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How Georges Méliès’ films are still influencing cinema, more than 100 years later

The filmmaker’s spirit of adventure is the subject of a VR Google Doodle.

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If you’ve ever watched a science fiction movie, or one that uses special effects, then you owe a debt of gratitude to Georges Méliès, the subject of today’s Google Doodle and one of the few people who truly deserve to be called a “visionary.”

One of cinema’s most important pioneers, Méliès worked in an age when the medium was changing rapidly a nd when the whole world was obsessed with scientific discovery, explorations, and expeditions to the furthest reaches of the planet. So it’s fitting that a Doodle created in another age of fast-paced cinematic change — our current time — honors him by using some fancy technology of its own.

Méliès, born in 1861, was an innovator par excellence, experimenting with effects in his films that blew people’s minds in an era when film itself was still startling to many people. Employing things like time-lapse photography, multiple exposures, dissolves, pyrotechnics, theatrical machinery, and more, he dazzled his audiences. It looked like magic. (You can see some of these effects on the Doodle’s background page .)

Méliès was working around the turn of the 20th century, a time of burgeoning scientific exploration and big dreams about the future of mankind. The filmmaker tapped into those through his experimentation with effects, and through stories he told tales of discovery.

Méliès’s most famous film is probably Le Voyage dans la Lune ( A Trip to the Moon ), from 1902. It’s a work of science fiction, inspired partly by stories by people like Jules Verne. In the almost 13-minute film, a group of space explorers travel to the moon, encounter a tribe of strange beings, capture one, and return to Earth. Méliès himself played the crew’s leader, Professor Barbenfouillis.

Méliès returned to that idea of being an explorer again and again in his movies, including 1904’s The Impossible Voyage , in which a group of explorers undertake an epic voyage to the center of the sun. And on May 3, 1912, Méliès released À la conquête du pôle (which translates to The Conquest of the Pole ). The full film is 44 minutes long, and it pokes sly fun at the then-recent South Pole explorations of Roald Amundsen, with effects that give the whole story a magical feel.

Inspired by Méliès’s yearning for discovery and fascination with exciting new technologies, Nexus Studios, the creators of the Doodle, decided to try their hand at one of today’s most interesting burgeoning cinematic technologies: virtual reality and immersive 360-degree video. Bringing those two effects together, they incorporated some of the filmmaker’s favorite trick photography moves — multiple exposures and disappearing subjects among them — to make a short film called Back to the Moon , in homage to Méliès’s 1902 movie.

To watch the film in its full virtual reality splendor, you’ll need a mobile device (or one of Google’s virtual reality devices ) and the Google Spotlight Stories app, available on Google Play or in the App Store .

Or you can watch it as a simple video below. If you click on the film as it plays, you can drag it around for the full 360-degree experience.

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Celebrate Silent Film

A Trip to the Moon (1902) A Silent Film Review

O ne of the single most iconic silent films and certainly the most famous picture from the pre-feature era, A Trip to the Moon has been studied and discussed for over a century. Why is it so beloved and how did it drill down so deeply into our pop culture? That’s what we’re going to find out.

Seek out new life forms and new civilizations—and kill them.

Some films are famous for certain scenes. Many have lines of quotable dialogue. However, there is a very small and exclusive club of movies that are remembered and symbolized by a single image.

A face in the moon with a rocket in its eye. That image from A Trip to the Moon is so famous that it is instantly recognizable even to people who have never seen a single silent film. It has been referenced and imitated in everything from children’s books to music videos. Martin Scorsese’s 2011 film Hugo was built around the scene and its creator, Georges Méliès.

A Trip to the Moon is a mixture of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells (among other sources) all played with tongue in cheek. In a strange alternate Europe where the men wear wizard robes and the military is entirely staffed by women in hot pants, Professor Barbenfouillis (George Méliès) has come up with a mad plan. He intends to build a large, bullet-shaped metal capsule and fire himself to the moon with a giant cannon. His plan is dismissed as madness but five of his colleagues agree to accompany him.

The massive cannon is soon constructed, Barbenfouillis and company climb into their vessel and are shot at the moon. They hit the moon’s eye (it strikes me that I should start singing Dean Martin about now ), disembark and start to explore.

The moon is as magical as Barbenfouillis had promised but the little party is soon set upon by the acrobatic Selenites, the native inhabitants of the moon. Barbenfouillis manages to kill their king with his umbrella and the scientists escape and climb back into the capsule. They make it back to earth and are feted for their adventures.

The story may seem simple to us today but it was quite an elaborate production for 1902. Keep in mind that projecting films for a paying audience was less than a decade old. The star and studio systems were in embryonic stages. Georges Méliès created magic in miniature, allowing his audience to ooo and aah and be thrilled for a few moments.

Also, further examination of the tale shows us that the story may not be as simple as we think. Film historian Matthew Solomon points out that Méliès 1890s political cartoons mocked militant nationalism and bullying colonialism. The whimsical path of destruction wrought by Barbenfouillis and his associates suddenly takes on disturbing real-world implications. It’s reasonable to conclude that Méliès was not celebrating the violent expedition to the moon; he was satirizing it.

Of course, if the social and political satire flies over the heads of modern viewers, we can at least take comfort in the fact that contemporary audiences also took the film at face value and simply enjoyed the fantastic adventures.

A Trip to the Moon was Méliès most ambitious production to date and it was an immediate hit with audiences. It also became one of the most pirated films in the young film industry. It was stolen, it was imitated and, ultimately, it was almost lost. Its recovery is one of the success stories of film preservation and part of the secret of its longevity.

Why do we remember it?

Thousands of short films were released during the first decade of commercial moviemaking. Out of those thousands, why is this film the one that has drilled deep into our consciousness? I am not in favor of dissecting this particular film down to its molecules (let’s preserve the magic) but here are a few thoughts on the subject.

It was extremely advanced for its time.

A motion picture with thirty scenes? That may not seem like much but it was quite ambitious in 1902. Further, Méliès was creating an entire fantasy planet to enchant his viewers. His investment of time and money paid off in worldwide enthusiasm for the film. Méliès himself saw little of the profits and only part of the acclaim. As mentioned before, the film was quickly pirated and passed off as the work of others.

In his essay Theatricality, Narrativity and Trickality , Andre Gaudreault writes that one aspect of A Trip to the Moon that often gets overlooked is its editing. Méliès employed extremely rapid editing by 1902 standards. In one case, he uses four shots in less than twenty seconds. Keep in mind that during this period, it was not unusual for films to be made up of a few lengthy scenes that played out without a single cut. Impressive.

I should also point out that Méliès embraced the theatricality of his sets and setting. His films wear their artificiality on their sleeve. (Do films have sleeves? Bear with me.) The painted sets and otherworldly costumes are not intended to fool or trick the audience. They exist to set the mood and they do an excellent job of it.

It can be boiled down to a single iconic image.

The man in the moon with a rocket in his eye. As mentioned before, this image is iconic. The concept of the man in the moon is familiar to the majority of audiences in Europe and North America (possibly in more places as well, I haven’t made study of it). Méliès took the concept and brought it to its logical conclusion. If the moon is a man’s face, it stands to reason that a spacecraft would be very irritating indeed.

The gentle humor and absurdist look at astronomy ended up creating the perfect formula for a memorable motion picture image.

It got just enough right to be seen as prescient.

Okay, so the moon doesn’t have acrobatic green men who disappear into puffs of candy-colored smoke when struck by umbrellas. You need a space suit and there are no maidens perched on stars. However, A Trip to the Moon ’s rocket and cannon are not so terribly different from how the real trip to the moon occurred. Giving credit for artistic license and the time in which it was filmed, it did a pretty amazing job.

This prescient vision has led to some… interesting observations. One documentary on Méliès bizarrely brings up the “fake moon landing” conspiracy theory. “They could have faked the landing—like Melies! But he did it first! Nya nya nya!” That’s taking their admiration for their subject a little far, don’t you think? ( Lunar truthers. Feh! )

It was an early target for preservation.

The talkie revolution hit in the late 1920s and silent films were seen as relics. Some were scavenged for footage to be glued into sound films. Some were destroyed. Some simply rotted away. Around the time that Al Jolsen was declaring that we ain’t seen nothing yet, interested parties in France were trying to track down and preserve the early history of film. In the case of Méliès, after the collapse of his studio, he destroyed his own body of work, burning hundreds of his own films.

He had not made a picture in years but Méliès was not without his champions. One of collectors of the past was Jean Acme Leroy. He obtained a partial print of A Trip to the Moon and upon his death, the Museum of Modern Art purchased his film collection. MoMA widely circulated the film (along with The Great Train Robbery ) as an example of early narrative film and this is generally accepted to be the start of its revival outside of France.

Even in those dark times for lovers of silent cinema, A Trip to the Moon continued to gleam as one of the crown jewels of early film.

We are still in love with the dream.

We can be technical and go on and on about symbolism and technical marvels but the fact remains that all beloved films share an indescribable quality—shall we call it charisma?—that makes their audiences want to visit the world that they create.

Méliès set out to charm his audiences with painted sets and an unfettered imagination. His goal was simple but he succeeded in ways that would likely have astonished him. Over 110 years after A Trip to the Moon was released, most viewers would be hard-pressed to name major theater stars, composers, conductors, or even presidents and kings of 1902. But it seems that everyone knows that man in the moon with the rocket in his eye.

Movies are technical and they certainly can be subjected to academic examination. However, as I mentioned before, digging too deeply into the technical can kill the dream. In the end, I suppose the best answer is to say that we love it because it is wondrous.

A Trip to the Moon , in color

Movies had been in color since almost the beginning. In the case of Méliès, certain films were meticulously colored by hand. A Trip to the Moon was one of these films. (Méliès painted his sets in black and white, assuring that they would film well on the primitive nitrate.) When interest in this magician of early cinema was rekindled, the copies of A Trip to the Moon were battered, damaged, incomplete and in black and white.

Fortunately, a color print showed up in Spain. After years of painstaking restoration (the film was so badly decayed that it had fused into a solid mass), A Trip to the Moon was finally available with its original colors.

The Extraordinary Voyage, the 2011 documentary that accompanies that home media release of A Trip to the Moon , shows how the restoration was achieved and how a combination of old-fashioned film work and the latest technology joined forces to save a movie that would otherwise have been lost.

And now we come to something even more controversial than fake moon landings: silent film scores. There is nothing that silent film fans will argue about more (well, that and projection speed) than whether or not a score is suitable. Period music only! No synthesizers!

Just so you know where I stand, I am very much in favor of modernized scores. Within reason, of course. But I do like films scores that at least acknowledge that Prokofiev happened.

I say all this because A Trip to the Moon has a non-traditional score by the French electronica-ish duo Air. This score was met with derision is some circles but I quite liked it. So there.

I enjoyed hearing the thoughts of the band members, which were included as an extra on the DVD/Blu-ray release. Air respected the film enormously but they did not want to be stuck in another time. They stated that they had no wish to be forgers, that is, replicating the sounds of 1902 exactly. Rather, they wanted to include nods to the old days but make the score modern.

I subscribe to the belief that music is as important as the images on the screen. So when a score is said to “draw attention to itself,” that is not a bad thing in my book. A great many iconic sound film scores ( Lawrence of Arabia; Star Wars; Alexander Nevsky; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Yojimbo; The Elephant Man ) do draw attention to themselves but they also support and harmonize with the images on the screen.

That being said, a lot of modern bands have made a bad name for themselves by treating silent films as free music videos. For example, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a rather tedious fad of allowing goth metal bands to play their existing songs over horror classics like Nosferatu and The Phantom of the Opera . In that case, the music is no longer an equal partner, it is an obnoxious interloper.

But let’s say we are not dealing with the heavy metal crowd. Let’s say that we are hiring a jazz, electronica or cabaret act. What then? Often, the problem with hiring bands for silent film scores is that they have no experience in movie music of any kind, aside from contributing a song to a compilation soundtrack. Stating the obvious but writing a film score is very different from writing a 2-5 minute song. Air had written and performed the acclaimed score for The Virgin Suicides (1999) so they were in a much better position to understand the needs of a silent film than many of their brethren.

For a band to succeed, respect for the film that they have been engaged to accompany is a must. Air clearly has that respect. Their style may not be for everyone but it suits me just fine.

A Trip to the Moon is an iconic silent film and probably the single most famous motion picture of the decade of the 1900s. It is also a window into a simpler age when it seemed that anything was possible in the movies. All I can say is that you really should see it for yourself.

Movies Silently’s Score: ★★★★★

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21 Comments

Great job of discussing a great film. This was the movie that made me want to start my own project to discover the cinema of an earlier era.

Thank you! It really is a magical film.

Beautiful review. Nice, too, that you mentioned HUGO, which is one of my all-time favorite movies *about* movies, right up there with CINEMA PARADISO.

Thank you! I have met a lot of newer silent fans who were introduced through Hugo.

That was a good survey of the movie and its importance, Fritzi. I think one of the first things that got me excited about searching on the web was finding a page on the Trip to the Moon operetta and the attraction at Coney Island’s Luna Park. I didn’t remember encountering them in film history books.

That is intriguing. Cross-promotion is much older than people think.

This is a terrific review for all sorts of reasons. However, there is one typo, the name should be spelled “H. G. Wells” not “Welles” as in “Orson Welles.”

Cecil B. DeMille and I have one major thing in common: neither one of us ever could spell 😉

Lovely to read your comments on this iconic film! It was one of the films that first triggered my interest in silent movies, so it will always be fondly remembered by me. On a slightly different note, when you mentioned the music in silent films, this reminded me of the showing of an early silent Hitchcock film, Champagne, made when he was still in the UK. I didn’t get the chance to see it in person, as it was broadcast in a cinema in London (too far away for me!), but the organisers had the great idea of streaming it live online and not showing just the film, but also the buildup to it (ie the audience arriving and taking their seats). The music was provided by an all-female quartet who incorporated modern songs into the score – for instance, Madonna’s “Poppa don’t Preach” when the heroine was being told off by her father. I wasn’t sure about this at first, but it did start to grow on me after a while and I found it quite witty. Another nice touch was that all four performers turned up at the cinema wearing matching 20’s flapper dresses, so they really got into the spirit of things!

You hit on the real secret to success for a non-traditional score: respect for the material. It sounds like the quartet tried to get into the spirit of things and put thought into their selections.

Oh, this film is a classic. The effects might seem crude by today’s standards but this was revolutionary when it came out, and in that sense it’s still impressive especially when you consider what other filmmakers were doing at the time (the Lumière bros., for example).

Yes, it was incredibly ambitious.

Most of this film also appeared in the 1956 version of Around the world in 80 days.

I haven’t seen that one in a long time. I seem to recall it was a great cure for insomnia.

It is, though at least they don’t give snide commentary when they show some of the Melies clip.

I love this film! The Hugo book was, along with my discovery of Clara Bow, what really introduced me to the world of silents – and Méliès.

Excellent review of a cinematic cornerstone. But I’m curious about the black and white version that I’ve seen broadcast several times on TCM, the one with the clumsy (and completely unnecessary) spoken narration that supposedly was based on something Melies intended to be used with the film. Do you know what the story is on that aspect, the “narration,” of the film?

I also find the narration to be clunky but it seems that it was reasonably common during this period (check out “The Sounds of Early Cinema” for details). Films were accompanied by narrators or entire troupes of actors, depending on the exhibitor.

In Japan, silents films were usually narrated too. It’s weird, but I think with better writing and immersion, it could be kinda cool.

The benshi in Japan really made the narration an art, trilling their R’s for criminals, raising their pitch for ladies, speaking from the stomach for lords, etc. I think the main problem with A Trip to the Moon’s narration is that it really doesn’t add to the action on the screen. Is better delivery the answer, I wonder?

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ARTS & CULTURE

A trip to the moon as you’ve never seen it before.

One of the landmark films in cinema can now be seen in color

Daniel Eagan

It’s one of the most famous films in cinema, a special-effects, science-fiction extravaganza that became an international sensation when it was released in 1902. Almost instantly it was pirated, bootlegged, copied and released by competing studios under different names. And for decades it’s only been available in black-and-white copies.

Now, after a 12 year project that approached a half-million euros in cost, Lobster Films , The Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage , and Fondation Groupama Gan pour le Cinéma are unveiling a new version of A Trip to the Moon , “resurrected,” in the words of preservationist Tom Burton, from an original, hand-colored nitrate print. For the first time in generations viewers will be able to see the color version of the film that stunned early 20th-century moviegoers.

Le voyage dans la lune , to use its French title, is one of over 500 movies made by Georges Méliès, perhaps the first filmmaker to fully grasp the potential of cinema. The son of a wealthy shoemaker, Méliès was born in 1861. Fascinated by magic and illusions, he left the family business in 1888. Buying the Robert-Houdin theater from his widow in Paris, he developed a successful act with illusions such as “The Vanishing Lady.” Méliès was in the audience when the Lumière brothers held their first public film screening on December 28, 1895, and within months was exhibiting movies at his theater.

Méliès made his first film in November, 1896, built his own studio in 1901 and formed the Star Film brand to market his work in France and internationally. He made movies about current events and fairy tales, replicated his stage illusions on screen and developed a highly advanced technical style that incorporated stop-motion animation: double-, triple-, and quadruple-exposures; cross-dissolves; and jump cuts. More than any of his contemporaries, Méliès made movies that were fun and exciting. They were filled with stunts, tricks, jokes, dancing girls, elaborate sets and hints of the macabre.

A Trip to the Moon had several antecedents, including the 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne and A Trip to the Moon , a four-act opera with music by Jacques Offenbach that debuted in 1877. Méliès may also have been aware of a theater show at the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York, called A Trip to the Moon . Filming started in May, 1902. It was released on September 1 in Paris and a little over a month later in New York City.

At the time exhibitors and individuals could purchase films outright from the Star Films catalog. Color prints were available at an extra cost. Probably not too many color prints of A Trip to the Moon were ever in existence, but it came out right around that time color became a real fad. Within a couple of years, the hand-painting was replaced by tinting and stencil process, so color became more prevalent and less expensive. Several color Méliès films survive, but it was believed that the color Trip to the Moon had long been lost.

But in 1993, Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange of Lobster Films obtained an original nitrate print from the Filmoteca de Catalunya . The only problem: it had decomposed into the equivalent of a solid hockey puck. In 1999, Bromberg and Lange, two of the most indefatigable of all film historians, began to try to unspool the reel by placing it in the equivalent of a humidor, using a chemical compound that softened the nitrate enough to digitally document individual frames. (The process also ultimately destroyed the film.)

Years later, Bromberg had some 5,000 digital files, which he handed over to Tom Burton, the executive director of Technicolor Restoration Services in Hollywood. In a recent phone call, Burton described how his team approached this “bucket of digital shards.”

“What we got was a bunch of digital data that had no sequential relationship to each other because they had to photograph whatever frame or piece of a frame that they could,” Burton recalled. “We had to figure out the puzzle of where these chunks of frames, sometimes little corners of a frame or a half of a frame, where all these little pieces went. Over a period of about nine months we put all these pieces back together, building not only sections but rebuilding individual frames from shattered pieces.”

Burton estimated that they could salvage between 85 to 90 percent of the print. They filled in the missing frames by copying them from a private print held by the Méliès family and digitally coloring the frames to match the original hand colored source.

“It’s really more a visual effects project in a way than a restoration project,” Burton said. “A lot of the technology that we used to rebuild these frames is the technology you would use if you were making a first-run, major visual effects motion picture. You’d never have been able to pull this off 10 years ago, and certainly not at all with analog, photochemical technology.”

For Burton, A Trip to the Moon represents the beginnings of modern visual effects as we know them today. “Seeing it in color makes it a whole different film,” he said. “The technique involved teams of women painting individual frames with tiny brushes and aniline dyes. The color is surprisingly accurate but at times not very precise. It will wander in and out of an actor’s jacket, for example. But it’s very organic. It will never rival the way A Trip to the Moon first screened for audiences, but it’s still pretty amazing.”

A Trip to the Moon was shown at the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival in May, and is screening on September 6 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bromberg will be showing it at this year’s New York Film Festival , and on November 11 at the Museum of Modern Art , along “with the world premiere of my documentary about the restoration. An absolute must!” as he wrote in an e-mail. Was this his most exciting restoration? “One of them, of course,” he answered. “The best one is the next one!!”

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"Daniel Eagan is a film writer and author of America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry . "

Den of Geek

A Tribute to the First Ever Science Fiction Film: A Trip to the Moon

If you've never watched the George Melies silent film that launched an entire film genre, there's no time like the present.

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Odds are you’ve seen the now-iconic shot of a rocket running into the eye of the Man in the Moon from George Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon, the 1902 French film that is considered the first science fiction film ever made. Perhaps you even caught more of Méliès’ work in  Martin Scorsese ‘s 2011 film Hugo , which cast Méliès as a character, showed clips (in 3D, if you were lucky) from the silent film, and went about recreating the circumstances of the iconic film’s construction.

But maybe you haven’t seen the full 14-minute silent film (that’s 825 feet of film) for yourself. Frankly, the impact A Trip to the Moon had on early cinema — and, therefore, on modern cinema cannot be understated…

We take much of what constitutes the language of modern cinema for granted, but it wasn’t always so. There was a time when filmmakers hadn’t yet thought of using camera tricks to create illusions — what we know today as special effects. Enter French filmmaker George Méliès, a man in love with the art of illusion.

Méliès was more than a filmmaker of early cinema; he was a visionary. Charlie Chaplin called him an “alchemist of light,” while D.W. Griffiths claimed: “I owe him everything.” Terry Gilliam has called Méliès “the first great film magician.”

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Prior to being a film magician, Méliès was a stage magician. He even had his own Parisian theater where he would stage magic shows (and later screen films). In 1895, he saw a presentation of the cinematograph — an early version of the film camera (and projector) — by the Lumières brothers, and set about learning the craft of film.

One day, a camera malfunction on one of Méliès films made it appear as if people were transforming into other people instantaneously. Really, the camera had jammed, stopping its recording for a short period of time and then restarting, thus creating what we think of today as a simple video special effect.

At the time, however, the effect — when purposely implemented — was revolutionary. Méliès’ mind immediately started churning, coming up with ideas of magical illusions he could work into his film narratives. The rest is literally film history.

A still from Melies’ “Man With a Rubber Head” — starring Méliès as the rubber head.

Méliès wasn’t just a film pioneer artistically, but also in terms of industry. He built the first movie studio in Europe — a building made completely of glass walls and ceilings on his own property outside of Paris. He was also the first filmmaker to use production sketches and storyboards, and would help paint the sets and create the props for his films.

Artistically, Méliès was the first filmmaker to experiment with double exposure, split screen, dissolve, superimposition, and reverse shots. He also experimented with moving the camera to create the illusion of objects changing size (a trick that was used to great effect in Man With a Rubber Head, < pictured above).

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Though Méliès created more than 500 films — in which he also often starred — A Trip to theMoon is his most famous. His longest to date at the time, the film drew inspiration from Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon and its sequel Around the Moon , as well as H.G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon , which was published just a year prior. A Trip to the Moon took three months to film and 10,000 francs to produce.

The plot of A Trip to the Moon is relatively simple, but incredibly ambitious for early cinema. It tells the story of Professor Barbenfouillis (played by Méliès), the president of the Astronomer’s Club. The professor and five of his astronomer friends take a trip to the moon via a space vehicle they build in their laboratory. They crash into the moon’s face. Once there, the men fall asleep, only to be captured by a group of moon aliens (played by real-life acrobats) known as the Selenites. They manage to escape with the Selenites in hot pursuit, falling back to Earth and landing in the ocean. Once pulled ashore, the returned explorers are celebrated the townspeople. Huzzah!

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A Trip to the Moon not only made a splash (that’s a falling-in-the-ocean-from-the-moon reference) in France, but internationally, making Méliès famous in the U.S. It is considered one of the world’s first blockbusters, and was pirated by American film distributors such as Thomas Edison.

In addition to A Trip to the Moon Méliès would make many other epics that relied on his penchant for special effects, as well as his narrative ambition. These films spanned across genre, from documentaries and comedies to historical reconstructions (like a pre-enactment of the coronation of Edward VII) and fairy stories. That last one was Méliès’ best known genre, and wasn’t completely missing from A Trip to the Moon , which was just as much fantasy as it was science fiction.

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Méliès was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame  in 2015, with the museum noting that “unlike his contemporaries, [Méliès] very early saw film’s potential to show fantastical worlds in a way no other medium could,” and that “his elaborate and theatrical fantasies” were “some of the earliest depictions of other worlds on film.”

A few years ago, I had a chance to visit Paris’ La Cinematheque Francaise, the cinematic museum that Méliès would become the first conservator of later in his life. Amongst the museum’s prized posessions are props from A Trip to the Moon (pictured below), a tangible connection to film’s early history and a rather impressive reminder that Méliès was able to create magic literally out of pots and pans.

In his The Hugo Movie Companion , Scorcese wrote of Méliès and  A Trip to the Moon :

Motion and emotion. They were, and are, at the core of cinema. And it was Georges Méliès who provided the final key: magic. He saw moving pictures as a way to enrich and enlarge his stage presentations. In so doing, he took the movies another giant step forward. The Lumières gave us the world as we knew it, and Méliès gave it to us as we imagined and extended it, with imaginary voyages, disappearances, and transformations.

Do yourself a favor: If you have 15 minutes during your lunch break or at the end of the day, take the chance to watch the first ever science fiction blockbuster, A Trip to the Moon , and try to imagine what it must have been like to see special effects like this for the first time. Let go of the cynicism of the modern cinematic era and embrace film for what George Méliès understood it to be: the art of magic.

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek . Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt .

Read and download the  Den of Geek SDCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine  right here!

Kayti Burt | @kaytiburt

Kayti is a pop culture writer, editor, and full-time nerd who comes from a working class background. A member of the Television Critics Association, she specializes…

The Legacy of ‘A Trip to the Moon’

Arguably, cinema peaked immediately with the pure nonfiction works of the Lumière brothers and the fantastical films of Georges Méliès . The latter, a former stage illusionist, gave us hundreds of magical works that remain the obvious forebears of much of today’s genre cinema and special-effects spectacle.

His most famous film is the 1902 short A Trip to the Moon , which was inspired by the fictions of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and depicts — as the title makes perfectly clear — a lunar mission. Its image of a rocket crashing into the eyes of an actor portraying the Man in the Moon is one of the most iconic in movies.

As such a significant work, despite not being the filmmaker’s first foray into Moon-based science fictions or even representing the lunar body anthropomorphically,  A Trip to the Moon  has been a huge influence on and inspiration to all kinds entertainments and practices over the course of nearly 120 years.

Here are the most notable movies, songs, and historical effects that comprise the legacy  of  A Trip to the Moon :

Film Piracy

Despite having made one (or more) of the most famous and iconic movies of all time, Méliès was ultimately not a financially successful filmmaker. Though he would continue producing motion pictures for another 20-plus years, A Trip to the Moon was a major loss for him and his company.

At the time, the film was his most ambitious and therefore most expensive. It was also his most popular, and he hoped to make a ton of money off its esteem. Unfortunately, while it was a huge hit in America, Méliès did not profit much from the export due to rampant film piracy.

Unlike the piracy that we have today, the theft of intellectual property in the early 1900s was done mostly by major businesses. The Edison Manufacturing Company, Vitagraph, Biograph, and others illegally made copies of A Trip to the Moon for distribution in the US through the years.

Méliès quickly set up an office in the States to stop the piracy of his films and secure American patents, but it was too late for many of his titles. And thanks to further bullying practices of Thomas Edison , the visionary French filmmaker was constantly losing money in the industry he helped pioneer.

Another way to get around paying for Méliès’ film — and this was something also done often back then — was to make your own. While Edison and others made copies of A Trip to the Moon by producing new negatives of prints they bought, Spanish director Segundo de Chomón copied the film by helming a nearly shot-for-shot remake.

Excursion to the Moon , released in 1908, has enough differences to not mistake it for the original — the face in the Moon, in particular, is a major giveaway, as is the way the rocketship crashes into its mouth rather than its eye — but it’s similar enough that as an unauthorized redo there’s definitely a case to make of its infringement. Watch it below.

It’s not as if Chomón was a hack. This practice was just the early 20th-century version of everyone making Star Wars ripoffs in the early ’80s. It’s just that Pathé wanted something nearly identical to the real thing and got the guy considered the Spanish Méliès to do it. It’s like if they got Douglas Trumbull, Stanley Donen, or Mike Hodges to make Star Wars wannabes. Oh right, that all happened.

The Music Video

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, music videos were the perfect bridge between film school and movie career, not just for the experience but also to show off familiarity with film history. For Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, though they’d been out of school for many years, represent that transition very well with their 1996 video for Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight.”

Originally, the couple had wanted to pay homage to Busby Berkeley musical numbers with their take on the song, but that had just been done in another video. So, inspired by the art on the album cover for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness , on which the song appears, Dayton and Faris decided to pay tribute to Méliès with essentially a remake of A Trip to the Moon .

The video was a huge hit, winning many awards from MTV and earning a Grammy nomination, and through its heavy airplay introduced tons of viewers to such imagery as the iconic face in the moon, faces in stars, bouncing aliens, and bullet-like rocketship (though the humans — yes, those are SpongeBob SquarePants stars Tom Kenny and Jill Talley) arrive by space zeppelin.

The video concludes with a more elaborate underwater sequence than is found in A Trip to the Moon , however, clearly inspired more by Méliès’ The Mermaid and Under the Seas . Surprisingly, after Dayton and Faris became best known for the “Tonight, Tonight” video, the filmmaking duo did not go on to make sci-fi/fantasy films, but rather dramas such as Little Miss Sunshine .

The Reenactment

The same month as the debut of the “Tonight, Tonight” video saw the broadcast of the final part of HBO’s miniseries From Earth to the Moon , which chronicles the history of the Apollo program. Titled “Le Voyage Dans La Lune” (the French name for the film), this 12th installment of the program deals with the final trip to the Moon (Apollo 17) as well as the making of A Trip to the Moon .

Tom Hanks , who is one of the producers and the host of the series, appears in the Jonathan Mostow-helmed episode portraying a fictional assistant to Méliès (Tchéky Karyo) during the making of the famous sci-fi short. From Earth to the Moon painstakingly recreates the sets and costumes for a seamless cut between the real thing and the reenactment, so well that its goofy tone is excused.

https://youtu.be/6wdEnlOcqNA

Despite the interplay here and the belief that NASA’s original scientists were likely inspired by sci-fi literature, television, and cinema, there’s no direct connection between A Trip to the Moon and the actual trips to the Moon by American astronauts in the ’60s and ’70s. Even a known letter to NASA in the ’80s asking if their “splashdown” method of reentry was inspired by Méliès was shot down.

When you have a moment as iconic as the rocket in the eye bit of A Trip to the Moon , you’re bound to be paid homage and parodied up the wazoo. Indeed, there have been reworkings of the shot through the years in art and, most memorably, in cartoons. From 1999, Futurama has a funny gag in its second episode in which Bender sticks a beer bottle into the eye of a Moon-faced mascot.

A few years later, The Simpsons spoofed the same scene in the form of a violent Itchy & Scratchy short within the 13th season episode “Blame It on Lisa.” The mouse and cat are playing golf, and Itchy clubs Scratchy’s head clean off, knocking it all the way into the anthropomorphized Moon’s eye, a la A Trip to the Moon . “Now, that’s what I call a Moon shot,” the Man in the Moon says.

https://youtu.be/aVMJFCoCv_k

Eight years later, the show did it again. In the 21st season episode “Moe Letter Blues,” we see a black and white Itchy & Scratchy toon involving more of the Méliès film. Itchy plays a director making a sci-fi film that looks very similar to A Trip to the Moon . When Scratchy messes up the set, Itchy cuts his head off, inflates it to greater size then fires the rocketship into his eye. The end.

https://youtu.be/XEqBFV59PcM

The New Score

If you listened to Air ‘s perfect debut album Moon Safari back in the ’90s and thought, “Hey, these guys should score sci-fi movies,” you’d have been 20 years ahead of the curve. First, they had to go and score a drama about five teenage sisters first (nevertheless impressively), and then 12 years later they were tasked with creating a new score for a 109-year-old sci-fi short.

After a rare hand-colored print of A Trip to the Moon was discovered in 1993, plans for a restoration eventually were made by a collaboration between Lobster Films, the Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema, and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage. They recruited Air to compose new music for the reconstructed classic, released in 2011.

https://vimeo.com/39275260

As you can see and hear above, it’s a perfect match. It’s not as random as some electronic scores for old silent films out there, with the French duo adding sound effects and offering enough changes in the music to fit the different environments. The score makes A Trip to the Moon anew with the way Air’s layered soundscapes deliver tone to the film that wasn’t there before.

And if the 15-minute score wasn’t enough, AIr put out a whole new album based on the gig (titled Le Voyage Dans la Lune ), which is twice as long as the main composition and plays like an extended soundtrack to the short.

Related Topics: A Trip to the Moon , Georges Melies , The Simpsons , Thomas Edison , Tom Hanks

Recommended Reading

‘finch’ pairs tom hanks and a dog at the end of the world, ‘news of the world’ suggests too little has changed in america, ‘toy story 4’ review: a wonderful, peculiar, and worthy send-off, the ending of ‘toy story 4’ explained.

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Le Voyage Dans la Lune (1902)

Le Voyage Dans la Lune (Trip to the Moon, in English) is perhaps Georges Méliès ' most famous film, and is considered to be the first science fiction film in cinematic history. The 12 minute film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon's surface, escape from an underground group of native moon inhabitants (known as Selenites), and return to Earth with one of them as captive. While at once a spoof of more serious science fiction, the film can also be seen as a comment on France's colonial exploits (it was at the time the world's second largest colonial power). Méliès himself plays, as was his wont, the main role of the wonderfully named Professor Barbenfouillis. When asked in 1930, Méliès cited Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon as the main influences for the film, but cinema historians have also mentioned the influence of Adolphe Dennery's stage adaption of Verne, and also H. G. Wells's The First Men in the Moon , a French translation of which was published only a few months before Méliès made the film. Jacques Offenbach's operetta Le voyage dans la lune (an unauthorized parody of Verne's novels) and also the "A Trip to the Moon" attraction at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, have also been talked of as being possible inspiration.

One in a set of twelve stereo cards showing scenes from Offenbach's 1875 operetta Le voyage dans la lune , circa 1885 — Source .

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Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon Reveals the Psychology of Film

Original artwork from Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon.

Recently, I wrote about how 2013 was the most honest year of my life . 2014 is about taking the next steps into the world of geekery. That's why I launched the Super Fantastic Nerd Hour podcast with H.A. Conrad and why I'm starting a new project here at Brain Knows Better. 

Starting today, I'm going to explore the psychology behind the greatest science fiction films of the 20th Century. I'll keep writing about new movies as they come out, but I thought it would be fun to revisit the foundational stories that make this genre so awesome.

I'm going to move chronologically and start with the first science fiction film ever made – Georges Méliès's 1902 Le Voyage dans la Lune ( A Trip to the Moon ), a film that unravels how cinema works and highlights the elements of all successful science fiction movies.

The Psychology of Film

Early films recorded moments of daily life, like this Edison film of a man sneezing.

At the beginning of the 20th century, cinema was still in its infancy. Most films were brief, non-edited scenes of daily life – crowds in a city, vaudeville performances, or if you were lucky, glimpses of a far off land or new technologies like the locomotive.

Méliès started filming the same way by documenting life in Paris. But thanks to an accidentally jammed camera, he learned that if different scenes were stitched together your eyes fill in the blanks and experience the film as one continuous story. Méliès combined this discovery with his knowledge of magical illusions and created the first generation of cinematic special effects.

Méliès's pioneered the use of film special effects.

Méliès's "trick films" worked because our visual system has built in shortcuts for motion detection called visual persistence and the phi phenomenon . Why do these shortcuts exist? All of our senses are wired to detect change and ignore things that stay the same. Being able to quickly see movement really comes in handy when you're avoiding dangerous animals or hunting for food.

Tricking your eyes into seeing motion isn't enough to create a good film though. Méliès pioneered film editing for the purpose of telling visual stories rather than just documenting reality. He wasn't the first to do so (see Alfred Clark's The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots ), but his films popularized cinema in a way no other filmmaker had ever achieved up to this point in history because Méliès created stories that could only be told in film.

Thanks to neuroscience we now know that edited films like Méliès's lead to similar changes in brain activity across audiences . Edited films increase activity in areas of the brain responsible for vision, sound, language, emotion, facial recognition, and conscious thought. Even eye movements match up when a group of people watch an edited film. Unedited scenes of daily life don't have this effect – everyone’s brain reacts differently. So the more tightly you edit your film, the greater influence you will have on someone's brain. That's probably why film edits have become quicker and faster throughout the 20th century .

A tightly edited narrative combined with stunning visual effects helped A Trip to the Moon become first international motion picture hit.

Creating a Popular Science Fiction Film

The launch cannon from  A Trip to the Moon.

The plot behind A Trip to the Moon is pretty simple – a group of professors uses a giant cannon to launch themselves to the moon and then take a nap on the lunar surface, kill a bunch of moon aliens, return to Earth with a splashdown in the ocean, and celebrate their journey with a parade in the city.

The story might sound simple now, but audiences back then loved it. We don't know much about the film's early reception (there's a story about how its first audience applauded for hours after seeing the film) but we do know the film was in high demand. So much so that negatives were stolen and pirated across the world. Nearly all of the copies shown in America were illegally duplicated by Thomas Edison and removed any mention of Méliès. Rival studios made similar films about trips to the Sun and Jupiter. Then there's “ An Excursion to the Moon ” which is a complete plagiarism of Méliès's work. Sadly, Méliès never saw any of the profits from the illegal duplicates of his film.

Landing on the moon.

What made A Trip to the Moon such a popular film? An innovative psychological study offers a few clues. Stephan Schwan and Sermin Ildirar were interested in understanding what happens when someone watches a video for the first time . They found a group of adults in remote regions of Turkey who had never seen a video before. The researchers studied their responses to watching edited films and compared the results with people who were more familiar with video. People who watched film for the first time understood the basics of what is happening onscreen but were confused by some of the editing and misunderstood details of the story. However, people who were familiar with the ideas of a video (cooking a meal, preparing tea, or transporting wood) could understand the story and weren't confused by the edits. People who had more prior exposure to video understood everything, even if they weren't familiar with the ideas in the video.

To sum it up, the only way to fully understand a visual story is by either watching a lot of television and movies or being very familiar with the ideas in the story. For A Trip to the Moon , most of the audience didn't have much experience watching films, but they were VERY familiar with the ideas in this film. Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon , released 37 years before this film, had popularized the idea of space travel. H. G. Wells's The First Men in the Moon expanded on Verne's work by introducing a race of insect-like moon aliens called "Selenites". The tone of Méliès's film mirrors that of Jacques Offenbach's A Trip to the Moon operatic parody of Verne's novels while the structure of the film follows that of an attraction at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in New York.

The Selenites.

A Trip to the Moon was a success because it summarized ideas already popular in culture and presented them in a stunning new way. That's why films like Planet Of The Apes , Star Wars , Back To The Future , and The Matrix were so popular while 2001: A Space Odyssey and Donnie Darko were appreciated by people who had watched a lot of science fiction.

People like watching movies where the hero wins, appreciate films that make us think, and feel enriched by stories that make us ask big questions . What makes the science fiction film genre so amazing is that it’s capable of achieving all of these goals in one story. A Trip to the Moon wasn't just an enjoyable experience; it made audiences reflect on the possibilities of spaceflight and dream of what would happen if we met an alien life form. You can connect the dots between this film and the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Celebrating a successful return to Earth.

As films evolved, Méliès couldn't adapt to new cinematography techniques and quit the medium. Martin Scorsese does a great job telling the story of what happened next in Hugo . Most of us now get exposed to Méliès's work through pop culture references (like the beautiful homage in The Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight music video ) or in film classes. But the core elements of all modern science fiction films, exploration of the unknown, futuristic technologies, new life forms, social commentary, and state of the art special effects were all brought to life for the first time in A Trip to the Moon . It is the foundational work of art that made all future science fiction films possible.

View the film in its entirely below.

This website is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute clinical advice. All views, posts and opinions are my own unless they are quotes, links, or guest posts. Copyright © Ali Mattu. All rights reserved.

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A Trip to the Moon – Book vs. Movie Showdown

‘A Trip to the Moon’ is a groundbreaking science fiction novel written by the visionary author, Jules Verne . First published in 1865, this captivating tale takes readers on an extraordinary journey to the moon, exploring themes of adventure, exploration, and human ambition. In this article, we will delve into the book’s mesmerizing plot and unravel its connection to Verne’s larger body of work.

Book Summary of ‘A Trip to the Moon’

Set in the late 19th century, ‘A Trip to the Moon’ follows the adventures of a group of astronomers who embark on a daring mission to the moon. Led by the determined protagonist, Professor Barbenfouillis, the team builds a giant cannon that propels them into space. As they land on the moon’s surface, they encounter bizarre landscapes, encounter moon-dwelling creatures, and experience thrilling escapades. However, their return to Earth presents unforeseen challenges, pushing their bravery and resourcefulness to the limit.

Movie Summary of ‘A Trip to the Moon’

This iconic novel also inspired a pioneering silent film adaptation by legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès. Released in 1902, the movie brought Verne’s imaginative world to life on the silver screen. In the film, Méliès himself portrays Professor Barbenfouillis, adding a touch of authenticity to the portrayal. The movie showcases stunning visual effects for its time, showcasing Méliès’ groundbreaking techniques such as stop-motion animation and hand-painted color. ‘A Trip to the Moon’ became an instant classic and solidified Méliès’ place in cinematic history.

Historical Context: When Does ‘A Trip to the Moon’ Take Place?

‘A Trip to the Moon’ is set in the late 19th century, a time when scientific discoveries were rapidly transforming society. Verne skillfully weaves together the spirit of exploration prevalent during this period with his own imaginative vision of space travel. By setting the story in a time when the idea of space exploration was still in its infancy, Verne captures the excitement and boundless possibilities that lay ahead for humanity.

Exploring the Film Locations of ‘A Trip to the Moon’

Although ‘A Trip to the Moon’ is a work of fiction, the novel’s vivid descriptions of the moon’s landscapes and structures have inspired countless artists and filmmakers. The film adaptation by Méliès meticulously recreates the moon’s surface, complete with craters, mountains, and a gigantic human-like face. While the actual film locations are limited to Méliès’ studio in France , the visual effects and set designs continue to captivate audiences, showcasing the power of imagination and creativity.

Meet the Cast: Who’s Who in ‘A Trip to the Moon’

In both Verne’s novel and Méliès’ film, the characters come to life with their distinct personalities and motivations. Professor Barbenfouillis, the intrepid leader of the expedition, exemplifies determination and scientific curiosity. His companions, including Captain Nicholl and Michel Ardan, bring their own expertise and contribute to the success of the mission. Understanding the characters and their roles adds depth and enhances the overall reading and viewing experience.

Memorable Quotes from ‘A Trip to the Moon’

‘A Trip to the Moon’ is replete with memorable quotes that encapsulate the spirit of adventure and exploration.

One such quote from Professor Barbenfouillis states, “We shall not only explore the moon, but conquer it!” This line reflects the audacity and ambition of the characters, challenging readers to dream big and push the boundaries of what is possible.

The novel is peppered with many such inspiring quotes that resonate long after the pages are turned or the film credits roll.

The Captivating Soundtrack by Octavio Vázquez: Bio and Other Works

The film adaptation of ‘A Trip to the Moon’ features a captivating soundtrack composed by Octavio Vázquez. Born in Spain , Vázquez is an acclaimed composer known for his ability to evoke emotions through his music. His compositions for ‘A Trip to the Moon’ enhance the visual experience and transport audiences into the magical world created by Méliès. Vázquez’s other works span various genres and mediums, further showcasing his versatility and artistic brilliance.

Curiosities and Hidden Gems in ‘A Trip to the Moon’

‘Beyond the Moon: Unraveling the Mysteries of ‘A Trip to the Moon’ and Jules Verne’s Masterpiece’ takes readers on a journey to uncover the hidden gems and curiosities embedded within ‘A Trip to the Moon.’ From symbolism and allegory to subtle references and foreshadowing, this section explores the nuances that make the novel and film truly remarkable. Delving into these hidden gems adds an extra layer of intrigue and appreciation for Verne’s and Méliès’ masterpieces.

Tips for Cosplay and Dressing Like the Astronomer – Nostradamus and the Lady in the Moon

For enthusiasts who wish to bring the characters of ‘A Trip to the Moon’ to life, this section provides tips and inspiration for cosplay and dressing up as the Astronomer – Nostradamus and the Lady in the Moon. From detailed costume descriptions to suggestions for accessories and makeup, this guide ensures that fans can immerse themselves in the world of Verne’s creation and celebrate their love for the novel and film through creative self-expression.

Jules Verne: A Brief Biography of the Author

Understanding the life and influences of Jules Verne provides valuable insights into the creation of ‘A Trip to the Moon.’ This section offers a concise biography of Verne, highlighting key moments and experiences that shaped his writing career. From his early days as a stockbroker to his eventual success as a celebrated author, Verne’s journey serves as a testament to the power of imagination and perseverance.

Five Best Works by Jules Verne and Their Summaries

While ‘A Trip to the Moon’ remains one of Jules Verne’s most iconic works, the author has a rich body of literature that continues to captivate readers worldwide. This section presents a curated list of Verne’s five best works, accompanied by brief summaries. From the underwater adventures of ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ to the thrilling escapades in ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth,’ these novels showcase Verne’s unmatched storytelling prowess and enduring impact.

Other Media Adaptations of Georges Méliès’ Works

Georges Méliès’ contributions to cinema extend far beyond his adaptation of ‘A Trip to the Moon.’ This section explores five other notable media adaptations of Méliès’ works, ranging from modern film reinterpretations to stage adaptations and animated recreations. These adaptations pay homage to Méliès’ visionary approach to filmmaking and highlight the enduring influence of his pioneering techniques.

Similar Movies to ‘A Trip to the Moon’

For fans of ‘A Trip to the Moon’ seeking more cinematic adventures, this section provides a curated list of ten similar movies that capture the spirit of exploration and imagination. From modern science fiction epics to classic space-themed films, these movies offer thrilling narratives and breathtaking visuals that will transport viewers to new worlds and ignite their sense of wonder.

Book Club Discussion Questions for ‘A Trip to the Moon’

‘A Trip to the Moon’ offers a wealth of thought-provoking themes and ideas that make it an excellent choice for book club discussions. This section presents a set of discussion questions designed to deepen readers’ understanding of the novel and foster engaging conversations. From exploring the moral implications of scientific progress to discussing the role of ambition in human achievement, these questions invite readers to delve into the novel’s rich subtext and share their perspectives.

Similar Novels to ‘From the Earth to the Moon’

For readers who have been captivated by ‘A Trip to the Moon’ and crave more exhilarating tales of space exploration, this section recommends ten similar novels that will satiate their appetite for adventure. From classic science fiction to contemporary works, these novels transport readers to distant planets, explore the intricacies of space travel, and delve into the complexities of the human condition. Each recommended novel is accompanied by a brief description, allowing readers to choose their next literary journey.

Parent Guide: Is ‘A Trip to the Moon’ Suitable for Children?

Parents who wish to introduce their children to the wonders of ‘A Trip to the Moon’ can find guidance in this section. It provides an assessment of the novel’s suitability for young readers, considering factors such as age-appropriate content, educational value, and potential discussion points. By understanding the nuances of the story and its themes, parents can make informed decisions about sharing this classic work of literature with their children.

Buying Guide: Where to Purchase ‘A Trip to the Moon’ and Related Merchandise

For those eager to embark on their own journey to the moon, this buying guide directs readers to the best places to purchase ‘A Trip to the Moon’ and related merchandise. Whether seeking a physical copy of the novel, a collector’s edition of the film, or other merchandise inspired by Verne’s and Méliès’ works, this guide provides reliable options to satisfy any fan’s desire to own a piece of this iconic story.

Conclusion: Unraveling the Connection Between ‘A Trip to the Moon’ and Jules Verne’s Masterpiece

‘A Trip to the Moon’ is a timeless tale that continues to inspire and captivate audiences more than a century after its publication. In this article, we have explored the book’s mesmerizing plot, the film adaptation that brought it to life, and the fascinating connection it shares with Jules Verne’s broader body of work. Whether through Verne’s vivid imagination or Méliès’ groundbreaking visual effects, ‘A Trip to the Moon’ remains a testament to the power of storytelling and the boundless possibilities of human endeavor.

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The magic of translation: a town like alice, when page meets screen: a united kingdom, jane thomper.

Hi there! I'm Jane Thomper, and I'm thrilled to be your go-to movie expert. With a genuine passion for all things film-related, I've dedicated my life to exploring the captivating world of cinema. From an early age, movies held a special place in my heart. The way they transported me to different worlds, evoked emotions, and sparked my imagination left an indelible mark. It was no surprise that I decided to pursue a degree in Film Studies, where I deepened my understanding of the art and craft of filmmaking. Throughout my academic journey, I delved into the rich history of cinema, analyzing groundbreaking films and studying the techniques used by master storytellers. From silent classics to contemporary blockbusters, I've explored a vast array of genres and styles, developing a keen eye for detail and an appreciation for the nuances that make each film unique. But my expertise extends beyond the theoretical. I've also immersed myself in the practical side of the industry, gaining hands-on experience in various aspects of movie production. This firsthand knowledge has given me a comprehensive perspective on the collaborative efforts required to bring a vision to life on the silver screen. Now, as a seasoned movie critic and writer, I'm thrilled to share my insights and recommendations with you. Whether you're seeking thought-provoking analysis, in-depth reviews, or expert recommendations, I'm here to provide you with engaging and informative content that will enrich your movie-watching experience. So, join me on this cinematic journey as we explore the captivating world of film together. Let's dive into the magic of storytelling, unravel hidden gems, and celebrate the power of movies to entertain, educate, and inspire.

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Analysis of “A Trip to the moon”

The film “A Trip to the Moon” narrates us a story about space travel, which shows a group of scientists launch an enormous cannon to the moon, and start a fantastic journey on the moon.

In this film, the early animation was revealed to us. At the beginning of the film, a group of scientists handles the objects (maybe telescope？) in their hands, and in a second, those telescopes suddenly transfer to chairs, which seems like magic but is not. This transformation is exactly due to the application of stop-motion, where you can also see it later in the film (aliens turn to steam).

The film “A Trip to the Moon” is not only about the photography, but combines both real actors and images – which reflects the 2D illustration and animation especially presents by the setting of the moon. Georges used 2D images and animation to create the zooming effects during the launch; also the environment on the moon, such as backgrounds, stars, and plants. The combination of reality and imagination shows a surreal world to the audiences, and it gives us a brief idea about how do they define their understanding of sci-fi at that time.

This movie was produced during the industrial revolution, in 1902. At that time, machines and steamers were appealed with rapid development and replaced manpower gradually. Instead of human resources, machines bring people more convenience into their daily life, and I think this changing provided inspiration to those creators at that time. Just like the old saying: art comes from life.

In a place without science, I think the moon and the creatures in this film symbolize people’s imagination about unknown things. People who lived at that time could only use their imagination to explain the unknown things, but their attitude to these unknown things is not only fears; courage was also existed in their mind – which could explain by the scientists in the film bravely fight back when they were attacked. For me, this film “A Trip to the moon” provides a brand-new world to the audiences. It may evoke some of their desires about an unknown world, although most of the people who lived at that time might be frightened by the bold imagination and creepy imaginary creatures (based on their lack experience of watch film), but the influence of this film is significant too, I believe that its positive effects will surpass the facts of being “creepy”, even though we may laugh at this the film is funny now.

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Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon)

Film Details

Science Fiction and Fantasy, Short Films, Silent

No Dialogue

One of the first narrative films in cinema history, A Trip to the Moon is a playful sci-fi story from the silent era. A group of astronomers agree to take part in a dangerous exploration mission and are rocketed into space in a metal capsule. When they land on the moon, they encounter surreal plants, creatures and fantastical beings, all brought to life with inventive special effects. Director Georges Méliès is credited with having invented the jump cut, an editing trick for making objects and people ‘magically’ appear or disappear on film – a technique that has influenced generations of filmmakers and is still being adopted by today’s TikTok creators. This iconic short film is wildly imaginative, capturing audiences with the stark magic of the moving image to transport them to the moon.

• George Méliès

Cast (in alphabetical order)

• Victor André ,
• Bleuette Bernon ,
• Georges Méliès

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Additional details, classification.

Contains very mild fantasy violence.

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Engaging for ages

Into Film recommend this film is engaging for this age range. Please refer to the BBFC guidance for further help in your film choice.

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A Trip to the Moon

Flicker Alley, 2 discs, 15 min., not rated, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.95 Volume 27, Issue 4

by Sean Axmaker

July 11, 2012

Rating: 3.5 of 5

This two-disc limited edition release features the home video debut of the painstakingly restored color version of George Méliès's landmark 1902 fantasy short—'the first international hit in motion picture history,' in the words of cinema historian and archivist Serge Bromberg, and perhaps the most famous film made prior to The Birth of a Nation . The surviving hand-painted print was discovered in the late 1990s in brittle and badly decomposed condition, and it took over 10 years to complete the digital restoration, which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was glimpsed in Martin Scorsese's Hugo . Historical importance aside, A Trip to the Moon is a delight—a whimsical portrait of science as wizardry by way of the industrial revolution, a picture-book fantasy brought to life with intricate sets and the effects that Méliès had perfected in his 'trick films.' A Trip to the Moon showcases the best of Méliès as magician and showman; and for this definitive issue, the French pop duo AIR contributes an offbeat original score. Released as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo, extras include the feature-length documentary The Extraordinary Voyage (which covers both the history of the film and the restoration process), a preserved black-and-white version with a choice of three additional soundtracks, two other Méliès shorts, and an interview with AIR. Essential for any early cinema collection, this is highly recommended. ( S. Axmaker ) [Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Mar. 20, 2018—Flicker Alley, 15 min., not rated, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1902’s A Trip to the Moon features an excellent transfer with a DTS 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include the black-and-white version of the film, multiple scores for the original film and optional English narration written by director George Méliès, 'The Extraordinary Voyage' 2011 'making-of' documentary (65 min.), two Méliès short films—1907’s 'The Eclipse' (9 min.) and 1898’s 'The Astronomer’s Dream' (3 min.)—and a booklet featuring an essay excerpt from A Trip to the Moon Back in Color. Bottom line: the definitive edition of an early cinematic landmark.]

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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Rating: ★★★½, (le voyage dans la lune).

France. 1902.

(All Uncredited:)

Director/Screenplay/Producer/Special Effects/Production Design – Georges Melies, Based on the Novels The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells & From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. Production Company – Star Film

Georges Melies (Professor Barbenfouillis)

Professor Barbenfouillis proposes the building of a rocket to the Moon before a group of fellow astronomers. The rocket is launched from a giant cannon and impacts into the Man in the Moon’s eye. Its crew explore the lunar surface and encounter the native Selenites. After escapades among the Selenites, the group are captured and taken prisoner before the lunar leader but make an escape and return to Earth.

Georges Melies (1861-1938) was one of the foremost early silent filmmakers and is often referred to as the father of special effects and (incorrectly) as the maker of the first science-fiction film. Melies was born in Paris to a father who was a maker of quality shoes. In his teens, Melies became fascinated with stage magic. After his father retired, the twenty-seven year-old Melies sank his share of the family business into buying the Theatre Robert-Houdin, which had been established by the celebrated magician Jean Robert-Houdin (who later lent his surname to an even more famous magician Harry Houdini).

The watershed event in Melies’s life was his attending a screening of the very first film, the Lumiere Brothers’ The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895). Melies immediately became captivated with the possibilities. He tried to buy a camera from the Lumieres who refused him but obtained one from England and within a matter of months was screening his own films at the Theatre Robert-Houdin.

The earliest of Melies’s films were documentary shorts that simply filmed real life in the Lumiere Brothers style – even works that were blatantly copying the Lumieres such as The Arrival of a Train at Vincennes (1896). Soon after this, Melies discovered fantasy cinema and trick effects – his creation of special effects came about by accident when his camera jammed while filming a procession and a carriage appeared to turn into a hearse. He then began to experiment with simple stop-camera substitution effects – not unlike the way a conjuror produced tricks on a stage. The first of these was The Lady Vanishes (1896) wherein Melies went with the old magician’s trick of making a lady vanish. Around the same time, he also made The Devil’s Manor (1896) (which is often attributed as being the first horror film) and went onto a great many others.

Melies built the world’s first studio in his garden in Montreuil, although electricity was so new at that point that there was no such thing as lighting so the studio was built as a glasshouse that was lit by natural sunlight, meaning that Melies could only shoot when it was a sunny day. Employing increasingly more elaborate props and sets, Melies began to produce films of considerable sophistication. He would go onto make over 500 films in a seventeen-year career between 1896 and 1913.

However, he was forced into bankruptcy in 1913 after a distribution deal with Pathé that went sour, forcing him to sell his studio, a bitter experience in which he destroyed all the prints of his films (some 300 of these are lost today). Subsequent to that, Melies eked out an impoverished career as a toy salesman from a booth in the Monpratnasse train station. He was rediscovered and a celebration of his life’s work screened in 1929, before he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 1931.

Melies had ventured into a similar territory before with The Astronomer’s Dream (1898) in which an astronomer is taunted by the face of the moon that appears in his observatory and discharges dwarfs and dancing nymphs from its mouth. However, A Trip to the Moon was Melies’s most ambitious work up to that point – and is invariably the one film that he is remembered for today. The rocketship impacting into the Moon’s eye has become an iconic cinematic image. Melies raided ideas from his countryman Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon (1865) from which is taken the image of the Moon launch being conducted by a projectile being loaded into a cannon. Verne never had his explorers actually land on the Moon and for this Melies borrows from H.G. Wells’ just published The First Men in the Moon (1901) where Wells had an expedition to the Moon and explorers encountering a society of Selenites. The difference is that Melies puts everything to comedic effect, whereas both Verne and Wells played their stories seriously.

A Trip to the Moon was not the first cinematic depiction of space travel but it is commonly believed to be the first and is certainly the most significant and influential. It is important to remember that Georges Melies comes to his idea of space travel from a background as a stage magician. His earliest films were simple expansions of stage tricks using stop-camera substitutions, double-exposures and matte-out effects. These became more sophisticated as Melies discovered narrative form and built elaborate sets and increasingly more detailed special effects. Nevertheless, at heart, Melies’s films were always simple trick effect films.

Thus in the film, the depiction of spaceflight is something that exists more as a stage performer’s trick than anything that we would recognise as a modern space mission. Rather than engineers with slide rules and lab coats, the expedition is started off by what look like alchemists or magicians in long beards, robes and pointy hats who seem to be doing so in a mediaeval setting, while the rocket is loaded by dancing girls that Melies recruited from the Theatre du Chatelet (not the Folies-Bergere as is commonly believed).

Rather than any astrophysical reality, the Moon (and other planets of the Solar System) are depicted as having faces and personalities. What we have is less a work founded in the engineering speculation of contemporaries like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Werner von Braun than it belongs among the early flights of pure Lunar fancy from people like Lucian of Samosata, Francis Godwin, Cyrano de Bergerac and Baron Munchausen.

Moreover, the problem that Melies and a number of his imitators shared was that they had a great deal of fun envisioning the comic adventures into the solar system but spared little thought for what would happen once the travellers arrived. Thus the films end up being comic escapades and then a quick retreat back to the Earth for the explorers to be claimed heroes – there was no sense of the idea of communicating with an alien species or of being able to have adventures on other worlds as was introduced by Flash Gordon (1936) and Buck Rogers (1939). Here, for example, the explorers’ first reaction to encountering Selenites is not the idea of trying to communicate or understand them but to batter them with their umbrellas, which for some reason causes them to explode.

One suspects what was happening here is that these adventures into space were being envisioned along the lines of the first plane flights, the invention of the motor car and explorer’s journeys into the Polar regions that were happening in the real world around the time. Many of Melies’s imitators focus less on building a rocket than things like vehicles such as trains and cars travelling so fast they achieve escape velocity. (Indeed, you could make the argument that almost every single science-fiction film up until 1910 was a reaction – either in terms of comic future shock or a marvelling at the possibilities – to the major technological innovations that occurred in transportation and the discovery of electricity around the turn of the 20th Century). It was not until Fritz Lang’s Woman in the Moon (1929) that the idea of spaceflight and landing on the Moon began to be taken seriously and with some engineering credibility.

A Trip to the Moon is a classic, although I think that Georges Melies’s follow-up An Impossible Voyage (1904) is far more sophisticated film in terms of narrative and the elaborateness of effects in telling a very similar story (where travellers land on The Sun instead of The Moon). The narrative is certainly very condensed compared to what we expect today (the film is only fourteen minutes long) – there is no depiction of the journey to the Moon, the rocket launches and seconds later impacts in the Moon’s eye; there are slapstick hijinks hitting the Selenites who turn into puffs of smoke but the audience with the Selenite leader is over and done with in a matter of seconds. Each scene exists as a static piece unto itself because Melies and his contemporaries had not yet discovered the idea of cutting a scene up and moving the camera within it, meaning that each set-piece was akin to something that took place on the stage with the camera in the place where a live audience would be.

A Trip to the Moon was a substantial hit, although Melies saw not much of the international profit after Thomas Edison had prints of the film stolen and copied, distributing them in the US himself. The film had a huge influence. There were a great many copies from other filmmakers of the day, such as Walter R. Booth’s The ? Motorist (1906) and The Automatic Motorist (1911), Segundo de Chomon’s A Voyage to Jupiter (1907) and his blatant ripoff of A Trip to the Moon with Excursion to the Moon (1908), and Thomas Edison’s A Trip to Mars (1910). The film has been homaged and recreated everywhere from Maurizio Nichetti’s Tomorrow We Dance (1982), which set the characters from A Trip to the Moon loose on modern society as aliens that cause people to start compulsively dancing; the Smashing Pumpkins music video Tonight Tonight (1996); to the Le Voyage dans la Lune episode of the tv series From the Earth to the Moon (1998) about the real-life Apollo mission; in the BBC tv version of H.G. Wells’s The First Men in the Moon (2010); and Martin Scorsese’s Georges Melies biopic Hugo (2011), as well as being spoofed in episodes of The Simpsons (1989– ) and Futurama (1999-2003). The making of the film and the modern 2011 restoration of a hand-coloured print is also discussed in the Melies documentary The Extraordinary Voyage (2011).

Full film available here

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A Trip to the Moon

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

• Georges Méliès
• Jules Verne
• Victor André
• Bleuette Bernon
• 301 User reviews
• 96 Critic reviews

• Prof. Barbenfouillis
• (uncredited)

• Astronomer - Nostradamus
• Lady in the Moon

• Astronomer- Alcofrisbas
• Captain of the Rocket
• Astronomer - Micromegas

• Astronomer - Parafaragaramus
• Astronomer - Omega
• Officer of the Marines
• Parade Leader
• Georges Méliès (uncredited)
• Jules Verne (uncredited)
• H.G. Wells (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia After finishing work on the film, Georges Méliès intended to release it in America and thereby make lots of money. Unfortunately, Thomas A. Edison 's film technicians had already secretly made copies of it, which were shown across the US within weeks. Melies never made any money from the film's American showings, and went broke several years later. Edison made a fortune from it.
• Goofs When the umbrella is growing in the mushroom garden, the edge of the first Selenite, off camera to the right, can be seen waiting for his cue to enter. He may not be visible in all versions of the film.
• Alternate versions Turner Classic Movies (TCM) showed a 12-minute, narrated version of this film, with a musical score. The narration was in English with a French accent, but easily understood.
• Connections Edited into The Monitors (1969)
• Soundtracks Astronomic Club (2011 Version) Written by Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin Performed by Air

User reviews 301

• Jul 22, 2018
• October 4, 1902 (United States)
• A Trip to Mars
• Méliès Studios, Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France (filmed in studio)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• FRF 30,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 13 minutes
• Black and White

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'Killers of the Flower Moon' Book to Film Comparison

Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Killers of the Flower Moon.

• Killers of the Flower Moon shifts its focus to center around the character of Mollie, making her central to the story.
• The evil nature of Robert De Niro's character, William Hale, is revealed early on, adding to the tension and horror.
• The film is not about the FBI solving a mystery, but rather highlights the deep-rooted corruption and injustice of the situation.

Of all the historical dramas you’ll ever see, there are few that make such critically significant changes from their source material quite like Martin Scorsese ’s Killers of the Flower Moon . Starring Leonardo DiCaprio , Lily Gladstone , and Robert De Niro , it depicts the true story of how the Osage were murdered for their wealth in 1920s Oklahoma. Though based on the 2017 book of the same name by David Grann , it could not be more different in focus and scope the longer that you get into it. While the story remains the same, the way Scorsese goes about telling it is crucial to its impact. Thus, here are the differences between the book and the film.

Killers of the Flower Moon

When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Release Date 2023-10-20

Director Martin Scorsese

Cast Cara Jade Myers, Robert De Niro, Tantoo Cardinal, Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser

Runtime 206 minutes

Genres Drama, Crime, History

Lily Gladstone’s Mollie Is More Central in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Not only is the film at its best when Gladstone is on screen , but it is much more centered around her character of Mollie than the book was. Though it still could have very well had more of her, that is just a reason to seek out works like the upcoming Fancy Dance however you can. In regards to this film, it shifts away from being about the formation of the FBI as much as the book was to instead keep her at the forefront. Rather than just relying on the knowledge that Mollie was being poisoned and leaving that in the background while the investigation unfolds as Grann did, this grim core to the film is something that we are never allowed to forget. As Scorsese has himself said in interviews , there was a desire on his part to do right by the Osage in telling this story. While the film remains more than open to criticism in how it does so , this reframing of the story still is one of the primary ways it works to distinguish itself from the book. There is more detail to this that plays out in the very end, but there are a couple of other key elements that must be discussed before this.

Robert De Niro’s William Hale Is Clearly Evil From the Start in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Not only is De Niro’s most recent collaboration unlike anything he and Scorsese have ever done together , but it is also one where his character of Hale is revealed as being a wolf in sheep’s clothing almost right from the jump. The book played the eventual reveal of him being the one behind all of the killings as a surprise, which is another fundamental difference in framing that we’ll get to, while the film does almost the complete opposite. We know rather quickly what Hale is doing because he lays it all out to Ernest (DiCaprio) the more the two talk together. The depths of his depravity are no less horrifying because of this. In fact, it makes it that much more unsettling to see De Niro's Hale openly plot to set more and more murders in motion for money. He does it in almost plain sight, making each outburst of violence feel like another slow-moving train about to decimate an entire community. The terror comes from how everyone who could stop it not only chooses not to do so, but hurries it along.

'Killers of the Flower Moon' Review: Lily Gladstone Stuns in Martin Scorsese's Flawed Epic

'killers of the flower moon' is not about the fbi solving a mystery.

Though Jesse Plemons does make a great small appearance towards the end of the film as investigator Tom White, who was essentially the driving force of the entire middle of the book, this is not a story where the cavalry from the government will swoop in to save the day. To Grann’s credit, he also acknowledged at several points how their coming in was not only not enough to repair the harm that was done, but they also missed out on what were certainly countless more murders. Scorsese takes it a step further in how he pushes us to sit with the full scope of just how rotten to the core the entire situation was. Where the book treated it as a mystery to be solved, there are no discoveries to be made here. Once White and his team of investigators show up, there are so many lives that have been lost that will never be brought back. We already know who is behind it and are just waiting for the supposed forces of justice to catch up before even more is lost. The reality of it all is that they will only be able to stem the flow of blood, but not fully heal the wound. In many ways, that is where Scorsese makes what is his final yet most significant change to not just this story, but any film he's ever made.

Scorsese Himself Steps Under the Spotlight in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

In an unexpected cameo where the director pulls back the curtain on the whole film , we are taken out of the story and into a radio play. Though Grann had made reference to such events and the way they sanded down the full reality of what happened, Scorsese actually goes about bringing it to life. It then ends with him stepping on the stage himself to deliver the final lines of the film about how Mollie’s obituary did not mention the murders. It is the type of breaking of the fourth wall that is a huge gamble, but it brings into focus how the immense harm that was wrought upon the Osage is not something that can be confined to the past. For all the horrors of the past, the present is just as much about recreating that same dehumanization. Scorsese does not let himself off the hook in that and instead shows how there is still much that he is doing which cannot fully do justice to this history. As he brings us all the way into the present, it leaves one more lingering moment of enduring pain to grapple with.

Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

Watch on Apple TV+

Anyone But You Quickly Dethrones Rebel Moon 2 as Most Popular Movie on Netflix

The Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell romantic comedy has stolen the top spot on Netflix's Top 10 chart.

• Anyone But You already dethroned Netflix's sci-fi hit, proving rom-coms are back in style.
• Critics may not love it, but audiences can't get enough of the raunchy rom-com trend.
• The film's success was partially fueled by rumors of an off-screen affair between the leads.

Anyone But You , starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, only dropped on Netflix (US) on April 24, and it has already dethroned the streamer's newest original sci-fi blockbuster as the most popular film this week. Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver was released on April 19 and, just like its predecessor, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire , it couldn't maintain its dominance on the top spot for long.

Anyone But You was a surprise hit last year for Sony Pictures. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing , the film tells the story of Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell) who reunite at a destination wedding, having not spoken since a successful first date many years prior. Anyone But You has been described as a love letter to classic '00s and '10s rom-coms, a subgenre that has faded from popularity in recent years. Although the film wasn't a major hit with critics, sitting at 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences loved the return to the raunchy rom-com, with Anyone But You boasting a strong 87% audience score.

Anyone But You

Anyone But You is a romantic comedy by director Will Gluck starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell. Sweeny and Powell star as Bea and Ben, two strangers with an incredible first date that goes sour following one incident at the tail end. Thinking the worst is behind them, the two are roped into a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia, where they'll have to pretend to be a couple despite absolutely hating each other.

Anyone But You was a massive box office hit. The film grossed $219 million at the global box office against a reported $25 million dollar budget. Co-lead, Glen Powell, recently revealed that the film's success was partly a result of the pair leaning into rumors of a behind-the-scenes affair. Speaking to The New York Times , Powell said, "That's people wanting what's on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart."

More Bad News for Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon

Rebel moon - part two: the scargiver.

Anyone But You 's popularity spells bad news for Zack Snyder's space-faring Rebel Moon franchise . The first installment, a product of Snyder's exclusive partnership with Netflix, hit the streaming service last December. The film quickly shot to the top spot of the platform's streaming chart in December. But it only held the top spot for two weeks, being displaced by The Equalizer 3 . Rebel Moon - Part One was also hammered with negative reviews upon release, as critics labeled Snyder's film as a poor imitation of Star Wars .

Anyone but You Director Explains Who is to Blame for Movie's "Cringe" Scenes

Snyder's fans were hoping that Rebel Moon - Part Two would fix the mistakes of its predecessor and strengthen the franchise's future prospects. Sadly, Rebel Moon - Part Two was released to even worse reviews than the first film. Sitting at 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, Part Two received many of the same complaints as the first movie. Rebel Moon - Part Two also holds Zack Snyder's lowest Rotten Tomato score as a director.

Snyder's next project with Netflix gives the director a break from the Rebel Moon franchise. Snyder recently announced his new adult animated series, Twilight of the Gods via Netflix Geeked on X. The eight-episode series, inspired by Norse mythology, is a revenge tale in which Sigrid, a Viking warrior, gets revenge against a god for an event that takes place on her wedding night.

Anyone But You is currently streaming on Netflix in the US.

Screen Rant

How many rebel moon movies will there be.

The first two Rebel Moon movies are confirmed and will appear on Netflix, but Zack Snyder has plans to expand his new space opera further.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver.

• Zack Snyder has plans for at least six Rebel Moon movies. The first two have already been released, and extended cuts are also expected for both films.
• The Rebel Moon movies have a connection to Star Wars , with the first two installments having a similar aesthetic and narrative.
• Despite Rebel Moon 's negative reviews, Snyder is writing the script for the third film.

Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon franchise has released its first two installments, but they won't be the last, as the filmmaker already plans for many more movies. Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire is the beginning of what Snyder hopes will be a lengthy run that rivals Star Wars . The writer/director previously suggested that A Child of Fire could have a " trilogy of sequels ," meaning three additional movies, beginning with the release of Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver in April 2024. However, recent comments imply Snyder's getting more ambitious.

In addition to plans for more Rebel Moon movies, Snyder intends to release parts one and two as extended editions . It's currently unknown if longer "Snyder Cuts" are intended for any entries past the first two films, but it would make sense. Snyder's name has become synonymous with movies sporting alternative, longer runtimes. In 2021, he released Zack Snyder's Justice League , an elongated edit of 2017's Justice League also known as the "Snyder Cut." So, if all the movies in Snyder's new Rebel Moon shared universe were to be given the same treatment, it wouldn't be a first.

Rebel Moon Cast Guide: Every Actor Starring In Zack Snyder's Sci-Fi Movie For Netflix

Zack snyder wants to make up to 6 rebel moon movies, snyder has plans for 4 more films.

The first Rebel Moon movie was released on Netflix in December 2023, while the sequel, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver , premiered on April 19, 2024. As for the plans for films beyond the second one, the intention is to produce four more. During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant days before the release of Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver , Kurt Johnstad, who co-wrote the first two Rebel Moon movies with Zack Snyder and Shay Hatten, revealed that the number of films in the franchise had increased from the previously reported four to six. Johnstad said:

"So, basically, we have everything mapped out for many, many movies. Beyond three. Beyond four. I will go on the record now. We've figured this out all the way to movie six. Now, if we are so lucky and fortunate enough to continue telling these stories, that is our hope. Netflix is interested, and we’re waiting to see how these first movies go ... So when I say six movies, it's really a trilogy with each movie being two parts."

Synder confirmed the six-movie plan for the Rebel Moon franchise while speaking to RadioTimes.com . He explained:

"I guess four [films] makes sense. Four or six movies, depending ... I guess it's whether or not every time we make one of these movies we make two, that's the question."

So, Johnstad and Snyder's comments suggest that there will be four more films in Rebel Moon 's future unless they decide to condense three and four into one movie and do the same with five and six. However, given that Netflix went with the "Part One" and "Part Two" route with the first two films, it's likely that there will be (at least) six installments in the sci-fi franchise if the streaming service greenlights them.

Given Snyder's comments and his established working relationship with Netflix, it's only a matter of time before Rebel Moon 3 is greenlit.

Initially, Snyder pitched Rebel Moon as an entry into the Star Wars franchise , but he reimagined the idea when Disney rejected the story. The initial Star Wars influence is still notable in Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver , with all properties sharing a similar aesthetic and narrative. The episodic release structure of further Rebel Moon movies has become another homage to the property that inspired it — whether this was intentional or otherwise. Future films will likely follow suit in aesthetics and structure.

Is Rebel Moon 3 Still Happening?

Zack snyder is currently writing the script for rebel moon 3.

Netflix has yet to confirm Rebel Moon 3 , but Zack Snyder and co. are seemingly far into the development process for a third movie. Co-writer Kurt Johnstad revealed that they have already finished the treatment for the third and fourth films and that Snyder has written at least 30 pages of Rebel Moon 3 's script. As for Rebel Moon 3 story details , Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter :

"The story of movie three would be tracking [Princess Issa] down and finding out how [the rebels] can use the victory at Veldt to create a coalition of planets that were on the edge of rebellion, but have now seen the example of downing a dreadnought. Maybe now there's an opportunity. It's a chink in the armor. That's really what it is."

So, while Snyder is seemingly optimistic about the possibility of Rebel Moon 3 , Netflix has not announced it. Streaming figures could play a part in the appearance of a third installment, as Netflix invested heavily in the first two Rebel Moon movies . Reviews for A Child of Fire and The Scargiver have been fairly negative , which might also play a role in the streaming service's decision. However, given Snyder's comments and his established working relationship with Netflix, it's only a matter of time before Rebel Moon 3 is greenlit.

Rebel Moon's Shockingly Low Rotten Tomatoes Score Makes Zack Snyder's Experiment A Huge Risk

Zack snyder is still releasing rebel moon director's cuts, the director is well-known for longer runtimes.

Those familiar with Zack Snyder's work will be aware of his penchant for an extended cut of a movie. During his time with DC Studios, he increased the runtime not only of Justice League but also of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Snyder will soon repeat the feat by releasing extended cuts of both Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver . The good news is that the release dates for both R-rated versions of Rebel Moon are reportedly just around the corner.

During Zack Snyder's interview with Screen Rant for Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver , the filmmaker casually revealed that both extended cuts would arrive in August 2024. He said:

"Running time is not an issue. Rating not an issue ... For all that, the complete sort of hands-off, whatever you think for the director's cuts, is also really fun too. So that's the thing I'm most proud of is that waiting for you guys in August is this ridiculous, insane romp that I think is going to be, for certain people, the best of both worlds."

Bumping up the rating from PG-13 to R will undoubtedly change the tone of the first two installments in the Rebel Moon franchise. However, only time will tell how much the director's cuts differ from the original versions. If the extended cuts do well (both critically and commercially), perhaps the next four movies will get the same treatment. If this were to happen, then the six Rebel Moon movies that Snyder has planned would all exist as longer edits, meaning there would technically be twelve ways to interact with the saga.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver are available to stream on Netflix.

Rebel Moon is a multi-media franchise created by Zack Snyder that begins with the first film, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, released in 2023. The franchise follows a woman named Kora, who once worked for an authoritarian regime that now dominates the universe. To atone for the crimes she was complicit in, Kora heads across the galaxy to gather a team to fight back and free their worlds.

Source: RadioTimes.com , The Hollywood Reporter

‘Rebel Moon — Part One' Recap: What to Remember Before ‘The Scargiver’

Here's a refresher on Zack Snyder's space opera.

The Big Picture

• Rebel Moon: Part Two — The Scargiver premieres on Netflix soon, concluding Zack Snyder's cinematic epic.
• A Child of Fire set the stage by introducing Kora, her ties to the Motherworld, and mysterious characters like Jimmy.
• The upcoming film promises an all-out war story with expanded character arcs and the potential for a third movie.

Rebel Moon: Part Two — The Scargiver will launch on Netflix soon, marking the conclusion to the latest cinematic epic by Zack Snyder . Snyder's aimed to get Rebel Moon onto the screen for years; first pitching it as an entry into the Star Wars universe, then reworking it into an original story under a new deal with Netflix . Last year saw the first steps into this universe with Rebel Moon: Part One — A Child of Fire, as a young woman named Kora ( Sofia Boutella ) assembles a group of warriors from across the galaxy to defend the small moon of Veldt from the tyrannical Motherworld . A Child of Fire also lays the groundwork for The Scargiver and future entries into the world of Rebel Moon , and here's everything you need to remember.

When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.

'Rebel Moon: Part One — A Child Of Fire' Brought an Unlikely Band of Warriors Together

Rebel Moon kicks off when Veldt is visited by a Motherworld ship. Admiral Atticus Noble ( Ed Skrien ) was sent by the Motherworld to hunt down the revolutionaries Darrian Bloodaxe ( Ray Fisher ) and his sister Devra ( Cleopatra Coleman ); it turns out that one of Veldt's residents, Gunnar ( Michiel Huisman ) had sold surplus crops to the Bloodaxes. When Noble demands that Veldt supply his forces with grain, Kora decides to gather warriors to defend her fellow villagers . She and Gunnar end up running into the smuggler Kai ( Charlie Hunnam ), who helps them find an eclectic group of companions including the former prince Tarak ( Staz Nair ), the deadly swordswoman Nemesis ( Doona Bae ), and former Motherworld general Titus ( Djimon Hounsou ). They even encounter the Bloodaxes, with Darrian lending some of his men to the cause.

Kai sells out Kora and her companions to Noble , which leads to Gunnar killing him and helping free the others. The resulting fight sees Darrian killed taking down a Motherworld gunship, while all of his forces are decimated - save for a lone soldier, Milius ( E. Duffy ), who decides to join Kora and her friends. Kora seemingly kills Noble, but he is resurrected by the Motherworld's priests and brought before Regent Balisarius ( Fra Fee ), who demands that Noble crush the revolution and bring Kora back to the Motherworld alive.

Kora's Connection to the Motherworld Is Explored in 'Rebel Moon: Part One'

Throughout A Child of Fire , Kora reveals more of her past to Gunnar. Like most of the warriors she recruits, her planet was razed by the Motherworld. Balisarius spared her and raised her as his own daughter , giving her the name "Arthelais." She trained as a soldier, rising up in the ranks until she was chosen to become the bodyguard to Princess Issa ( Stella Grace Fitzgerald ). Issa was meant to usher in a golden age of peace for the universe until she and the rest of her family were murdered by a mysterious assassin. Kora fled the Motherworld and crash-landed on Veldt, where she was taken in by the villagers - but the Motherworld never forgave her. Noble refers to her as the "Scargiver ," with part two of Rebel Moon shaping up to explore what exactly happened on the day the royal family was struck down.

Jimmy Finds a New Purpose in 'Rebel Moon'

Kora isn't the only character in Rebel Moon who's tied to the royal family. When Noble leaves a small contingent of soldiers on Veldt to keep the peace until his return, they activate a "Jimmy" ( Dustin Ceithamer/Anthony Hopkins ), a mechanical knight meant to defend the Motherworld's ruling class. Jimmy and the rest of his fellow machines, better known as the Mechanicas Miltarium, stopped fighting after Issa was slain , as they felt they had lost their purpose. After he meets a villager named Sam ( Charlotte Maggi ) and notices her resemblance to Issa, Jimmy ends up shooting one of the Motherworld soldiers that threatens her. He's shown to play a potentially large role in the trailer for The Scargiver , joining forces with Kora and laying waste to Motherworld soldiers. Jimmy's presence is sporadic in A Child of Fire , though the upcoming extended cut may expand on his role and his newfound purpose of defending Veldt.

'Rebel Moon: Part II - The Scargiver': Everything We Know About the Second Half of Zack Snyder's Space Opera

'rebel moon: part two - the scargiver' is an all out war movie.

Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver is shaping up to be even more action-packed than its predecessor , judging from the trailer. That's exactly what Snyder intended. "Part Two is a war movie,” he said during a Entertainment Weekly interview .

“We know that Noble's alive and Belisarius has given him the task of finding his daughter and bringing her back to him at all costs. So the stakes have risen for the village from ‘hey, we want some of your grain’ to now ‘you’re harboring the most wanted fugitive in the history of the galaxy.’”

The battle for Veldt is only the beginning, as Snyder has plans for a third film and beyond . "If we were to go forward and make more movies, we know the goal...I think in an ideal world, we’d definitely have a longer arc to this giant universe, and then at that point I would be happy to hand it off to someone else. But I know what I want to do with it," Snyder told SFX Magazine .

The Rebel Moon universe is slowly starting to expand, with a prequel comic that focuses on the Bloodaxes' rise to becoming revolutionaries and a video game project in the works. Time, and the reception to The Scargiver , will see if that expansion blossoms into a sci-fi universe to rival the likes of Star Wars or Dune .

Rebel Moon: Part One — A Child of Fire is available to stream on Netflix. Rebel Moon: Part Two — The Scargiver premieres April 19.

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