Le voyage dans la lune

By George Melies, an old 1902 film from france about a small group of scientists that travel to space on a rocket to get to the moon.

This item is part of the collection: Feature Films

Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: France; 1902; Meilies; sci-fi; b&w

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 France

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Reviewer: pesyamarie - - August 5, 2007
Subject: mpeg 2

you can find copies of it on p2p networks..

Reviewer: jjrakman - - August 4, 2007
Subject: Great Imagery

This is pretty cool stuff, and really interesting imagery. It's almost reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's style.

Any chances of this getting a high quality mpeg 2, or does anyone know where I can find one?

Reviewer: Arcticium - - April 15, 2007
Subject: George Méliés Vs. Jules Verne

This film is, compared to Jules Vernes, truelly scientifical. Georges Méliès took very long time to just try to figure out what a man need to be able to travel to the moon. Jules Verne on the other hand was purelly fictionall. Méliés was actually a big angry t Verne for that.
But when yo finally se the movie - Le Voyage dans La Luna is a masterpiece. Ahed of its time and truelly remarkable.

Reviewer: kimmikat - - January 12, 2007
Subject: A trip to the moon

Had never been able to see this film entirely until I came accross this website. Really enjoyed it, an excellent example of creativity and film history. If one compares it to so many other films around the same time, it is indeed exceptional. A masterpiece.

Reviewer: pesya - - January 11, 2007
Subject: yes

I find that a lot of great films are very exhausting to watch. I could watch Seven Samurai (3 hours), and come out feeling fresh, or I could watch the cabinet of dr.caligari .. well you know the rest.

Reviewer: Yodelling Llama - - January 11, 2007
Subject: Imagery.

Interesting imagery. Thin plot. Feels overlong, considering its 14 minute runtime.

Reviewer: NESFreak - - November 8, 2006
Subject: great movie.

the movie itself is great, but what hapened to the 2002 found colour version?

Reviewer: Archive fan - - October 14, 2006
Subject: Off to the moon in style

I've seen this film before and am glad to have a chance to download it. It says a lot for Georges Melies that this little movie can still make you smile. Quite a feat for a 100 year old film. One can be smug at how silly some of it is, but Melies was a magician by trade, with the soul of a cartoonist. Anybody who has the moon complaining about a rocket in his eye or primitive Rockettes launching a moon-bound spacecraft has to have tongue planted firmly in cheek. He was plainly out to entertain, not to educate. For me, this film also provides a glimpse into the future. How? This is how *our* films are going to look to viewers 100 years from now. I hope they find them half as entertaining.

Reviewer: Mr_skeletonwings - - September 29, 2006
Subject: A day on the moon

Copulation? Wow. Clever Freud. I bet you're pretty impressed with yourself.

At any rate.

A beautiful flight of fancy, and a prime example of the imagination of a bygone era.

A film masterpiece.

Reviewer: alvarofm - - August 31, 2006
Subject: Creative Commons?

To boffy_b
The Cinematheque Melies says on its homepage that the Melies family resigned copyright in 1961.

http://www.alphacentauri.be/Friends/Melies/

(french)

Reviewer: infopablo00 - - August 27, 2006
Subject: cool film

a masterpiece. imaginative, creative, and ages ahead of its time.
------------------------
pesya:
itÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂôs a nice, nobel thought on your part... but tell that to the smashing pumpkins...
; )

Reviewer: uniQ - - August 8, 2006
Subject: Excellent old film...

Although hard to understand at points, the narration helps out considerably, not to mention the highly accurate and evocative musical score and somewhat exaggerated gestures of the actors. O and the plot was solid, even if the science behind it is a little suspect these days ;D...

PS. So, pesya, are you the one narrating?

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - August 4, 2006
Subject: You Could Poke the Man in the Moon's Eye Out with That!

This is the movie everybody thinks of when you mention Georges Melies. And why not? This delightful romp about some silly astronomers and their goofy trip to the moon is a classic. It was most likely the first movie ever made about space travel. The scene of the Man in the Moon getting hit in the eye by the Giant Space Bullet (which was shot out of the Giant Space Gun) is probably filmdom's first bona fide iconic image. This is also the first film in which the Cranky Guy on Saturn appears (spot him in a Melies film and you win a free ice cream cone on your next visit!). Enjoy! A 1902 Melies film.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.

Reviewer: Ontario - - August 3, 2006
Subject: Penetrating the Moon

The scene of the bullet-like rocket PENETRATING the canon is, well ... very French. The idea of going to the Moon is the idea of COPULATION which underlies all sci-fi / fantasy, and all other movies. Have you ever wandered why in the latest movies by Peter Jackson there's so many scenes of intruding, pouring, making a way into smth.? And why it's always raining, and the protagonists and the landscape are always wet? Well, what gets wet when something - not unlike the growing mushroom on the Moon - gets into it? Enters it? PENETRATES it? Yes, man is highly and interminably motivated to get to the Moon!

Reviewer: Voynich - - July 23, 2006
Subject: funny little classic fantasy

This is an amusing little short whose datedness makes it all the more charming. Of course it was influential in its day, but is of more than historical interest: Micromegas accidentally falls into nitric acid? Comic gold! The narration, while distracting, is essential, especially for the smaller-format 64Kb file (in which the action is practically indiscernible).

Like boffy_b, I too was a bit confused by the Creative Commons license at first, but presumably this is because the soundtrack is a recent recording still under copyright.

Reviewer: Bob Capps - - July 16, 2006
Subject: 1st Sci-Fi flick?

I first saw this movie in film school (Los Angeles City College, 1970) and it is no better today than it was then. I have to admit that I like the part when the "Man in the Moon" gets it in the eye, and the underwater shot near the end with the sunken ship and jellyfish.

Reviewer: Ankou - - April 25, 2006
Subject: Oh this is excellent!

As a kid when I'd go with my family to the Milwaukee Public Museum, we'd walk through the Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit and stop in at the theater there. They'd play some old cartoons and one time I remember seeing some old sci-fi film. I didn't know it was "Le voyage dans la lune" until I downloaded the file and watched it. It was like being 8 years old again -- man how excellent!

Like others have already said, it's no modern day film with all the special effects we've become so use to. But watching it really gives you a feel like you're in a bygone era - even if you're watching it on your computer!

Reviewer: JP Wilson - - April 16, 2006
Subject: Argh, my eye!

This was well worth watching, like the last reviewer, I had seen stills from this film on Tv and in books but had never seen it.
Of course it's no Star Wars, but has scenes that stick in the mind, like the scientists squabbling and the bullet like rocket falling back down to earth, and of course the eyepopping landing! (sorry)

Reviewer: Danial - - April 10, 2006
Subject: Fun and Funny!

This is a cool flick. State-of-the-art effects for 1902 include sliding sets and card board cut outs. "Serious" 1902 actors throw fruit at fellow dissenters in the board room. And the bad guys on the moon are wearing the same shirts that the rocket launchers wear on earth.

And the classic scene where the face on the moon gets shot in the eye by the rocket is stupendously runny! In a few frames the moon is sticking it's tounge out looking rather disgruntled. Great stuff.

And the sound track was very good...glad it was added to the film.

I saw stills from this movie as a kid in various books on the history of space travel and science fiction. It was a joy for me to be able to actually see film finally.

Thanks to the Archive and the ULer for making this film available.

Reviewer: boffy_b - - April 10, 2006
Subject: Creative Commons?

Hasn't the copyright on this film expired long ago?