"Le Voyage Dans La Lune" review

 (fig.1 Poster)

 "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" (1902) was a short but strangely exciting film. Its style and special effects are recognizable even now, more than a century later. While watching the over-exaggerated acting, the viewer cannot help but wonder how exciting it must have been filming it and being a part of something so imaginative and "new". 

Georges Melies (director) created a true classic with his innovative views. According to filmsite.org "As a film pioneer and producer of over 500 short films, Melies made up and invented the film medium as he directed. He developed the art of special effects in earlier films, including double exposure, actors performing with themselves over split screens, and use of the dissolve and fade. He also pioneered the art of film editing."

(fig. 2 concept art))

As shown on fig.2 the concept art for the short film was truly inspiring, especially for a person living in 1902, able to record a film that can only be a script from their wildest fantasies. Men walking on the moon, the mysteries it hides, the strange creatures that inhabit its depths.

 (fig 3 - a still from the film)

In figure 3 we can experience both a fantastic set design and real actors, an approach with which we can stop living our mundane lives and dive into a world full of adventure and excitement.

As Chrisie Jazar  states in his review for the movie: "The plot is very simple: a group of astronomers are shot(via a giant cannon) for a journey to the moon." What we can talk about though is the imprint of movies such as this one, Their legacy and how they inspire us to follow our dreams.

In conclusion, artistic vision and strange concepts are the fuel of our modern age. Going beyond our own limits and explore distant worlds, reaching for the sky and achieving our dreams. Without people like George Melies, our world would have been a different one, a less exciting version of itself.

Image links:

Figure 1 - poster - http://doctorofmovies.com/2013/04/07/great-movies-le-voyage-dans-la-lune-1902/ (accessed 25 Sep. 2014)

Figure 2 - concept art - http://astronaut.com/from-scifi-to-scifact-a-trip-to-the-moon-le-voyage-dans-la-lune/ (accessed 25 Sep. 2014)

Figure 3 - still from the film - http://chrislejarzar.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/trip_to_the_moon1.jpg (accessed 25 Sep. 2014)

Bibliography:

Tim Dirks. (2000). Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1902).Available: http://www.filmsite.org/voya.html. Last accessed 25/09/2014.

Chrisle Jarzar. (2010). Review: Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1902). Available: http://chrislejarzar.wordpress.com/review-le-voyage-dans-la-lune-a-trip-to-the-moon-1902/. Last accessed 25/09/2014.