The Dreyfus Affair - L'Affaire Dreyfus (1899)
Released in 1899, L'Affaire Dreyfus (The Dreyfus Affair) is a landmark in cinematic history. Directed by the legendary French filmmaker and illusionist Georges Méliès, it was a daring departure from his typical whimsical fantasies like A Trip to the Moon. Instead, Méliès dove headfirst into the most explosive political scandal of his time.
The Historical Context
To understand the film, one must understand the scandal. Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the French army, was falsely accused of treason in 1894. The case divided France into two vitriolic camps: the "Dreyfusards" (who supported his innocence) and the "Anti-Dreyfusards" (often fueled by antisemitism and nationalism).
Méliès, a staunch Dreyfusard, produced this film while the real-life events were still unfolding—specifically during Dreyfus's 1899 retrial in Rennes.
Technical and Narrative Innovation
The film was groundbreaking for several reasons:
The First "Feature" Docudrama: At roughly 13 minutes long, it was an epic by 1899 standards. Most films at the time were less than a minute long.
The Serial Format: It consisted of 11 individual short films (tableaux) that could be purchased and screened separately or together as a continuous narrative.
Realism over Magic: Méliès abandoned his "stop-trick" photography and stage illusions to create a somber, realistic aesthetic. He used meticulously painted sets to recreate locations he couldn't access, like the prison on Devil’s Island.
The 11 Scenes of the Film
Dreyfus’s Arrest
The Degradation of Dreyfus (The famous breaking of his sword)
Dreyfus at Devil’s Island
Dreyfus Put in Irons
Suicide of Colonel Henry
Landing at Quiberon
The Court Martial at Rennes
The Attempt on Lawyer Labori
The Fight Between Journalists
The Meeting of Dreyfus and His Wife at Rennes
The Verdict
The "Riotous" Reception
The Dreyfus Affair holds the dubious honor of being one of the first films to be banned due to the civil unrest it caused.
Cinema Brawls: When the film was screened, audiences—composed of both Dreyfusards and Anti-Dreyfusards—frequently broke into physical fights. In some theaters, the police had to be called to stop the riots.
Government Intervention: Because it provoked such violent reactions, the French government eventually banned the film. In fact, all films about the Dreyfus Affair remained effectively banned in France until 1950.
Interesting Facts and Trivia
Méliès the Actor
Georges Méliès didn't just direct; he also starred in the film. He played the role of Maître Fernand Labori, Dreyfus’s defense attorney who survived an assassination attempt during the trial.
The "Fake News" of 1899
While we call it a "docudrama" today, in 1899, many audiences were still figuring out the medium of film. Some viewers reportedly believed they were watching actual footage of the events, even though Méliès had clearly reconstructed them in his studio at Montreuil.
The Missing Ending
Méliès originally intended for the film to have a triumphant ending. However, because the actual 1899 retrial ended in a "guilty with extenuating circumstances" verdict (a confusing compromise), Méliès had to end the film on a somber note. Dreyfus was eventually fully exonerated in 1906, but Méliès never went back to film a "happy" sequel.
A Masterpiece Lost and Found
For decades, many of the 11 segments were thought to be lost. It wasn't until the 1970s that a complete set of the films was reconstructed and preserved, allowing modern audiences to see Méliès’s political passion project in its entirety.
Influence on Early Journalism
The film is considered the ancestor of the Newsreel. Before professional news crews existed, "reconstructed news" like this film was the only way the public could "see" the major events of the world.
- The World’s First Multi-Scene Film: Before this film, movies were typically single-shot reels lasting about 50 seconds. Méliès shattered this convention by connecting 11 different scenes (reels) to create a linear, causal narrative.
- The First Docudrama: It is considered the first ever "reconstructed actuality" or cinematic docudrama. Instead of shooting magic tricks or staged fantasies, Méliès reconstructed a real, ongoing political scandal in France using actors who resembled the real-life participants.
- The First Politically Engaged Film: Film historians, including Georges Sadoul, identify it as the earliest film to take a strong sociopolitical stance. Méliès, a passionate Dreyfusard, directed the film explicitly to argue for the innocence of Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
- The First Censored Film: Because of its incendiary nature, screenings of the film frequently incited riots and brawls in theaters. Consequently, it became the first movie banned for political reasons. The French government completely banned all films about the Dreyfus Affair in 1915, a restriction that was not lifted until 1950.
- Innovations in Depth of Staging: Moving away from the typical lateral (left-to-right) theatrical staging, Méliès experimented with moving characters in and out of depth (moving towards and away from the camera), which was highly advanced for 1899.
The information provided about Georges Méliès' 1899 film L'Affaire Dreyfus (The Dreyfus Affair) is supported by various historical and cinematic records. Below are the academic and historical sources for the key details of the film's production, reception, and impact.
Footnote References
1. Production and Narrative Structure
The film is widely cited as an eleven-part series of short films, or "tableaux," that were released individually but intended to form a cohesive narrative—a precursor to the modern feature-length film (Wikipedia, n.d.). Unlike Méliès' usual fantasy works, this series utilized cinematic realism, employing meticulous set designs to reconstruct the actual locations of the scandal (Moviessilently, 2019). The film's total runtime is approximately 13 minutes, which was exceptionally long for the era (Cinémathèque Française, n.d.; Wikipedia, n.d.).
2. The Director’s Political Stance and Acting Role
Georges Méliès was an outspoken Dreyfusard, and his sympathy for the wrongly accused captain is evident in the film's portrayal of Dreyfus's suffering (Victorian Cinema, n.d.). Méliès notably appeared in the film himself, playing the role of Fernand Labori, the defense attorney who survived an assassination attempt during the 1899 trial (Wikimedia Commons, 2024; YouTube, 2020).
3. Public Reception and Censorship
Because it addressed a highly volatile political issue while the events were still unfolding, the film's screenings often led to violent brawls between opposing factions (Victorian Cinema, n.d.). These riots prompted the French government to ban the film; various records indicate that a formal restriction on films about the Dreyfus Affair remained in place in France until 1950, and Méliès' original work was not widely seen again in the country until the 1970s (Victorian Cinema, n.d.; WNYC Studios, 2011).
4. Historical Significance and Reconstruction
The Dreyfus Affair is frequently identified as the first docudrama or "reconstructed actuality," a genre that would eventually lead to the development of the newsreel (Britannica, n.d.; WNYC Studios, 2011). Although some of the original footage was lost for decades, nine of the eleven segments were identified and preserved by the late 20th century (Wikipedia, n.d.).
References
Britannica. (n.d.). The Dreyfus Affair | film by Méliès. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Cinémathèque Française. (n.d.). L'Affaire Dreyfus (Georges Méliès, 1899). Cinémathèque Française.
Moviessilently. (2019). The Dreyfus Affair (1899) A Silent Film Review.
Victorian Cinema. (n.d.). Captain Alfred Dreyfus - Who's Who of Victorian Cinema.
Wikimedia Commons. (2024). File:Georges Méliès as Fernand Labori.png.
Wikipedia. (n.d.). The Dreyfus Affair (film series).
WNYC Studios. (2011). The Dreyfus Affair and Censorship | On the Media.
YouTube. (2020). Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon (1899) ㅡ Georges Méliès.
Comments
Post a Comment