Movies - Le Voyage dans la Lune

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	Movies - Le Voyage dans la Lune

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. Running time is 14 minutes at 16 frames per second.

It is recognized as one of the first films of the sci-fi genre, and for its innovative animation.

Today, the movie is included on several VHS and DVD collections of early film, including The Movies Begin and Landmarks of Early Film.

Plot

A group of six brave astronomers decide to go to the Moon. 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, unroll their blankets, and take a nap. They dream of celestial Folies-Bergères girls, who call 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 by 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 and general rejoicing has been lost.)

Trivia

Méliès had intended on releasing the film into 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 in history.

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 premeired in 2003 at the Pordonone Silent Film Festival.

In popular media

The Smashing Pumpkins appropriated footage from the film for use in their music video "Tonight, Tonight." In tribute to Georges Méliès, the steam ship in the video is called the "SS Méliès".

Fragments from the film were used in the music video of the song "Heaven for Everyone" from the rock band Queen.

An episode of the 1998 HBO television miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon (which borrows its title from Verne's original novel) details the making of this film.

A clip from this film appeared in an episode of the PBS television program Reading Rainbow.

An episode of Futurama (The Series Has Landed), parodies a scene in the movie.

It could be said that The Moon from the second series of The Mighty Boosh resembles the moon from the movie.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Le Voyage dans la Lune ]

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