"The Human Pyramid" is not one of filmmaker Georges Méliès' better films. The biggest reason is that he made at least a hundred films like this one! While he was a great innovator, his biggest weakness was a lack of originality once he created a truly revolutionary film process.
In at least a hundred films, Méliès himself played a magician. Sometimes he's be dressed as one would expect, but others he would do this dressed as a devil or a guy living in 18th century Europe. But in all, he performed like a stage magician (which he had been) and used camera tricks to make things move, disappear, reappear or change. In this case, he used these familiar camera tricks to make a human pyramid...with himself being the magician. It's all pretty dull, as he had done the same thing many times...and often better. For devoted fans only.
By the way, the YouTube version I saw was a mess and greatly in need of restoration.
In at least a hundred films, Méliès himself played a magician. Sometimes he's be dressed as one would expect, but others he would do this dressed as a devil or a guy living in 18th century Europe. But in all, he performed like a stage magician (which he had been) and used camera tricks to make things move, disappear, reappear or change. In this case, he used these familiar camera tricks to make a human pyramid...with himself being the magician. It's all pretty dull, as he had done the same thing many times...and often better. For devoted fans only.
By the way, the YouTube version I saw was a mess and greatly in need of restoration.