FILM 2159: A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902)

TRIVIA: After finishing work on the film, Georges Méliès intended to release it in America and thereby make lots of money. Unfortunately, Thomas A. Edison's film technicians had already secretly made copies of it, which were shown across the US within weeks. Melies never made any money from the film's American showings, and went broke several years later. Edison made a fortune from it.

Although no official credits are included, Georges Méliès left a record in a 1930 letter with cast and crew credits. Ballet girls from the Théâtre du Châtelet portrayed the stars and the rocket attendants, while the Selenites were portrayed by acrobats from the Folies Bergère.

Director Georges Méliès worked extensively with former Folies Bergère performer Jehanne d'Alcy during production. She served as the film's costume designer and acted in a small role. The two would marry 23 years later.

Remains the best-known of the 520 films made by Georges Méliès; the moment in which the capsule lands in the Moon's eye remains one of the most iconic and frequently referenced images in the history of cinema.

Hand-colored prints sold for 1,000 francs at the time of the film's release. The prints were colored assembly-line fashion with one person applying one color to each frame of film at a time.

Has a 100% rating based on nine critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

The earliest film listed in '"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

I’m making my way through the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See my blog post about my copy of the book here…

You can buy an updated version (which I will get after I’ve made my way through this edition) here…

I really hope you can come on this journey with me – if you do I’d love to know which films you’ve enjoyed the most!

This is featured on the podcast Unspooled Episode #205.1
https://www.earwolf.com/episode/a-trip-to-the-moon/

I’m making my way through the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See my blog post about my copy of the book here…

You can buy an updated version (which I will get after I’ve made my way through this edition) here…

I really hope you can come on this journey with me – if you do I’d love to know which films you’ve enjoyed the most!

This is featured on the podcast Unspooled Episode #205.1
https://www.earwolf.com/episode/a-trip-to-the-moon/

Watch this here…