Viaggio nella luna

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

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.

Watching this 1902 French extravaganza for the first time is like dipping your brain into the distant past. It's almost physically painful to try to imagine a world where this delightful little theatrical romp didn't previously exist and its circulation almost certainly created the art of narrative film as we know it. The trick photography, especially with the smoky smashing of the moon creatures, is as fresh as daisy and the intricate set design is stunning. Rarely are culturally significant artefacts this fun to actually consume.

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).

George Melies's `A Trip to the Moon' welcomes a change in film making of the twentieth century. Combined with live action as well as models, the movie tells a story about astronauts who take a trip to the moon. The moon, having a human face captures the astronauts after they crash into its eye. They later escape the moon and it's moon-men and make it back to earth safely. Melies wrote, directed and starred in this movie. He used many important techniques in his films to make them successful. Not only did he develop editing skills and superimposed images, he also used double exposure to complete the magic behind his films. Still used today, Melies's special effects, small models, painted backgrounds, weird makeup and costumes were just some of the important things used in the movie `A Trip to the Moon.'

For the filmmaker Melies, the use of stop action photography played an important role in `A Trip to the Moon.' He specialized in making objects vanish or change by stopping and restarting his camera. The use of self-painted sets, real people along with animated figures and the placement of real faces on objects helped this 1902 movie draw in his audience and leave them with many astonished looks.