Le Voyage dans la lune (1902) - film review

At a meeting of the astronomy club, Professor Barbenfouillis announces his next venture: to lead a manned expedition to the moon.  Six astronomers volunteer to accompany him on his journey, which is made via a rocket shell catapulted to the moon by an enormous cannon.  As soon as the explorers emerge onto the lunar surface, there is an explosion and they are sent in all directions.   To recover, they lie down to sleep and dream a fantastic dream about the heavenly bodies.  When they awake, they are half-frozen and decide to go beneath the moon’s surface to shelter.  Their next discovery is a grotto filled with giant mushrooms – behind which emerge the lunar inhabitants, the Selenites.   The explorers are taken to the king of the moon but manage to escape, by thrashing the fragile Selenites with their umbrellas.  They return to earth to receive a hero’s return.

Georges Méliès’ most famous film, Le Voyage dans la lune, is perhaps the best example of his remarkable imagination, artistic genius and talent as a film-maker.  Not only did he write, direct and produce the film, he also had a hand in designing the sets and costumes.  Although it may appear naïve and fanciful by today’s standards, it was a technological achievement in its day and is rightly considered the world’s first piece of science-fiction cinema.

Made on a budget of ten thousand francs (a colossal sum at that time) and taking several months to complete, it represented a huge risk for Méliès.  However, the gamble paid off – the film was a worldwide success, becoming the most widely seen and popular film until that time.  Today, the shot of the rocket shell landing in the eye of the moon remains one of the most enduring images in cinema history.

For Le Voyage dans la lune, Méliès was inspired by the novels of Jules Verne (From the Earth to the Moon) and H.G. Wells (First Men in the Moon ).   The Selenites, the lunar inhabitants, were played by acrobats from the Folies-Bergère, whilst the scantily dressed girls who launched the cannon were dancers from the Châtelet ballet. The film’s popularity (and Méliès’ inability or unwillingness to protect his copyright) resulted in a spate of pirate copies (including one made by Edison) and inferior imitations.

© James Travers 2002

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