THE WANDERING JEW (1904)
aka Le juif errant
Article 3137 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-7-2010
Posting Date: 3-17-2010
Directed by Georges Melies
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Melies trick film, though on the more serious side

The Wandering Jew dreams of the event that brought about his curse, and then is tormented by a devil and has visions of the Mother of God.

I had given up this Melies short for lost some time ago, but while researching another movie on my hunt list, I discovered a site called the Europa Film Treasures that had it online. It’s Melies in a more somber mood than usual, and the backgrounds, though obviously painted, look much more realistic. In some ways, this is one of Melies’s more impressive shorts; I especially like the lightning that flashes across the sky at the end of the movie. I’m always glad when I can retrieve a movie from my lost list and add it to my watched list.

****NOTE**** This movie also became available through the new collection of Melies shorts from Flicker Alley.