A Trip to the Moon (film)
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| Le Voyage dans la Lune | |
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| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
| Produced by | Georges Méliès |
| Written by | Novels Jules Verne H.G. Wells Screenplay Georges Méliès Gaston Méliès |
| Starring | Georges Méliès |
| Distributed by | Gaston Méliès |
| Release date(s) | September 1, 1902 (France) |
| Running time | 14 mins (at 16fps). |
| Language | Silent |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Le Voyage Dans la Lune is a 1902 French science fiction black and white silent film known in its English language release as A Trip to the Moon. It is loosely based on two popular novels of the time: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne and The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells. It was written and directed by Georges Méliès, with help from his brother Gaston. Running time is 14 minutes at 16 frames per second.
"Le Voyage Dans la Lune" is recognized as the first widely distributed film to tell a complete story, and the beginning of cinema as a storytelling medium. Earlier releases were often very short (less than one minute) clips of everyday things, such as the Lumiere Brothers' "Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory" and "The Arrival of a Train at a Station", popular only for the novelty of moving pictures.[1] "Le Voyage Dans la Lune" is also recognized as the first science fiction film, creating the genre and introducing innovative animation and special effects.
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[edit] Plot
At a meeting of astronomers, one proposes to the rest a trip to the Moon. After addressing some dissent (the speaker pitches some paper at him), six brave astronomers agree to the plan. They build a space capsule in the shape of a bullet and a huge cannon to shoot it into space. The astronomers embark and their capsule is fired from the cannon with the help of a bevy of beautiful women (played by chorus girls of the Folies Bergères). The Man in the Moon watches the capsule as it approaches, and it hits him in the eye.
Safely on the Moon, the explorers get out of the capsule and watch the Earth rise in the distance. Something then explodes near them. They then unroll their blankets, and take a nap. They dream of celestial Folies-Bergères girls, whose faces appear in the stars of the Big Dipper. Old Saturn leans out of a window in his ringed planet, and Phoebe, goddess of the Moon, appears seated in a crescent-moon swing. Phoebe calls down a snowfall that wakens the explorers. The explorers seek shelter in a cavern and discover giant mushrooms. One astronomer opens his umbrella; it promptly takes root and turns into a giant mushroom itself. At this point, a Selenite (an alien inhabiting the Moon, apparently part man and part insect) appears, but it is easily killed by an astronomer (the creatures explode if whacked with a stick or umbrella). More Selenites appear and it becomes increasingly difficult for the explorers to destroy them as the creatures surround them. The Selenites arrest the astronomers and bring them to their leader. An astronomer picks the Chief Selenite up off its throne and dashes it to the ground, exploding it.
The astronomers run back to their capsule (popping pursuing Selenites on the way). Five get inside. The sixth uses a rope to tip the capsule over a ledge on the Moon and into space. A Selenite tries to seize the capsule at the last minute. Astronomer, capsule, and Selenite fall through space and land in an ocean on Earth, where all are rescued by a ship and towed ashore.
(A final scene depicting a celebratory parade in honor of the travellers' return is not part of the film as it is viewed today. It was long thought to be lost, but parts of the final scene--perhaps all of it--were recently rediscovered. Perhaps with the expiration of the current movie print's copyright, this scene will someday be restored.)
[edit] Trivia
- Méliès had intended on releasing the film in the United States to profit from it; however, Thomas A. Edison's film technicians had secretly made copies of it and distributed it throughout the country, thus putting money into Edison's pocket. Méliès never profited from it and eventually went broke.
- The scene in which the space capsule hits the Man in the Moon in the eye is the earliest known example of stop-motion animation.
- Two music videos are based entirely on and filmed similarly to Le Voyage dans la Lune; Queen's 1995 music video for Heaven for Everyone, and the award-winning video for the Smashing Pumpkins 1996 hit Tonight, Tonight.
- A complete cut of the film was discovered in a French barn in 2002. It was an amazing discovery as it not only is the most complete cut of the movie, but was also entirely hand-colored. It was restored and premiered in 2003 at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival. [2]
- Parodied in the Futurama episode "The Series Has Landed (S01E02)" with Luna Park's mascot "crater face."
- The picture of the rocket crashed into the moon was shown in the background in The Adventures of Pluto Nash with Eddie Murphy.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Le Voyage dans la lune at the Internet Movie Database
- Download — Le Voyage dans la Lune (english narration) from the Internet Archive
- Download — Le Voyage dans la Lune (french narration) from the Internet Archive
- A Trip to the Moon — Online Streaming Video
