Subscribe for €30 and get one-year access to our streaming library. This supports not only our magazine but also the filmmakers we represent.
A Trip to the Moon
Le Voyage dans la Lune
A Trip to the Moon is based on two popular novels from that period: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne and The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells. The black-and-white science fiction film from 1902 has since become a canonical work. The French film was hugely popular upon its original release and used animation and visual effects that were very innovative at the time.
During a meeting of astronomers, their chairman proposes a trip to the moon. After some opposition, six brave astronauts agree to the plan. They built a bullet-shaped capsule and a huge cannon to shoot it into space. A group of ‘marines’ (mostly women in sailor suits) launch the contraption. The man on the moon sees the capsule approaching, and it hits him in the eye—one of the most famous shots in film history.
Like many other films by Méliès, A Trip to the Moon was sold in both black-and-white and hand-coloured versions. The only known hand-coloured copy was rediscovered in 1993 and later restored. This restored version finally premiered in Cannes in 2011, 109 years after its original release.
Bio Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès (1861-1938) was a true pioneer of cinema history, not only because of his inventive editing but also through his unwavering dedication to creating films as art rather than merely documenting reality. Influenced by his background as an illusionist, his landmark trick films of the late 1800s and early 1900s were among the first moving images to celebrate cinema’s magical possibilities. Through his experimentation, Méliès invented fundamental editing techniques that remain relevant to this day, including jump cuts, double exposures, superimpositions, and stop-trick effects.
431
- This film was #10 in the “Greatest” Short Films of All Time 2025