GEORGES MÉLIÈS trained as a stage magician before becoming interested in film—a talent he brought to his movies. Méliès is widely known as one of the first filmmakers to employ “tricks,” or special effects, such as time-lapse photography, the stop trick, and multiple exposures. His impressive body of work includes the famous A Trip to the Moon (1902), The Impossible Voyage (1904), and The Merry Frolics of Satan (1906, pictured).

Mary Evans/MELIES/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection