From the very beginning to the end of his career, director Georges Méliès's was fascinated with the concept of good vs. evil. Often, to demonstrate this theme, he would incorporate the devil into these productions, finding him not only a mischievously comical character to bring humor into his work, but an excellent way to bring out the special effects onscreen. Among the various work he turned out with this theme, there were sometimes (and very rarely) a few religious works in the mix. "The Temptation of Saint Anthony", while technically not part of this genre, clearly is one of those religious films. (If I'm not mistaken, it could also have been the very first). Indeed, there is no devil to be seen in this brief minute-long production, since Méliès was still getting to develop the character's mischievousness which would show up in later works. That's not to say Satan hadn't shown up in any of Méliès's productions yet (he had appeared in at least three by this point) but his character was not yet the funny, exuberant caricature which the director played him as in later works. (Jules-Eugène Legris's performance in "The House of the Devil" as Mephistopheles comes across as sinister and intimidating). Méliès would later interpret him for the known first time in "The Devil in a Convent"; until that time, he would be missing that special charm only the cinemagician himself could give.
But back to this film. As I said before, the devil was a common character in Méliès's output, yet only two of the films featuring him were actually religious (the aforementioned "Devil in a Convent" being one of them), and in general he didn't really make very many. Two other religious films by Méliès that I can think of off the top of my head are "The Wandering Jew" of 1904 and "Christ Walking on the Water", made a year after this one and now believed lost. "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" takes place in what appears to be a cave (it's also one of Méliès's most artful set designs) where a statue of Jesus Christ on the Cross (really just a cardboard cut-out, no doubt) is positioned and the bearded old saint (probably played by Méliès) is praying to him. Out of nowhere appear beautiful seductive woman who tries to tempt him, but whom he resists as they appear and disappear. SPOILERS HERE: One of them (Jehanne d'Alcy) even takes the place of Jesus on the Cross (!) before a superimposed angel appears and saves the poor man.
Unlike what the previous reviewer stated, I actually think Méliès was trying to be funny when he filmed this. The entire short is carried out pretty much like one of his haunted inn movies and features a fair amount of sight gags (not to mention Jesus transforming into the woman) as well as generally feeling like a comedy. It would be interesting to know if this caused some sort of scandal as being sacreligious or sexual at the time, maybe both. I can well imagine it titillated a few men back in 1898.
But back to this film. As I said before, the devil was a common character in Méliès's output, yet only two of the films featuring him were actually religious (the aforementioned "Devil in a Convent" being one of them), and in general he didn't really make very many. Two other religious films by Méliès that I can think of off the top of my head are "The Wandering Jew" of 1904 and "Christ Walking on the Water", made a year after this one and now believed lost. "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" takes place in what appears to be a cave (it's also one of Méliès's most artful set designs) where a statue of Jesus Christ on the Cross (really just a cardboard cut-out, no doubt) is positioned and the bearded old saint (probably played by Méliès) is praying to him. Out of nowhere appear beautiful seductive woman who tries to tempt him, but whom he resists as they appear and disappear. SPOILERS HERE: One of them (Jehanne d'Alcy) even takes the place of Jesus on the Cross (!) before a superimposed angel appears and saves the poor man.
Unlike what the previous reviewer stated, I actually think Méliès was trying to be funny when he filmed this. The entire short is carried out pretty much like one of his haunted inn movies and features a fair amount of sight gags (not to mention Jesus transforming into the woman) as well as generally feeling like a comedy. It would be interesting to know if this caused some sort of scandal as being sacreligious or sexual at the time, maybe both. I can well imagine it titillated a few men back in 1898.