The ballet master goes to bed. After a bit of restlessness, what else? He begins to dream. What does he dream about? Yes. You guessed it. Dancing. A couple of dancers come out of his dream and begin to do some terrible dancing. That woman who is better than the rest then begins to dance as well. There's nothing very interesting about this except at one point the ballerina turns into an ugly man and a fight ensues.

Ballet Master's Dream, The (1903)*** (out of 4) aka Le Reve du maitre de ballet Amusing, two minute film from Melies has him playing a ballet master who can't keep his work off his mind. Even when he tries to go to sleep images of the ballet are all around him. This is a pretty good little film that gives you a quick view of some of the magic created by the director. The background images are all creative and the ballet dancers are also somewhat fun. This type of film is one the director made several times but he's able to make this one come off very original and enjoyable. I'm sure everyone has had days where they're trying to sleep but can't get their work out of their mind and this film is a good sampling of that.

This simple and amusing feature is one of the lighter Georges Méliès movies, but it shows his creative touch with a simple subject. It's pleasant to watch, and it features several of his renowned visual effects along the way.The premise has a ballet master who can't take his mind off of his work, even when it is time to go to sleep, so naturally his state of mind affects his dreams. It is set up efficiently and in such a way that it is easy to relate to. Regardless of one's occupation or how we spend our days, who hasn't had the experience of going to bed while unable to shake off the worries and events of the day? His state of mind makes the feature amusing yet rather thoughtful.The camera effects in the dream sequence are not as elaborate as those in many other Méliès features, but most of them work well, and though mostly simple, they are enjoyable. The overall effect is of a light, entertaining trifle by a genius who was taking a bit of a respite from his more rigorous efforts.