A Trip to the Moon 1902

Note: I watched both versions on Netflix - a black-and-white print with narration and the colour print with a soundtrack by Air. This review will cover both.

So here I am at what is undoubtedly Georges Méliès' most famous and enduring film, even if its status as his "best" is open to debate. It's not difficult to see why - while the films have gradually been increasing in complexity and length, this is a clear step-up from anything previously released. The story follows a group of astronomers led by Professor Barbenfouillis as they prepare for and execute a voyage to the moon. Upon arrival, they begin to explore and discover a native race, the Selenites, a number of whom are killed by the Professor. They are captured, escape and beat a hasty retreat to their craft. Once safely back on Earth, they receive a warm welcome and a parade. The unfortunate Selenite that managed to grab onto the craft is rendered captive on display.

It's nothing groundbreaking, story-wise, nor should it be. It's all about the spectacle of the trip, and every section of the film has something utterly distinctive about it. There's a tremendous sense of wonder throughout, of discovery, and notwithstanding the fact that the party of astronomers represent a murderous invading force it's exhilarating to accompany them.

There are so many iconic images throughout, and the sets are beautifully designed and painted. For such short films, occasionally a Méliès short can seem overstuffed, relying on chaos and mayhem to entertain but there's an economy of story and a clear flow from beginning to end.

The two versions have something to recommend each. The black-and-white version is slightly shorter but a touch clearer and there's much more of a sense of what's going on. Unfortunately, it's burdened with some tiresome narration. The colour version is interesting and looks much more fantastical for obvious reasons - the moon in particular. The Air soundtrack is neither here nor there; I didn't feel like it added much to the overall experience but that might change on repeat viewings.

You don't need me to tell you that this is one of the most important films in history, and for reasons that are countless, but I'll reiterate it anyway. It's fantastic.

I think it is important, especially with regard to films concerned with the fantastical, to keep a child-like sense of wonder when watching and the best films will reward this. A Trip to the Moon appeals to my inner child in the best possible way with its fantastic voyage. Even viewed over a hundred years after its creation it manages to excite in a way that is harder than a lot of people might think - take, for example, the legions of failed films every year aimed at children. Such a thing can't be done lazily, or without conviction - there has to be passion there, a willingness to put real effort into creating a certain kind of feeling.

The effects are, at this stage, very dated but rather than distracting from or taking away any of the enjoyment they in fact enhance it - there's a certain aesthetic appeal with old practical effects that CGI can never hope to replicate and this is in full effect here. The puffs of smoke as the moon's residents are vanquished almost sparkle with wonder and the mugging and overacting endears rather than annoys.

The films is structured well; the build-up, the landing, the exploration, escape and return. There is no room for fluff or frills here and there's a satisfying start and end. The effort that went into building the sets is extraordinary and the painted backgrounds look impressive and suitably alien. The most important thing here, rather than the plot or the effects is the feeling and atmosphere that the film manages to generate and it really feels like a dream or a vision of some far off future where anything can, and will, happen.

I can't say much more than what other critics have said a million times before in the past 100 years or so, but damn, I forgot how revolutionary this film was. I saw the post-processed colorized version of the short feature, in my opinion the best version, and it absolutely blew me away how ambitious this was for 1902.

Let's see, we've got a basic structured narrative, which includes a beginning, a middle, and an end. We've got amazing special effects through use of practical sets, matte paintings, and in-camera tricks. We've got great performances that tell the audience the story and what the characters are feeling, without the use of dialogue. There's also some great composition with actors in the framing of what the camera could see.

The only shoddy special effects are some of the quick cuts (Because there wasn't any editing equipment back then), and actually, I find the rocket hitting the moon's eye to be the worst special effect of the film. The rocket appears much bigger in size than what it actually it is and the cut to the rocket hitting in the eye is too jarring. Otherwise, the movie has some great work with blending together smaller sets and in-camera tricks with the real actors.

Georges Méliès possibly revolutionized movies forever and I think everyone owes something to him. By today's standards, it's not the best movie ever created, but goddamn, at the time, it certainly was. A milestone in motion picture history. Everyone interested in movies has to at least watch it once.

The respect still paid to Le voyage dans la lune makes sense when it's compared to what most other films of the time looked like. Barely anything had a multi-reel runtime lasting almost a quarter of an hour, told a continuous story throughout, or had sets and costumes this elaborate. Méliès used all of the tools and techniques he had perfected to take the audience on a thrilling trip of the imagination. It might be the oldest movie that fully qualifies as a dramatic adventure tale.

Some elements don't work very well. Méliès was always on the verge of overusing his effects, and the scientists' telescopes transforming into chairs is one of those absurd moments. The magical changes in the moon projectile's size and location, suddenly disappearing from the landing site only the reappear on a cliff, from which it's somehow able to tumble back to Earth, also don't help the suspension of disbelief. I also found the durations of the acts to be off balance. A quarter of the runtime is spent on the professor telling his colleagues about his plan, and by the time they finally reach the moon, half of the movie is already over. The actual adventure part of the story feels rushed.

It's still a joy to watch, in the knowledge of how incredibly early in the history of motion pictures this was all put together. The cuts work well, and the pyrotechnics are nice. My favourite part are the gorgeous painted backgrounds, some of them cleverly combined with rising smoke and pouring water. They make every scene look fantastic, and would give 65 years younger Star Trek a run for its money. A lot is happening on screen, too. Hats fall off, people stumble over things – don't expect any modern nudging on what you need to pay attention to. You'll miss a lot of little slapstick moments if you watch it only once.

My Blu-ray copy included both a black and white version, as well as an original hand-coloured one. I prefer the black and white one, not only because it seems better preserved, but because the colours don't really add much. The colour choices are often questionable, and the manually tinted areas wobble around so much from frame to frame that it's rather disorienting.