Die Reise zum Mond

Trip to the Moon, A (1902)

**** (out of 4)

aka Le Voyage dans la Lune

George Melies' landmark film tells the story of a group of men who want to explore the moon so they build a rocket and fly there only to discover some moon monsters. There's no question that this is one of the greatest landmarks in the history of cinema and the amusing story just shows the wonderful mind of the director. This really is a fairy tale about what the moon would be like and this moon creation is something we've seen in the director's previous films but this time out we get to explore the fairy tale. I think the greatest thing about this movie is its visual look, which really blows ones mind when you consider how well it holds up today. The look of the moon is brilliantly done as is the underground creatures that attack towards the end. There's also the landmark scene of the ship flying into the face of the moon and there's no question this is one of the greatest scenes in film history even if it was made over a hundred years ago.

A group of scientists build a rocket and fly to the Moon.

Wonderfully imaginative and innovative. Directed by Georges Melies, a pioneer in the art and technology of film-making. Shot in 1902, when cinema was in its infancy, the movie shows cinema's theatrical roots, as well as the resourcefulness and ingenuity a pioneer like Melies possessed, and needed to possess.

Clever set design, "special effects" and editing. Good plot with a great innocence and imagination to it all.

It also gave us the iconic moon-with-a-rocket-in-its-face image.

Such a landmark film in cinema history that it features heavily in Martin Scorsese's homage to cinema - 'Hugo' (2011).

A Trip to the Moon is barely a film as a modern audience would understand it, but the short's intriguing visuals make it an entertaining and interesting watch. Effectively a reinterpretation of the classic nineteenth century colonial adventure story (oh no - savages!) in an outer space context.

B

"Le voyage dans la lune" (1902, Georges Méliès) is loosely based on a story by Jules Verne. It also contains a little Greek mythology in that the inhabitants of the moon (Selenieten) are named after Selene, the Goddess of the moon.

The poster with the moon having a rocket ship in his eye is iconographic. The film itself is mainly of historical importance, but this historical importance is big.

Georges Méliès was one of the founding fathers of early cinema. He pioneered in special effects and made a start with film editing. His roots were in vaudeville theater. This can be seen in "Le voyage dans la lune" when the launching of the rocket ship is festively accompanied by a couple of cheerleader like girls.

Thanks to the initiatives of his countrymen the Pathé brothers film did outgrow the vaudeville format and got a theater of his own, called a cinema. Méliès fell into oblivion and got financial problems. Only due to a rediscovery in 1929 he could spend his last years carefree.

Title says it all. Méliès was an interesting man, this is an inspiring movie.