An early sci-fi film that was unseen for over a century is now free to view, thanks to the Library of Congress. After about 10 pre-WWI reels of film were dropped off at the institution, rusted and out of shape, librarians carefully began taking them apart and inspecting them. During the restoration process, they realized that they were looking at Gugusse et l’Automate (Gugusse and the Automaton) by George Méliès. It’s a long-lost film with a lot of cinematic history packed into its short, 45-second-long runtime.
Gugusse et l’Automate is the first film to feature a robot, making it famous in the sci-fi world. In the 1897 film, Gugusse the magician starts by winding up his marching child automaton, Pierrot Automate. As Gugusse continues to wind, Pierrot ages abruptly several times until he is a full-grown man. Pierrot seems to malfunction and whacks Gugusse on the head in slapstick fashion. Gugusse carries his automaton down from its pedestal and repeatedly hits it with a comically large mallet. With each slapstick hit, the automaton appears to shrink until it disappears completely. The film ends abruptly, and some experts believe some of the end footage was lost. The footage is a duplicate, at least three times removed from the original, due to widespread pirating taking place at the time.
Méliès was a French filmmaker, actor, magician, and toymaker. He is known as a pioneer of tricks, specifically in the fantasy and sci-fi genres. Tricks like double exposure, black screens, forced perspective, and the jump cut, which can be seen in Gugusse et l’Automate. He loved to experiment and innovate, and his impact is observed throughout cinema today. More than a century after Gugusse et l’Automate, Martin Scorsese made a film in 2011 about a boy and an automaton in 1931 Paris, titled Hugo, as a tribute to Méliès.
The reels were donated by Bill and Mary McFarland from Michigan. Bill’s great-grandfather was a traveling showman. Thankfully, Bill and other descendants kept and preserved Gugusse et l’Automate and other films, even if in less-than-ideal circumstances, so we now have a peek into history.
The short 45-second film by George Méliès is considered one of the first of the sci-fi genre and was carefully restored by librarians at the Library of Congress.
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Gugusse the magician winds up his automaton, Pierrot, and Méliès experiments with the jump cut to suddenly age Pierrot up.
Sources: Lost 19th century film by Méliès discovered at the Library, Lost for More Than a Century, the First ‘Sci-Fi’ Film Ever Made Resurfaces
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