French Cinema

In May 1902, Méliès directed the film A Trip to the Moon, loosely based on Jules Verne's novel From the Earth to the Moon (1865), its sequel Around the Moon (1870) and H. G. Wells' novel The First Men in the Moon (1901). In the film, Méliès plays Professor Barbenfouillis, a character similar to the astronomer he had played in Le Rêve de l'astronome in 1898.Professor Barbenfouillis is president of the Astronomer's Club and proposes an expedition to the Moon. A space vehicle in the shape of a large artillery shell is built in his laboratory and he uses it to launch six men (including himself) on a journey to the Moon. The vehicle is fired from a large cannon into space and hits Moon Man in the eye. The group explores the Moon's surface before falling asleep. While dreaming, they are observed by the goddess Phoebe, played by Bleuette Bernon, who makes it snow. Later, underground, they are attacked and captured by a group of lunar aliens, played by acrobats from the Folies Bergère. Taken before the alien king, they manage to escape and are chased back to their spaceship. Then, using a rope attached to the ship, the men, accompanied by an alien, fall from the Moon to Earth and land in the ocean (where a superimposed aquarium creates the illusion of the ocean depths). Finally, the ship is towed back to land, and the townspeople celebrate the adventurers' return. At 14 minutes, this is Méliès' longest film to date. A TRIP TO THE MOON, with a brand-new score by Jeff Mills and an improvised piano track by Serge Bromberg, plus narration by Georges Méliès.