A Turn of the Century Illusionist is a brief silent short from the genius who was Georges Melies, the man who single-handedly invented special effects in cinema. This effort has less of a story than his other shorts from the same era, and simply consists of him displaying various magic tricks to the camera.
Melies concocted many of these magic-themed shorts around the turn of the century, some involving people being decapitated, others involving magic acts. The Terrible Turkish Executioner is one of his most notable works with some incredible effects work. This film is one of the latter, simple magic tricks performed with the use of stop motion. It's not one of his most inventive works, but it's still an interesting piece of history.
Melies concocted many of these magic-themed shorts around the turn of the century, some involving people being decapitated, others involving magic acts. The Terrible Turkish Executioner is one of his most notable works with some incredible effects work. This film is one of the latter, simple magic tricks performed with the use of stop motion. It's not one of his most inventive works, but it's still an interesting piece of history.