20000 lieues sous les mers (1907)
Directed by Georges Méliès

Film Review

Deux cent mille lieues sous les mers (a.k.a. Deux Cents Milles sous les mers ou le Cauchemar du pêcheur) isn't so much an adaptation of Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea as a light-hearted parody, or perhaps just an excuse for Georges Méliès to show off his then state-of-the-art special effects and genius for model work.  The film originally ran to thirty tableaux, but several of these have been lost and the film currently exists as an incomplete print running to around ten minutes.  The centrepiece of the film is a lengthy ballet of naiads, stylishly performed by dancers from the Théâtre du Châtelet.  More impressive is the incredible array of sea creatures that Méliès presents us with.  In addition to real fishes (used for the model sequences) there are sea horses large enough to ride on, a fearsome man-size crab and a giant octopus, all looking fiercely realistic.  One of the earliest entries in cinema sci-fi, Deux cent mille lieues sous les mers is pretty unsophisticated by today's standards but it still offers an amusing and lovingly crafted excursion into the realms of fantasy.

Film Synopsis

Yves, an adventurous young sailor, undertakes an expedition in a submarine to explore the wonders of the sea.  Not being the most accomplished of navigators, he soon crashes the vessel and finds himself stranded at the bottom of the sea, where he encounters several fantastic creatures, not all of them friendly...