion site for The Camera Assistant's Manual [Burlington, MA: Focal Press, 2013]), retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ Méliès, Georges (1905), Complete Catalogue of Genuine and Original "Star" Films, New York: Geo. Méliès, p. 106, doi:10.7282/T3CR5TJ3, retrieved 7 August 2018
- ^ Malthête, Jacques; Mannoni, Laurent (2008). L'oeuvre de Georges Méliès. Paris: Éditions de La Martinière. p. 350. ISBN 9782732437323.
- ^ Méliès, Georges (2008), Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema (DVD; short film collection), Los Angeles: Flicker Alley, ISBN 978-1893967359
