The 1898 Lumière version (which still exists) comprises a single shot, and shows Bluebeard about to behead one of his wives with a giant sword... when two men rush in and save the day. If Méliès' early fiction shorts are frequently over-embellished, then Lumière's too often suffer from being merely prosaic, and it's clear to see why the latter swiftly moved exclusively into documentary and travelogue production.