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Encyclopedia > A Trip to the Moon
A Trip to the Moon
Directed by Georges Méliès
Produced by Georges Méliès
Written by Georges Méliès
Gaston Méliès
Starring Georges Méliès
Victor André
Bleuette Bernon
Jeanne d'Alcy
Henri Delannoy
Cinematography Michaut
Lucien Tainguy
Distributed by Gaston Méliès
Release date(s) Flag of France September 1, 1902
Flag of the United States October 4, 1902
Running time 14 min (at 16fps)
8 min (at 25 fps)
Language Silent
Budget 10 000FF
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

A Trip to the Moon (French: Le Voyage dans la lune) is a 1902 French black and white silent science fiction film. It is loosely based on two popular novels of the time: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne and The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells.[1] It was written and directed by Georges Méliès, assisted by his brother Gaston. The film runs 14 minutes if projected at 16 frames per second. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 – January 21, 1938), full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. ... Gaston Méliès was the younger brother of the more-famous French film director Georges Méliès. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... ISO 4217 Code FRF User(s) Monaco, Andorra, France except New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna ERM Since 13 March 1979 Fixed rate since 31 December 1998 Replaced by €, non cash 1 January 1999 Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2002 € = 6. ... Events March 10 - Circuit Courts decision disallows Thomas Edison from having a monopoly on motion picture technology. ... Black-and-white is a broad adjectival term used to describe a number of monochrome forms of visual arts. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The projectile, as pictured in an engraving from the 1872 Illustrated Edition. ... This article is about the French author. ... The First Men in the Moon is a 1901 science fiction novel by the British author H. G. Wells. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 – January 21, 1938), full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. ... Gaston Méliès was the younger brother of the more-famous French film director Georges Méliès. ... Frame rate, or frame frequency, is the measurement of how quickly an imaging device can produce several consecutive images, called frames. ...


A Trip to the Moon was extremely popular in its day and is the best-known of the hundreds of fantasy films made by Méliès. It is also considered by many to be the first science fiction film, and utilizes innovative animation and special effects.[2] The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ...

Contents

Synopsis

At a meeting of astronomers, their president proposes a trip to the Moon. After addressing some dissent (by throwing paper at a heckler), six brave astronomers agree to the plan. They build a space capsule in the shape of a bullet, and a huge cannon to shoot it into space. The astronomers embark and their capsule is fired from the cannon with the help of a bevy of beautiful women in sailors outfits. The Man in the Moon watches the capsule as it approaches, and it hits him in the eye. This article is about Earths moon. ... For the J. R. R. Tolkien folklore, see Man in the Moon (Middle-earth). ...


Landing safely on the Moon, the explorers get out of the capsule and watch the Earth rise in the distance. Exhausted by their journey, the astronomers unroll their blankets and sleep. As they sleep, a comet passes, the Big Dipper appears with human faces peering out of each star, old Saturn leans out of a window in his ringed planet, and Phoebe, goddess of the Moon, appears seated in a crescent-moon swing. Phoebe calls down a snowfall that wakens the explorers. The explorers then seek shelter in a cavern and discover giant mushrooms. One astronomer opens his umbrella; it promptly takes root and turns into a giant mushroom itself. This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Comet Hale-Bopp Comet West For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ... Big Dipper map A group of the brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, form a well-known asterism that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial. ... This article is about the planet. ... // Phoebe or Phebe may refer to: Phoebe (mythology), one of the original Titans One of the Heliades Phoebe, the daughter of Leucippus Another name for Artemis Helens sister, daughter of Leda As for Melissa, a person of rare beauty Phebe, a shepherdess in Shakespeares As You Like It...


At this point, a Selenite (an insectoid alien inhabitant of the Moon) appears, but it is easily killed by an astronomer, as the creatures explode if they are hit with a hard force. More Selenites appear and it becomes increasingly difficult for the explorers to destroy them as they are surrounded. The Selenites arrest the astronomers and bring them to their leader. An astronomer picks the Chief Selenite up off its throne and dashes him to the ground, exploding him. Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... “Green people” redirects here. ...


The astronomers run back to their capsule (continuing to whack the pursuing Selenites on the way). Five get inside. The sixth uses a rope to tip the capsule over a ledge on the Moon and into space. A Selenite tries to seize the capsule at the last minute. Astronomer, capsule, and Selenite fall through space and land in an ocean on Earth! The Selenite falls off and the capsule floats back to the surface, where they are rescued by a ship and towed ashore.


Complete version

When originally screened, the film featured a final scene depicting a celebratory parade in honor of the travelers' return. Until recently, this scene was considered lost, and does not appear on any commercially available editions. However, a complete cut of the film was discovered in a French barn in 2002. Not only is it the most complete cut of the movie, but it is also entirely hand-colored. It was restored and premiered in 2003 at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival.[3]


Style

Some historians suggest that although A Trip to the Moon was among the most technically innovative films up until that time, it still displays a primitive understanding of narrative film technique. American film scholar Ken Dancyger writes that the film is "no more than a series of amusing shots, each a scene unto itself. The shots tell a story, but not in the manner to which we are accustomed. It was not until the work of American Edwin S. Porter that editing became more purposeful."[4] However, it has been said that Porter was inspired partially "by the length and quality of Méliès's work."[4] Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 - April 30, 1941) was an influential early film pioneer. ... Film editing is the connecting of one or more shots to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an entire movie. ...


Although most of the editing in A Trip to the Moon is purely functional, there is one unusual choice: when the astronomers land onto the lunar surface, the "same event is shown twice, and very differently": the first time it is shown crashing into the eye of the man in the moon; the second time it is shown landing on the moon's flat terrain.[5] The concept of showing an action twice in different ways was experimented with again by Porter in his film, Life of an American Fireman, released roughly a year after A Trip to the Moon. This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...


Distribution

Méliès had intended to release the film in the United States to profit from it; however, Thomas Edison's film technicians secretly made copies of it and distributed it throughout the country. Méliès never profited from it and eventually went broke.[1] “Edison” redirects here. ...


References in popular culture

The iconic image of the Moon's face

The film has been referenced many times in popular culture. Two music videos are based entirely on and filmed similarly to Le Voyage dans la Lune: Queen's 1995 music video for "Heaven for Everyone", and the award-winning video for the Smashing Pumpkins 1996 hit "Tonight, Tonight"; additionally, Aqua's music video for their song "Lollipop (Candyman)" draws from it. The well-known image of "the man in the moon" from this film, with the rocket having crashed into his eye, was shown on the cover of Led Zeppelin's compilation album "Early Days", in the background in the film The Adventures of Pluto Nash, and appears in parody in the Futurama episode "The Series Has Landed (S01E02)" with Luna Park's mascot "crater face." The image is also parodied in The Simpsons episode Blame it on Lisa in the opening Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. Image of the 1902 film A Voyage to the moon (public domain) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Image of the 1902 film A Voyage to the moon (public domain) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... Heaven for Everyone is a song written by Roger Taylor. ... The Smashing Pumpkins (circa 1995) left to right: James Iha, DArcy, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. ... Tonight, Tonight is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins. ... Aqua was a Danish-Norwegian bubblegum dance/pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single Barbie Girl. The group formed in 1989, and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. ... Lollipop (Candyman) was the fifth single to be released by the Scandinavian pop-dance group Aqua overall, and in many countries the follow-up to their most successful song Barbie Girl. Included on their debut album Aquarium, Lollipop is said to be one of the groups favourite songs, although it... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... Early Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One is a compilation album by Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on November 23, 1999. ... The Adventures of Pluto Nash is a 2002 comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Eddie Murphy as the owner of a lunar nightclub investigating who was behind the arson that destroyed his club. ... This article is about the television series. ... The Series Has Landed is the 2nd episode in series 1 of Futurama. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Blame it on Lisa is an episode from the thirteenth season of The Simpsons in which the family goes to Brazil in search of Lisas pen pal, a Brazilian orphan named Ronaldo. ...


It has been featured in a 1987 episode of Reading Rainbow. The Reading Rainbow logo used between 1999 and 2007. ...


The making of A Trip to the Moon is recreated in the final episode of From the Earth to the Moon, a TV docudrama series about the Apollo programme. Georges Méliès is played by Tchéky Karyo. From the Earth to the Moon is a twelve-part HBO television miniseries (1998) co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, and Michael Bostick detailing the landmark Apollo expeditions to the Moon during the 1960s and early 1970s. ... It has been suggested that Drama Documentary be merged into this article or section. ... Apollo Program insignia Apollo CSM in lunar orbit. ... Tchéky Karyo as Dmitri Mishkin in the James Bond film Goldeneye. ...


It is listed as number one on 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (ISBN 0-7641-5701-9) is a film reference book compiled by various critics worldwide and edited by Steven Jay Schneider. ...


Threadless T-shirt designs printed a shirt entitled Le Voyage Dans La Lune which depicts a scene from the famous film of the same name. Threadless is a community-centered online t-shirt store run by skinnyCorp of Chicago, Illinois since 2000. ... A Trip to the Moon (French: ) is a 1902 French black and white silent science fiction film. ...


The Moon character in The Mighty Boosh is inspired by this film. The Mighty Boosh is a British cult comedy about two friends who go on magical adventures. ...


A Trip to the Moon lent its title to the 1992 UK rave track Trip II The Moon, by Acen. Rave music consists of forms of electronic music for dancing that are associated with the rave scene. ... Acen Razvi was an early 1990s UK rave and Breakbeat Hardcore producer. ...


Portions of the film were seen in the Epcot Center attraction Horizons. Spaceship Earth, as seen from outside the vistors entrance. ... Horizons was an attraction at Walt Disney Worlds EPCOT theme park in Orlando Florida. ...


References

  1. ^ a b Dirks, Tim. A Trip to The Moon. FilmSite.org. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
  2. ^ Dirks, Tim. Film History Before 1920. FilmSite.org. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
  3. ^ Trivia for Voyage dans la lune, Le. IMDB. Amazon. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
  4. ^ a b Dancyger, Ken. The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice. New York: Focal Press, 2002.
  5. ^ Sklar, Robert. Film: An International History of the Medium. [London]: Thames and Hudson, [c. 1990].

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the. ... is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

Film or cinema is one of the most rapidly moving artistic or communications media ever devised, as befits perhaps the first great mass medium of the modern era. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon) (1902) (1734 words)
Voyage dans la Lune, Le/A Trip to the Moon (France, 1902), the screen's first science fiction story, was a 14 minute masterpiece (nearly one reel in length (about 825 feet)), created by imaginative French director and master magician Georges Melies (1861-1938) in his version of the Jules Verne story.
The image of the lunar capsule landing in the eye of the moon is a memorable sight and widely-recognized in cinematic history.
Then, the stars are replaced by a lovely vision of goddess Phoebus (Bleinette Bernon, a music hall singer) sitting on a crescent moon (she is on the Moon and also sitting on the Moon?), of Saturn in his globe surrounded by a ring, and of two charming young girls holding up a star.
A Field Trip to the Moon (4609 words)
The last Apollo mission to the moon, Apollo 17, left Earth on December 7, 1972 to land near the southeastern edge of Mare Serenitatis in the Valley of Taurus-Littrow.
Trips to the moon moved out of science fiction into reality on July 20th in 1969.
Apollo 17's trip to the moon began with the roll-out of the huge, imposing Saturn V rocket.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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