At least for 1904. In this 2-minute short film, Georges Méliès, the most notable very early silent filmmaker, once again plays a character who was much older than Méliès, namely older then early 40s. A clockmaker falls asleep and dreams of several women who enjoy being near him. Apart from that slightly naughty reference, there are also references about the women and the clockmaker's profession. This film is of course still silent and black-and-white. As a whole, I would say that this 110-year-old film is neither among Méliès best nor among his worst films. But it's only two minutes, so you can decide for yourself if you give it a go and maybe take a deeper look in the master's seemingly endless filmography.
5 Reviews
Tick Tock
Hitchcoc15 November 2017
The old clock maker is tired. He stretches out and falls asleep in his chair. He has an elaborate clock that features a female figure. While he sleeps, the woman comes down, splits into threes, and they embrace the clock maker. Her awakes (maybe) or in his dreams he thinks they have determined he is hot stuff. Well, things, as is usually the case, don't go his way. Still, he had that moment.
Pleasant Short Feature With Good Technique
Snow Leopard4 February 2005
This short feature combines some pleasant light imagery with good technique, and is worth watching even though it is a little more bland than are many of the movies that the special effects pioneer Georges Méliès made.
The simple story starts with a clock-maker falling asleep in his shop, and then this leads into a series of visions that incorporate the kinds of camera tricks for which Méliès was known. The technique is particularly good in this one, as all of the dissolves from one image to the next are nice and smooth, creating some very convincing effects. The clock theme ties together all of the images, and adds to the quiet but pleasant tone.
This film is less spectacular and eye-catching than are Méliès's best-known features, but in terms of the technique, it is as polished and well-crafted as almost any of them.
The simple story starts with a clock-maker falling asleep in his shop, and then this leads into a series of visions that incorporate the kinds of camera tricks for which Méliès was known. The technique is particularly good in this one, as all of the dissolves from one image to the next are nice and smooth, creating some very convincing effects. The clock theme ties together all of the images, and adds to the quiet but pleasant tone.
This film is less spectacular and eye-catching than are Méliès's best-known features, but in terms of the technique, it is as polished and well-crafted as almost any of them.
I hope you can find a better copy than I did.
planktonrules10 September 2020
I found a copy of "The Clockmaker's Dream" is a short from Georges Méliès that, unfortunately, is in really poor shape...specifically the one posted on YouTube. If you can find a better copy, you'll likely enjoy it more. The problem is that the print is badly faded and is presented at way too slow a speed...and it's not much fun to watch.
As far as the story itself goes, it's one of the least interesting films I've seen by this filmmaker. A clockmaker falls alseep an three women come and hang around the shop...and nothing of any great interest occurs.
Now that I think about it, the bad print combined with the lackluster film make this one only a film for the most devoted of Georges Méliès' fans.
As far as the story itself goes, it's one of the least interesting films I've seen by this filmmaker. A clockmaker falls alseep an three women come and hang around the shop...and nothing of any great interest occurs.
Now that I think about it, the bad print combined with the lackluster film make this one only a film for the most devoted of Georges Méliès' fans.
Clockmaker's Dream
Michael_Elliott24 July 2008
Clockmaker's Dream, The (1904)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
aka Le reve de l'horloger
An elderly clockmaker falls asleep and three women appear to show him an easier way to build various clocks. If you're new to the French master then you might be impressed by some of the visuals here but others are probably going to be somewhat bored here. This is certainly far from a bad film but it is rather bland considering some of the other films the director made in his career. The special effects are decent, there are a few laughs and the technique is good but it's all rather bland and light.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
aka Le reve de l'horloger
An elderly clockmaker falls asleep and three women appear to show him an easier way to build various clocks. If you're new to the French master then you might be impressed by some of the visuals here but others are probably going to be somewhat bored here. This is certainly far from a bad film but it is rather bland considering some of the other films the director made in his career. The special effects are decent, there are a few laughs and the technique is good but it's all rather bland and light.
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