The Knight of the Snow
About The Knight of the Snow
Princess Azurine, daughter of King Majolic, is promised to Baron Gauthier, the Knight of the Snows. Baron Hughes le Cruel wants her, fights Gauthier, then sells his soul to the demon Belphégor. With a dragon-drawn flying carriage he locks Azurine in a dungeon. Gauthier gets a magic rose and a ship from the sorcerer Alcofrisbas, brings her back to court, and Hughes is about to hang when Belphégor drags him under.
Cast & crew
More about The Knight of the Snow
Georges Méliès directed and plays Belphégor. Pathé Frères distributed it. The negative is 400 meters, and Wikidata times it at 16 minutes. Two Pathé cameras ran at once. The English Wikipedia says the linear cutting, unlike Méliès's usual style, implies Ferdinand Zecca recut the film before release. Effects use stage machinery, pyrotechnics, substitution splices, superimpositions, and dissolves.
Themes
Look
Two Pathé cameras filmed at the same time, and the release cut is more linear than Méliès's earlier work.
Preservation
A copy circulates on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The French title is Le Chevalier des Neiges.
- It was made while Méliès was under contract to Pathé, his old rival.
- The pace is slower than his earlier trick films, with more extras and more time spent setting up each machine effect.
- A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Scenes
- Belphégor, played by Méliès, carries Azurine off in a carriage pulled by a dragon.
- At the hanging, Belphégor pulls Hughes down to the underworld.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Knight of the Snows)
