A Trip to the Moon
1902 · Directed by Georges Méliès
Original language: French
- adventure
- science fiction
- comedy
The story
Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.
What it’s like
Black-and-white, hand-tinted frames of painted stage sets: a stylised Moon with a grinning craggy face, a cannon-fired capsule lodged in its eye, and theatrical backdrops that look like gouache on canvas. The camera is fixed at a single distance, like an audience seat in a music hall, so every gag plays out in full view with stagey gestures and bold, graphic silhouettes. Flickering projector grain and softly uneven exposure give it the warm, dreamlike texture of a magic lantern show, and the silent-era intertitles and jaunty piano accompaniment set a cheerful, playful pace. The mood is whimsical and gently absurd: wonder, mock-heroism, and a lot of slapstick mischief rather than real danger. The tone is light and childlike, with brief, cartoonish peril (a sea of umbrella-wielding creatures, a few mock-fearsome Selenites) that never turns frightening or gory. It suits a short, playful evening, a family screening, or anyone curious about where cinema's imagination began, and it is a good fit for viewers who want something brief, charming and entirely non-violent.
More films like A Trip to the Moon
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved A Trip to the Moonand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
