In 1902, the film A Trip to the Moon was written and directed by Georges Méliès. The main actors in the film were Victor André Bleuette Bernon, Jeanne d’Alcy, and Henri Delannoy. It is a silent French black and white science fiction film. Despite its innovative techniques for the time period, I was not satisfied with this film because of its unrealistic portrayals and its meaningless plot.
The film begins with a group of astronauts deciding to take a trip to the moon. They have a capsule built, and land in the eye of the human face on the moon. They get out and go to sleep. Then the Little Dipper, Saturn, and a woman on a crescent moon visit them, waking them with snow. They go into a cave where they encounter moon aliens, who take the astronauts to their leader. An astronaut kills the leader by throwing him to the ground. They flee to their capsule and fall back into space when an astronaut uses a rope to pull them off a cliff. A moon alien joins them too, but falls off when they land in the ocean. Eventually a ship comes and tows them back to shore.
The actors in the film were so exaggerated in their motions that it was hard to determine what they were actually doing. It caused the tone of the film to be more silly than innovative. All together, it made the film difficult to comprehend. Also, the film had no plot really. The different scenes did not contribute to one central meaning that I could configure. They were very entertaining, but made little sense when strung together.
While Méliès’ film is definitely a classic considering its innovative animation and special effects, it did not wholly satisfy me because of its unrealistic portrayals and meaningless plot.
Review of A Trip to the Moon
In 1902, the film A Trip to the Moon was written and directed by Georges Méliès. The main actors in the film were Victor André Bleuette Bernon, Jeanne d’Alcy, and Henri Delannoy. It is a silent French black and white science fiction film. Despite its innovative techniques for the time period, I was not satisfied with this film because of its unrealistic portrayals and its meaningless plot.
The film begins with a group of astronauts deciding to take a trip to the moon. They have a capsule built, and land in the eye of the human face on the moon. They get out and go to sleep. Then the Little Dipper, Saturn, and a woman on a crescent moon visit them, waking them with snow. They go into a cave where they encounter moon aliens, who take the astronauts to their leader. An astronaut kills the leader by throwing him to the ground. They flee to their capsule and fall back into space when an astronaut uses a rope to pull them off a cliff. A moon alien joins them too, but falls off when they land in the ocean. Eventually a ship comes and tows them back to shore.
The actors in the film were so exaggerated in their motions that it was hard to determine what they were actually doing. It caused the tone of the film to be more silly than innovative. All together, it made the film difficult to comprehend. Also, the film had no plot really. The different scenes did not contribute to one central meaning that I could configure. They were very entertaining, but made little sense when strung together.
While Méliès’ film is definitely a classic considering its innovative animation and special effects, it did not wholly satisfy me because of its unrealistic portrayals and meaningless plot.