(Review originally written at 9 January 2007)
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Possibly the first science-fiction movie ever created, "Le Voyage dans la lune" tells us the story of a group of astronomers who travel to the moon by being shot in a capsule from a giant cannon.
More than 100 years later, the movie is still adventurous and spectacular to watch. The movie has a great and intriguing imaginary story, of course based on the well known Jules Verne novel.
Of course the events presented in this movie are heavily outdated. The astronomers can magically breath on the moon without any spacesuits and gravity also is not a problem. It becomes all the more hilarious when they decide to take a nap on the moon under a couple of blankets. A man can also fall from space Earth into the water and lives to tell the story. The moon is also filled with lots of giant mushrooms and strange hostile aliens and the moon and stars all have faces. Of course totally ridicules all but what did they know back then? Space traveling wasn't possible and astronomers knew very little about space and life in space. Even cars, radios, airplanes were yet had to be developed at the time for commercial use. But in essence the movie also has a core of truth in it, about the capsule being shot into space like a bullet. In that regard this movie is quite amazing and revolutionary about its ideas, though of course most credit for that have to go to Jules Verne. Director Georges Méliès makes the story work out believable and entertaining, with lots of early special effects and some overall great storytelling.
The movie is only a couple of minutes short but that doesn't mean its not well developed. Lots of different stuff happens in the movie, from the building of the capsule, to the actual launch and landing on the moon and the astronomers mishaps with the hostile aliens and their king.
Some of the early effects are amazing, obviously especially for 1902 standards but I perhaps liked the set decoration and costumes even more. It gives the movie a really great adventurous and imaginatively look and feel. It makes the movie very pleasant and entertaining to watch, even by todays standards.
Definitely a revolutionary and important classic movie, in terms of its directing, story and special effects, that also is surprisingly entertaining to watch still.
10/10
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Possibly the first science-fiction movie ever created, "Le Voyage dans la lune" tells us the story of a group of astronomers who travel to the moon by being shot in a capsule from a giant cannon.
More than 100 years later, the movie is still adventurous and spectacular to watch. The movie has a great and intriguing imaginary story, of course based on the well known Jules Verne novel.
Of course the events presented in this movie are heavily outdated. The astronomers can magically breath on the moon without any spacesuits and gravity also is not a problem. It becomes all the more hilarious when they decide to take a nap on the moon under a couple of blankets. A man can also fall from space Earth into the water and lives to tell the story. The moon is also filled with lots of giant mushrooms and strange hostile aliens and the moon and stars all have faces. Of course totally ridicules all but what did they know back then? Space traveling wasn't possible and astronomers knew very little about space and life in space. Even cars, radios, airplanes were yet had to be developed at the time for commercial use. But in essence the movie also has a core of truth in it, about the capsule being shot into space like a bullet. In that regard this movie is quite amazing and revolutionary about its ideas, though of course most credit for that have to go to Jules Verne. Director Georges Méliès makes the story work out believable and entertaining, with lots of early special effects and some overall great storytelling.
The movie is only a couple of minutes short but that doesn't mean its not well developed. Lots of different stuff happens in the movie, from the building of the capsule, to the actual launch and landing on the moon and the astronomers mishaps with the hostile aliens and their king.
Some of the early effects are amazing, obviously especially for 1902 standards but I perhaps liked the set decoration and costumes even more. It gives the movie a really great adventurous and imaginatively look and feel. It makes the movie very pleasant and entertaining to watch, even by todays standards.
Definitely a revolutionary and important classic movie, in terms of its directing, story and special effects, that also is surprisingly entertaining to watch still.
10/10
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