The Temptation of St. Anthony La Tentation de Saint Antoine, 1898, 1m10s Star Film Catalogue No. 169
In his cave, the hermit Saint Anthony prays before an effigy of the crucified Christ. A scantily-clad woman suddenly appears, and St Anthony shields his eyes from the sight of temptation. She vanishes, and he recommences reading the Bible. Two women appear either side of him, and he recoils in horror. They vanish, and he picks up a skull from the base of the cross. However, when he kisses it, it turns into another woman, with two more appearing in quick succession. They dance in a ring around the tormented Saint Anthony before vanishing. A desperate Saint Anthony kneels before Christ, who turns into another woman. But an angel also appears, to which Saint Anthony turns with undisguised relief. The woman vanishes and Christ reappears.
Director: Georges Méliès Stars: Georges Méliès
Also Known As (AKA) La tentation de Saint-Antoine France (original title) Szent Antal megkísértése Hungary The Temptation of St. Anthony USA
Although on a technical level The Temptation of Saint Anthony is something of a step back for Méliès (there are no effects more sophisticated than those he developed two years earlier), it nonetheless marks an advance in terms of subject matter, being one of the earliest films to tackle an explicitly religious theme. In this respect, Méliès proves himself the ancestor of Cecil B. DeMille and Franco Zeffirelli, whose own religious epics offer a similar blend of the solemn and the kitschy. - http://filmjournal.net
Segments
TECH SPECS
Runtime: about 1 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Printed film format: 35 mm