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An Impossible Voyage More at IMDbPro »Le voyage à travers l'impossible (original title)
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| Index | 13 reviews in total |
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Méliès' second masterpiece, 9 January 2008
Author:
José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) from Mexico
In 1895, a stage magician named Georges Méliès witnessed how the
Lumière brothers changed the history of entertainment when he attended
the first public screening of their projected motion pictures, and was
marveled at the idea of moving images. Seven years and dozens of short
films later, Méliès was a successful filmmaker on his own account,
releasing a movie that would become legendary, "Le Voyage Dans La Lune"
("A Trip to the Moon"), a monumental achievement in which he would
finally prove that cinema was more than documentaries and "gimmick
films", and that there was something that the Lumières couldn't see:
that it was a natural medium for telling stories. So, after having
great success with "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", Méliès prepared his next
major project as another adaptation of a Jules Verne story: "Le Voyage
à Travers l'impossible", or "The Voyage Through the Impossible".
Better known as "The Impossible Voyage", "Le Voyage à Travers
l'impossible" is the story of a geographic society (presumably French),
which decides to make the ultimate trip. As one can imagine, this won't
be a normal voyage, as they will use every vehicle they can use in an
attempt to travel across every corner of the world. So, with this in
mind, they prepare a train at the Swiss Alps with their advanced
machinery and begin their journey. However, first they must arrive to
the train, so they use "The Impossible Carriage" to get across the
mountains, and after several difficulties, manage to get to the train.
With their specially equipped train, the group manages to fly high in
the sky, and are literally swallowed by the Sun. The group will face
more difficulties, as their voyage will take them to many fantastic
places, from the Sun to even the bottom of the Ocean.
The film's source, "Le Voyage à Travers l'impossible", was a play
written collaboratively by Jules Verne and French dramatist Adolphe
d'Ennery in 1882, in which the writers adapted to stage the style and
themes that Verne had been used in his popular novels. Naturally,
Méliès' adaptation lacks the benefits of having dialogs, but his
version of "The Impossible Voyage" does keep the same atmosphere of
Jules Verne's literary work, capturing the spirit of science fiction in
each act of the film and mixing it with that magical fantasy and
charmingly whimsical humor that Méliès used to employ in each one of
his films. With a runtime of only 24 minutes (something unheard of at
the time of its release), "The Impossible Voyage" shows a progression
of what Méliès did in "A Trip to the Moon", as the narrative is built
in a tighter way (despite the similarities with that previous
masterpiece).
As usual in a film by Georges Méliès, the real magic of the movie lays
in the extremely clever and detailed way in which Méliès creates his
special effects, and in the beautiful art direction he uses to make his
fantasy come alive. The world of "The Impossible Voyage" seems like a
more detailed trip to the same universe of "A Trip to the Moon", where
insanely courageous scientists and inventors use their wonderful and
crazy machines to conquer the limits of their fantastic world. In this
there's a difference with Verne, as while in the writer's novels
there's always a certain factuality in his devices, Méliès versions
have more of magical than scientific, which goes perfectly with the
comedic tone he uses in his adventure films. A magician until the end,
Méliès creates wonderful special effects using every single
photographic trick he had discovery at the time (there's a wonderful
use of miniatures in the movie).
While the legendary classic "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" is certainly an
iconic masterpiece (it'll always be Méliès' most famous work),
personally I found "Le Voyage à Travers l'impossible" to be a superior
film. Maybe it was that I saw it hand-tinted (which gives it an even
more beautiful look) or the fact that it gave me the feeling that in
this movie Méliès just let his creativity run completely free, but I
just enjoyed this one (a bit) more. True, it's a bit tacky for our
standards, but even today it holds up surprisingly well and remains as
fun as when it was originally done, more than a century ago. "Le Voyage
à Travers l'impossible", or "The Impossible Voyage", definitely makes a
perfect companion piece to "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", and it's a nice
introduction to the magic of Georges Méliès, the Cinemagician.
10/10
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Interesting And Unusual, 3 December 2002
Author:
Snow Leopard from Ohio
What an interesting and unusual little feature this is - the combination of
Méliès and Jules Verne always produces something worth seeing, and this one
is based on one of Verne's most fantastical ideas. It follows a group of
scientists and scholars on a very fanciful trip that uses every imaginable
form of conveyance, and the story gives Méliès all kinds of opportunities
for his trademark visual effects.
Each scene is packed with details, so much so that you cannot even catch it
all in one viewing. It is also color-tinted in many places, which adds even
more to the effect. The story is just wild, and is less plausible than many
Verne stories, but that does not detract from it as entertainment. Méliès
even tosses in a little slapstick, which is not too bad for its time. It is
similar to, and just a cut below, his film of Verne's "Trip to the Moon",
and anyone who enjoyed that classic should also like this
one.
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
The Limits of Méliès's Style, 2 February 2008
Author:
Cineanalyst
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
As many others have noted, "The Impossible Voyage" essentially follows
the same adventure structure as Méliès's earlier and most popular film,
"Le Voyage dans la lune" (1902). They are, after all, both based on
works by Jules Verne and Adolphe Dennery. "The Impossible Voyage",
however, is more elaborate and nearly or about twice as
long--especially with the additional couple minutes that were available
as an extended ending to exhibitors at extra cost (this ending hasn't
been included on the Image Entertainment and Kino releases, but has
been recently rediscovered by historian John Frazer and may be released
on the upcoming Flicker Alley release). Moreover, it's more chaotic, or
anarchic--lampooning science and the adventures of science fiction to
far greater extent. Whereas in "Le Voyage dans la lune", there was a
clear journey executed in a rather concise manner, "The Impossible
Voyage", instead, follows a group from The Institute of Incoherent
Geography, led by an engineer Mabouloff (which translates as
"Scatterbrains" and is played by Méliès), and the journey is, indeed,
incoherent at times and certainly not concisely executed. On their
trip, they crash their automobile (and there seems to be no reason they
were even using it) in the mountains and spend some time in a hospital.
They also become frozen inside a refrigerator while on the Sun.
Furthermore, a journey to the Sun is obviously absurd in itself, unlike
that to the moon, which wasn't too far-fetched to the imagination even
in 1902.
The overall result of this is mixed. On the one hand, it's an ambitious
and entertaining film for 1904; on the other hand, the increased
emphasis on chaos and satire here over that in 'Le Voyage dans la lune'
dissolves some of the narrative structure and continuity, especially in
how it elongates the picture. Additionally, I can only appreciate the
theatrical shot-scene, tableau style of Méliès's narratives in limited
amounts. The fallacy of attempting to make cinema an extension of
theatre, which was one of Méliès's stated goals, was fully exposed as a
travesty with the early feature-length films (for example, "Queen
Elizabeth" (Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth) (1912)) that were
theatrical dramas rather than fantasies with spectacular theatrical
effects. It's also not often acknowledged that filmmaker contemporaries
of Méliès were already introducing and experimenting with the cinematic
techniques of scene dissection, continuity editing and different camera
positions. George Albert Smith, whom Méliès had even had correspondence
with, was probably the foremost of early pioneers in this respect, but
also by the mid to late 1900s, the Vitagraph and Pathé companies were
already employing crosscutting. Later, Méliès was also a contemporary
of D.W. Griffith. Thus, I can't give Méliès a total pass because of his
era. Yet, for its time and for what it is, "The Impossible Voyage"
remains a somewhat entertaining and amusing film to this day, although
I rank it lower than "Le Voyage dans la lune" and even some of his
other fantasies, such as "Bluebeard" (1901) and "Kingdom of the
Fairies" (1903).
On a further note, at this time--in the era of fairground exhibition of
cinema--extra-filmic lecturers, or narrators, would aid audiences in
following these new complex narrative films, or provide supplemental
information to them. Méliès wrote narration to his story films, such as
"The Impossible Voyage", for this purpose. Méliès also offered most of
his films in hand-colored versions, for which exhibitors would have to
pay an extra price (to give some credit, a team of women headed by a
Mrs. Thullier hand colored most of them). Fortunately, and unlike some
of his other films, "The Impossible Voyage" is generally available
today in a hand-colored version with narration. It's helpful, and it
works against some of the other limits of the film. Of the narration,
however, it's also another example of the primitiveness of Méliès's
films; it may be seen as an admission of their lack of cinematic
storytelling and self-contained narration (or, as historian Noël Burch
would say, it's "non-closed").
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Strongly inspired by his earlier film LE VOYAGE DANS LE LUNE, but still very much worth watching, 3 September 2006
Author:
planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
Director Georges Méliès was an absolutely brilliant early filmmaker and
innovator. His camera tricks, use of a complex plot and sets, and
fun-loving fantasy elements in his films made him the greatest film
maker of his day. While I recently read that THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
(from Edison Inc.) was the "first full-length film", this simply isn't
true, as Méliès' LE VOYAGE DANS LE LUNE (1902) preceded it and was a
much more complex film--featuring amazing sets and lots of laughs as a
group of scientists take a trip to the moon and meet the evil moon men!
Only a year later, in an attempt to outdo his previous success, Méliès
made this film about another group of wacky scientists who take a trip
to the Sun as well as under the sea!! And, while the original film was
a very long 14 minutes (that WAS full-length in its day), this one is
20--making it probably the longest film of its day.
While the new film is obviously strongly derived from the previous
Méliès epic, compared to all other films of the day it is still
brilliant and not even close to being matched. BUT, my score of 9 is
more a way to indicate that it isn't quite as good as his film about
the Moon. But, it is still very, very watchable and cute even today
(something that can't be said of most other films of the age).
If you want to see this film online, go to Google and type in "Méliès"
and then click the video button for a long list of his films that are
viewable without special software.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
From the Moon to the Sun, 8 December 2008
Author:
JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com
Having produced a blockbuster in 1903 in which a group of scientists journeyed to the moon, Melies tried to outdo himself the following year by having another group of manic scientists travel to the sun. He made this film longer and stencilled it in colour, and the outcome is quite astounding. To think that Melies was producing lengthy masterpieces like this while contemporary filmmakers were still experimenting with one-shot narratives goes to show how far ahead of his time Melies really was - which makes his downfall less than a decade later all the sadder. Melies fills the screen with colour with sets sometimes similar to the expressionist sets of the German masterpieces of the late teens and 20s, and fills it also with movement. Not one moment passes when there isn't something to look at. Although this film is not as widely known as Le Voyage dans la lune for my money it surpasses it in terms of exuberance and imagination.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Revolutionary, endearing and endlessly entertaining, 9 April 2007
Author:
ackstasis from Australia
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Released in 1904, cinematic magician Georges Méliès' 'Le Voyage à
travers l'impossible / The Impossible Voyage' often stands in the
shadow of the filmmaker's earlier success 'Le Voyage dans la lune / A
Trip to the Moon (1902),' which has long-since earned itself the label
of a cinematic classic. In many ways, however, 'Le Voyage à travers
l'impossible' is a superior film, brimming with stunning set and
model-work, creative visual effects, an exciting around-the-world
journey and no shortage of imagination!
At 24 minutes in length (which was almost unheard of at the time), 'Le
Voyage à travers l'impossible' was no doubt heavily inspired by its
more famous predecessor, as well as Jules Verne and Adolphe d'Ennery's
play of the same name. The version of the film most commonly viewed
nowadays (featured on the "Landmarks of Early Film – Volume 2" DVD)
features a hand-coloured print, supplemented with narration penned by
Méliès himself.
Like most of Méliès' films, the narrative is played out like a stage
play, with the story usually divided into various distinct one-take
scenes, the camera settled at a distance from the action. The first few
minutes of the film are concerned with organising this "impossible
voyage," which will entail the use of every known means of locomotion –
including trains, automobiles, dirigible balloons, submarines and
boats. An engineer (played, I believe, by the director himself)
explains his extraordinary plans to the members of a geographic
society, who meet his proposal with wholehearted enthusiasm. The voyage
itself is an unparalleled triumph of early visual effects. The members
of the expedition are first whisked away in a fast-moving train, which
is particularly significant in that, at the time, the train was seen as
an invention that could take you anywhere. 'Le Voyage à travers
l'impossible' takes this idea to the literal extreme, symbolic of the
ever-expanding possibilities of the era.
That iconic image of the scientists' rocket piercing the eye of the Man
on the Moon has permanently become engrained in the minds of
film-goers. In this film, we meet the Sun, who unexpectedly comes
face-to-face with a flying locomotive. The gradual emergence of the Sun
from behind the shifting clouds is a genuinely beautiful sight, and the
face which comprises it is infinitely more pleasant than the nasty,
ugly brute from a later Méliès film, 'L' Éclipse du soleil en pleine
lune / The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907).' Letting out
a wide yawn to welcome in the new day, the Sun is understandably
startled when the expedition's soaring train enters its outstretched
mouth, and he proceeds to cough trails of flame.
On the surface of the Sun, the engineer and his band of fellow
travellers set out to explore this strange new landscape, before the
rising of the Sun precipitates a drastic rise in temperature (sounds
unusual, but you'll have to suspend belief with this dubious logic). As
all the explorers clamber into a specially-made icebox to cool down,
all but the engineer are frozen into a block of solid ice. Rescued from
a frosty fate by the leader of the expedition (who shrewdly decides to
light a fire), the team tumbles into their only remaining means of
travel – a submarine – and launch themselves off the face of the Sun
and into the depths of the ocean.
Some viewers may find it difficult to accept this film's questionable
take on science and logic, but this all adds to the charm of it. Méliès
– a master of magician's tricks, puffs of smoke and impossible
disappearances – was never concerned with reality, but with
transporting his audiences into a world quite unlike their own. In an
era where so many directors were neither daring nor imaginative enough
to make the impossible happen on screen, 'Le Voyage à travers
l'impossible' is the pinnacle of early film-making.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
The Impossible Voyage is a fascinating Melies version of Jules Verne, 28 August 2006
Author:
tavm from Baton Rouge, La.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
After the success of A Trip to the Moon that had the iconic moment of the rocket lodged in the moon's eye, Georges Melies made The Impossible Voyage and had a train go into the sun's mouth. Then we see the passengers get all hot so someone gets all the ice but then all of them, except one who stayed outside the train, now gets frozen! How they get unfrozen shouldn't be too hard to guess but I won't reveal here. There's also some good slapstick pieces involving fire and steam and luggage in the beginning. Wonderful use of color-tinting throughout. Like A Trip to the Moon, The Impossible Voyage is based on a Jules Verne tale and is just as fascinating as the previous film. By all means, if you're a Melies enthusiast, seek this one out.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
The Impossible Voyage (Melies), 20 March 2010
Author:
Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY
Impossible Voyage, The (1904)
*** (out of 4)
Melies attempt to pass his landmark A TRIP TO THE MOON doesn't quite
come close to that but this here is still an entertaining little film.
Running 20-minutes, this tells the story of a Geographic Society who
build a special ship that will take them through the sky, to the sun
and then under the sea. That's pretty much the only type of plot we get
here as the master Frenchman really makes for an inter sting film that
has more going on for it visually than anything story wise. I must
admit that I found what little story we have here to be quite boring as
none of the human characters are all that interesting (not too uncommon
for 1904) but the places they visit really aren't that interesting
either. The look of all the locations is what makes this film worth
seeing as there's no doubt Melies put a lot of imagination into
everything we're seeing. I really loved the hand-colored stuff as this
too had imagination behind it and it wasn't just a scribbled mess. The
underwater sequence is a good one but the highlight would have to be
when the ship goes into the mouth of the sun.
Here comes the sun..., 16 April 2012
Author:
Mondo_Giallo from Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
I suppose you could consider this film as a spiritual follow up to A
Trip to the Moon. The latter remains George Méliès most famous and
iconic film; probably for good reason considering its ambition and
imagination. An Impossible Voyage explores similar territory and is
certainly a worthy companion-piece as an example of early cinematic
science fiction.
In this one a group of scientists don't go to the moon, they head
further afield to the sun. Perhaps this illustrates Méliès reaching out
further too. Certainly this is another example of him developing the
idea of what cinema could be. Unlike most of his peers, he was taking
the medium into the story-telling sphere. Films like this were in this
sense the beginnings of modern cinema as we know it.
The film features a nice colour tint that adds a great deal to the
fantastical look. It contains a number of hand painted sets that gives
it all a highly stylised look. The scientists' adventure not only takes
them to the sun but also across the mountains of Switzerland, which
Méliès also depicts like an alien landscape. The travellers end up in
the bottom of the ocean completing their amazing journey. All in all
this is an entertaining and highly imaginative work, well worth
catching.
Voyaging Earth + Space + Waters in 24 minutes can become a calamitous ride, 17 March 2012
Author:
sashank_kini-1 from India
Earth + Space + Waters in 24 minutes (covering possibly 24 hours or 1
day in the movie) can become a calamitous ride and make you neither
stand on earth, stay in space or swim in waters; this is what happens
in The Impossible Voyage which tries to plant its flag on the Alps, the
sun and in the oceans but fails everywhere. Of course there wasn't any
flag in the movie; I am talking about the actual success of the film in
covering such wide parameters in such a short time.
I highly appreciated the efforts put by Georges in A Trip to the Moon,
a science-fiction avant-garde film for its time. But here I sensed a
buy-one-get-two free offer coming at me and I wasn't happy with either
of the three. Why should I watch a group of jubilant men travelling so
much? I need a reason here because I am giving 24 minutes for the film;
in A Trip to the Moon, which was over in 8 minutes, I got much of the
excitement and humor that appeased my appetite. Here, after the
starter, the main-menu and the dessert, I became sick because all the
three courses were disparate, uneven and highly pointless. Georges
could've given a definite plot to the film, for example, three
different groups going taking three different routes or something like
that, instead of following the same angle of A Trip to the Moon. The
story begins the same with a arguments, consternation and discussions
between the men and women and also has a similar climax to A Trip in
the Moon. We however see a train, a tank, a spacecraft and a submarine
this time, and during the voyage to the sun, we actually see the train
fly. Throughout the journey the men are cheered by everyone and we see
some slapstick humor thrown in with the usual trips and tumbles. And
since I saw it in color, I could see the red flames, the white snow and
the brown mountains – this somewhat dampens the realistic element,
making the background look all the more artificial.
Everything here is perfunctorily covered, and Georges again wants more
emphasis on special effects, but compromising on the story completely
will not make them work. Also, without sound, the journey gets all the
more drab and colorless. I wouldn't advise viewers on watching The
Impossible Voyage to take a call on Georges' works – watch A Trip to
the Moon or The India Rubber Head instead.
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