Vintage SciFi Month was created by Little Red Reviewer and is moderated by Red Star Reviews. Any science fiction film, short story, play, or book released before 1979 is eligible for this celebration of classic science fiction.
A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage Dans la Lun) was a short silent film released in 1902 by French film maker Georges Méliès who was assisted by his brother Gaston. In other words, don’t turn up your volume when watching it! There is no sound. This was the first science fiction tale ever filmed to the best knowledge of modern film historians. A Trip to the Moon influenced generations of storytellers in this genre.
if you’d like to watch this film before reading my thoughts about it, click on the link below or hit play. It’s just under 13 minutes long.
A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage Dans la Lun)
Everything after this sentence will contain spoilers.
As you have probably surmised from the title, A Trip to the Moon told the story of a group of men who built a space ship and visited the moon.
One of the things that first grabbed my attention about their adventures were the roles women played in them. Women appeared to be part of the planning and construction committees but did not travel with the main characters to the moon. I would have loved to sit in on the meetings that decided who would play what role in this film.
I’d seen this image floating around online for years but never knew the context of it.
It came as a delightful surprise to finally discover why the moon had a face and, more importantly, why that face had a gigantic space ship sticking out of it.
There was also something interesting about seeing what the film makers thought were important things to bring to the moon.
Granted, this was pretty soft science fiction even for the era in which it was created, but I’d never think to prioritize packing pillows of all things. I suppose that everyone needs to feel comfortable when they fall asleep on the surface of the moon!
This pattern continued throughout the thirteen minutes of lighthearted lunar adventures. While this is thought of as science fiction, I saw so many fantasy influences as well. It made me wonder if those two genres were much more tightly entwined in 1902. I’d bet they were given how many scientific advances humanity had yet to make as well as the fact that this appears to be the first speculative fiction film ever made like I mentioned above!
All of you should absolutely watch this short film. It was a whimsical glimpse into how some people thought 119 years ago. Since we can’t sit down with them and pick their minds, seeing what they created is the next best thing.
I think Tom Hanks mentioned this project in one episode of From the Earth to the Moon! The last episode of the series focused on it. MAGNIFICENT series, btw, hands down one of the best uses of $20 ever.
How cool! I’m adding that series to my to-watch list.