The Crystal Casket

The Crystal Casket (French: Le Phénix ou le Coffret de cristal),[1] also known as The Magic Dice,[2] is a 1905 French short silent film by Georges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 686–689 in its catalogues.[1]

The Crystal Casket
Directed byGeorges Méliès
Based on"Le Dé Grossissant"
by Buatier de Kolta
StarringGeorges Méliès
Production
company
Release date
  • 1905 (1905)
CountryFrance
LanguageSilent

Méliès is the magician in the film, which is based on a famous stage magic act, "Le Dé Grossissant", conceived by the illusionist Buatier de Kolta. De Kolta made a die grow before the audience's eyes, then made his wife appear out of it.[3] The tricks in Méliès's version are carried out using a combination of stage machinery and substitution splices.[3]

A fragment of the film still exists, and has been released on home video.[2]

References
  1. Malthête, Jacques; Mannoni, Laurent (2008), L'oeuvre de Georges Méliès, Paris: Éditions de La Martinière, p. 349, ISBN 9782732437323
  2. Méliès, Georges (2008), Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema (DVD; short film collection), Los Angeles: Flicker Alley, ISBN 1893967352
  3. Essai de reconstitution du catalogue français de la Star-Film; suivi d'une analyse catalographique des films de Georges Méliès recensés en France, Bois d'Arcy: Service des archives du film du Centre national de la cinématographie, 1981, pp. 217–18, ISBN 2903053073


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