The Temptation of St. Anthony (1898)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

best movie i've ever seen.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Once again a lot of quick changes. As St. Anthony worships a statue of Christ on a cross, he is tested. From somewhere an attractive young woman tries to tempt him. He resists. Then another one comes and they tug and pull at him. But he is resistant to their wiles even though a third one comes along. At one point Christ turns into a woman on the cross. That must have turned a few heads. Anyway, it is a packed single minute of film.

This was definitely way funnier than I expected and I could very well imagine if important church representatives saw this, they probably weren't too amused although the priest does a pretty good job in resisting the temptations of the flesh for the entire movie. I know I'd have given in probably right at the beginning and things may have gotten quite nasty. The first black-haired woman who appears is truly stunning. Our hero, however, resists and prays hard instead asking god why does he have to tempt him so much while waving his hands excessively. I smiled a lot while watching this short film. It's one of the best Méliès films and comedies from the 19th century in my opinion, possibly because it's so very politically incorrect. The moment the Jesus statue turns into a woman near the end is a great highlight and I didn't really see it coming. Hilarious and very much recommended. You can't spend a good minute much better than by watching this. Unless you give in to the temptation of course.

As the bearded hermit St. Anthony prays in a lonely cavern, he is tormented by visions of sexy women who constantly appear via stop trick. The scantily clad nymphs giggle and prance about as they attempt to ensnare him in an embrace or kiss him on the lips, which titillates and terrorizes the pious saint all at once. At the end, he is saved by the heavenly vision of an angel stretched out upon a crucifix... which is also another sexy woman. It is a strange ending indeed and makes me wonder if it means something.A very weird (and perhaps even Freudian??) short from cinema pioneer George Melies.

Having invented the trick film and the stag film (with the same year's APRES LE BAL), Melies also pioneered the religious film, with this account of the temptation of St. Anthony, using the same sort of camera tricks he was using for his magic works.But I wonder: what was the placement order of his catalogue? Did this come immediately after APRES LE BAL? This is one of the many previously lost or infrequently seen Melies pictures that have been made available by Serge Bromberg, David Shepherd and a myriad of other hands in the newly issued DVD set GEORGES MELIES: FIRST WIZARD OF CINEMA. Required viewing for anyone interested in the history of movies ..... and a lot of fun.