A Trip to the Moon (1902)

A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.

Director:

Georges Méliès (uncredited)

Stars:

Georges Méliès, Victor André, Bleuette Bernon

1 win.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Victor André	...	Astronomer (uncredited)
Bleuette Bernon	...	Lady in the Moon (uncredited)
Brunnet	...	Astronomer (uncredited)
Jehanne d'Alcy	...	Secretary / Star / Rocket Attendant (uncredited)
Henri Delannoy	...	Captain of the Rocket (uncredited)
Delpierre	...	Astronomer (uncredited)
Farjaux	...	Astronomer (uncredited)
Kelm	...	Astronomer (uncredited)
François Lallement	...	Officer of the Marines (uncredited)
Jules-Eugène Legris	...	Parade Leader (uncredited)
Georges Méliès	...	Prof. Barbenfouillis / The Moon (uncredited)

Storyline

An association of astronomers has convened to listen to the plan of Professor Barbenfouillis, their president, to fly to the moon. With the one dissenting voice quashed by Barbenfouillis and the other members, the plan is approved with Barbenfouillis choosing five others to accompany him. Most of the preparation for the trip is in building the vessel and launching mechanism, which resemble a large bullet and a large gun respectively. Hitting the moon in the eye, the six land safely at their destination. They find that much about the moon is wonderful and fantastical, but also that much is not what they would have liked to encounter as it is life threatening. They have to find a way to get out of their alien predicament to get back home safely.

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Plot Keywords:

astronomer | alien | satire | monster | asteroid | 

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Genres:

Short | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the earliest known science-fiction films. A segment near the end was animated, making this one of the first animated films also.

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Goofs

The size of the space capsule is inconsistent throughout the entire feature. It is, apparently, big enough to carry multiple people, yet when a Selenite is seen on the back of the capsule following its return to the Earth, he is almost as big as the entire capsule.

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Alternate Versions

One print has "Echoes" by Pink Floyd on the soundtrack.

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Connections

Remade as Excursion to the Moon (1908)

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Soundtracks

Cosmic Trip
(2011 Version)
Written by Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin
Performed by Air

User Reviews

A true work of Art

Journey to the Moon George Melies was a French and one of the pioneers of early cinema. Before his film career he was a magician/ illusionist. What makes his 1902 film Journey to the moon so breathtaking is the fact that its one of the first films to beak away from the Lumière brothers style of documentary style filming and use plot and narrative to create this compelling 14min filming at a rate of 16 frames per second which was the stander frame rate at that time. I would compare the spectator ship of this film to the reaction of today audience to a film like James Camrons Avatar. I make this statement as though Melies does not use state of the art CGI he did use techniques like super-imposing, animation, camera trickery and stop-start motion which would have been a expectational voyeurism pleasure in 1902. The other thing that makes this film hold its iconic place is history is the length which would of felt like watching all of the 'lord of the rings' film one after the other as most films were only a couple of minuets long. As I have previously mentioned Journey to the Moon has a narrative but its the first of it kind to have a real genre, its genre being sci-fi and fantasy as well as one of the first film to use special effects. For all they s reasons and more I rate this film very highly. With out it I believe that cinema as we know it would not be the same.

Nat Hawley

Details

Country:

France

Language:

None French

Release Date:

4 October 1902 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Trip to Mars

Filming Locations:

Méliès Studios, Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF30,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Star-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

13 min 14 min 8 min 16 min 16 min (restored color)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (hand-colored)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1