A Trip to the Moon (1898)
"La lune à un mètre" (original title)

"In the opening of this film is seen the astronomer intently poring over his books. Suddenly, in a cloud of smoke, Satan appears and surprises the astronomer. At the command of the Fairy ... See full summary »

Director:

Georges Méliès

Writer:

Georges Méliès (creator)

Stars:

Georges Méliès

Cast

Credited cast:
Georges Méliès	...	Astronomer

Storyline

"In the opening of this film is seen the astronomer intently poring over his books. Suddenly, in a cloud of smoke, Satan appears and surprises the astronomer. At the command of the Fairy Queen, who suddenly appears, Satan vanishes; she awakens the astronomer and as he goes forward to meet her she disappears. The astronomer is very much excited, and, rushing over to the large telescope he tries to discover by what means she had vanished. The moon now appears, and begins her repast by eating the immense telescope used by the astronomer. The astronomer flies around apparently wild at the loss of his wonderful telescope. Suddenly the moon opens wide her mouth and there comes forth a tot of about five summers. She is immediately followed by two others, and they proceed to dance around the astronomer, and vanish one at a time until but one is left. The astronomer, picking her up, thinking he could keep her, hugs her tightly in his arms, but she also vanishes. Tired and heart-broken the ...

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Plot Keywords:

moon | telescope | trick film | travel to the moon | man eaten | 

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Genres:

Short | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

France

Release Date:

1898 (France)

Also Known As:

The Astronomer's Dream; or, The Man in the Moon

Filming Locations:

Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Georges Méliès, Star-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

3 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Color (hand-colored) Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Georges Méliès:  [moon]  Becomes anthropomorphic and tries to eat the main character, and is punched away by him.

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Connections

Remade as A Trip to the Moon (1902)

User Reviews

Astronomer's Dream

Astronomer's Dream, The (1898)

*** (out of 4)

aka La Lune a un metre

An astronomer is in his office working when the devil and a woman appear to him and this sets off a strange dream, which includes the moon attacking him. This is another enjoyable film from Meiles as we get to see various magic tricks including the familiar gags of the astronomer going to sit down only to have the chair disappear. What really stands out in this film is the attack by the moon, which is perfectly done and leads to several laughs. I love Melies' design of the moon making it something to fear with its evil eyes and mouth. The special effects are quite nice throughout. This is certainly a good place for newbies to start.