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Le voyage dans la lune [A Trip to the Moon] (Georges Méliès, 1902)
Dec
19
Apollo 17
A gif from the hand-coloured edition that is now in the Filmoteca de Catalunya. Poor Mister Moon has the adventures' rocket stuck in his eye. DPs: Théophile Michault & Lucien Tainguy.
“Laugh, my friends. Laugh with me, laugh for me, because I dream for you.”
– Georges Méliès, 1937
In true Méliès style, a wild menagerie of showgirls and scientists meet on the Moon in this groundbreaking sci-fi spectacle.
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Moonland (William A. O'Connor, 1926)
Aug
15
Chant At The Moon Day
Mickey (Mickey McBan) and his dog looking up to the crescent moon from a perfectly round window with beaded curtains made of stars. Spot the Milky Way! DP: Edward Gheller.
A little boy and his dog are invited over by the Man in the Moon himself. The trip to the Moon is a big adventure for the drowsy duo and they meet peculiar flora, fauna and men along the way, lifted straight from the Great Moon Hoax.
“You and I may dream of gold or grocery bills — but when a child slaps Morpheus on the back and says 'Hello, old man' — well it's a different story.”
– opening title card
Post-McCay's serial Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905) and pre-Fleming & Cukor's The Wizard of Oz (1939), William A. O'Connor is heavily indebted to both. Which doesn't make his short Art Deco-styled science fiction fantasy any less magical.
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