I just knew this was gonna have a high score on letterboxd. Yo, it's important, it's visionary, it's observable history, it's revolutionary for it's time, all that jazz. But guess what else? I don't for a minute believe those people actually went to the moon.

Should still be required viewing for film classes though.

Final rating:★★½ - Not quite for me, but I definitely get the appeal.

A Trip to the Moon (1902), initially titled in French as Le Voyage dans la Lune, is director Georges Méliès' most famous film out of the more than 500 films he made. He stars as Professor Barbenfouillis, who, along with several other astronomers, boards a bullet-shaped spacecraft fired from a long cannon onto the moon's surface. Once there, the astronauts explore the moon, sleep under the open stars, and after a snowstorm, they flee into a cavern where they discover moon inhabitants (called Selenites after the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene). After being attacked, the astronauts return t... read the rest.

There is something almost Arthurian about the opening to this short feature as an ensemble of astronomers gather complete with pointy hats and telescopes. Why? Well they are discussing the likely prospects of a trip to the moon. As you might expect, the conversation gets a little heated but eventually we see the familiar shape of a space module under construction - again amidst considerable discord, though by now we have reverted to ordinary attire. To grand ceremony, their ship is loaded into an enormous gun and they are blasted into space... This is good fun, especially once they have got off... read the rest.

The visuals in Trip to the Moon, produced in 1902, are still impressive, surreal, and unique, even by modern standards. Méliès' use of special effects, executed with hyper-stylization, makes them somewhat timeless. Méliès was undoubtedly regarded as a wizard at the time, and the film's creativity is admirable. However, after 120 years, it's difficult to stay actively engaged in the story. The experience is more about passively admiring the visuals than being actively involved in the narrative. Nevertheless, Trip to the Moon is still more engaging than many contemporary films, despite over a cen... read the rest.