| The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
| Starring | Georges Méliès |
| Release date(s) | 1907 |
| Running time | 9 min. |
| Country | France |
| Language | silent film |
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (originally L'éclipse du soleil en pleine lune) is a French silent film made in 1907 by director Georges Méliès.
Contents |
A professor of astronomy (Georges Méliès) gives a lecture instructing on an impending solar eclipse. The class rushes to an observation tower to witness the event, which features an anthropomorphic Sun and Moon coming together. The "effeminate"[1] Moon and "devilishly masculine"[1] Sun lick their lips in anticipation as the eclipse arrives, culminating in a "homosexual" encounter between the two celestial bodies.[2] Various heavenly bodies, including planets and moons, hang in the night sky; a meteor shower is depicted using the ghostly figures of girls. The professor of astronomy, shocked by all he has witnessed, topples from the observation tower.
The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon has been remarked upon for its overt sexual symbolism.[1] The Sun and the Moon, both apparently male, are presented as having an erotic encounter, an early depiction of homosexuality in cinema.[2][3] Christine Cornea posits that the film's primary theme, namely the clash of scientific logic with sexual desire,[1] was also evident in Méliès' earlier films A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage, and would become a prominent in many subsequent science-fiction films.[1]