A Trip to the Moon

1902 [FRENCH]

Action / Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy / Sci-Fi

57
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 90% · 14 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 90% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 8.1/10 10 60026 60K

moon based on novel or book satire astronomer black and white silent film

Plot summary

Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

Director

Georges Méliès Photo
Georges Méliès

Top cast

Kelm Photo
Kelm as Astronomer
Delpierre Photo
Delpierre as Astronomer
Farjaux Photo
Farjaux as Astronomer
Henri Delannoy Photo
Henri Delannoy as Captain of the Rocket
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
142.73 MB
1280*952
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
23.976 fps
12 hr 15 min
Seeds 4
294.98 MB
1440*1072
French 5.1
NR
Subtitles fr  
23.976 fps
12 hr 15 min
Seeds 29

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by owen-watts 8 / 10

The Time Machine

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.
Reviewed by PCC0921 9 / 10

The Science Fiction Genre of Film is Born

Directed by pioneering magic man George Melies, A Trip to the Moon (1902), is a technical achievement by being the first. It shows us what was going through turn of the century minds as it applies to space travel and what the Moon looks like. What can you say about a film that started a whole genre and pretty much launched all film-making processes found today? Without Georges Melies' "trick" films, we may not have the advances in film-making that we have today. His excellent knowledge of framing and set design, influenced many after him. Not only is it a very old representation of film as it applies to film history, but it also is a great representation of history itself and what men in the early 20th century envisioned in our future.The most interesting part about this film is the fact that 12 years after the release of this film, Melies was chased out of his motion picture studio in France by the military during WWI and by 1938 was a penniless magazine stand clerk. Added with the uncanny accurate look into the future, such as the splashdown in the ocean of the capsule and the ships coming to rescue it, the film has a magic to it even for 1902 and yet the man who created it was as human as the rest of us. The film has many abstract ideas throughout, which really makes the viewer question about what Melies was thinking. What is the significance of the astrological symbols on a lot of the magician-like clothing? Why something as primitive as a giant gun for a launcher and a giant bullet for their vehicle is among such wonderful futuristic landscapes?8.9 (A- MyGrade) = 9 IMDB
Reviewed by BandSAboutMovies 8 / 10

History

The best remembered film of Georges Méliès, this film was such a success upon its early release that it was one of the first films to be bootlegged*. Based loosely on Jules Vernes' From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon.Professor Barbenfouillis and five brave astronomers - Nostradamus, Alcofrisbas, Omega, Micromegas and Parafaragaramus - have decided to go to the moon, gifting us with that iconic image of the rocket hitting the face of the lunar surface directly in the eye.The learned men that do make it to the moon have no issue crushing its natives, the insect Selenites, literally exploding them with just a casual push. After running wild through many of their number, the astronauts - who had been awakened by the gentle swinging of Phoebe goddess of the moon just hours earlier - escape back to Earth, enjoying a parade where they lead a captured alien through the streets as a banner unfurls with the legend labor omnia vincit (work conquers all).Film scholar Matthew Solomon has written that Méliès, who was previously an anti-Boulangist political cartoonist, used this adventure and science fiction film as a parable within which to decry imperialistic domination. His conquering heroes aren't really scientists and smart men, but dolts who hurt everyone they meet and still return to a hero's welcome.While there are black and white versions of this film, the one that played Fantastic Fest had the hand tinted colors that were created by Elisabeth Thuillier's lab, which would make up to sixty prints of certain films, giving them an otherworldly quality which is perfect for this essential piece of cinema.The version that played Fantastic Fest has the score interpreted by House of Waters, which features "Jimi Hendrix of Hammered Dulcimer" Max ZT, Moto Fukushim and Ignacio Rivas Bixio.*By Thomas Edison!
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