Nouvelles luttes extravagantes (1900)
Directed by Georges Méliès

Film Review

Believe it or not, all those boxing themed comedies of the 1920s and '30s - such as Buster Keaton's Battling Butler (1926) and Harold Lloyd's The Milky Way (1936) - had their origins in this early short film from Georges Méliès. Nouvelles luttes extravagantes is a non-stop slapstick tour de force in which the director is at his funniest and most inventive, delivering a film that is every bit as funny and likeably zany as his previous comedy offerings Un homme de têtes (1898) and L'Homme orchestre (1900). This is a brilliant send-up of a sport that was, at the time, phenomenonally popular in France.  Gratuitous knockabout violence is taken to its extreme limits as two able bodied men literally knock the stuffing out of each other in the name of entertainment.  Méliès not only wrote and directed the film he also takes the lead, starring alongside his future wife, Jeanne d'Alcy. Significantly, the former magician's stage assistant, d'Alcy is credited as the first film star.  Thanks to its impressive special effects, energy and sheer manic sense of fun, this has to be one of Méliès's most entertaining and memorable films. No falls, no submissions - just a quick dizzying round of comedy mayhem.

Film Synopsis

Two attractive young women are transformed into two male wresters who begin an extravagant wrestling match with relish.  One combatant throws his opponent into the air and, when he recovers, the second wrestler knocks the first over and pulls off his arms and legs.  Once the first wrestler has been reassembled, the two men bow and another pair of wrestlers - one fat, the other thin - take the stage.   The fat wrestler falls onto his thinner opponent, squashing him flat.   The thin wrestler springs back to life and kicks the fat man into the air, before jumping on his body, causing his arms and legs to fall off.  The fight ends amicably with the two wrestlers restored to their former selves.