Review: A Trip to the Moon
Blu-ray: A Trip to the Moon (1902)
One of the few surviving short films by innovative French film maker Georges Méliès, A Trip to the Moon is a magical tale of a group of astronomers who board a rocket ship and are fired like a bullet out of a gun towards the moon.
Arriving at their destination they find that it is inhabited by some very strange, and not entirely friendly, creatures. So an escape is needed and a quick return to planet Earth.
Using in-camera visual effects which were unheard of at the time, accompanied by beautifully painted and stylistic backdrops, Georges Méliès created short films which are still magical to watch over 100 years after they were made.
This Blu-ray release from Arrow Films not only presents an amazing restored version of A Trip to the Moon, it also has an absolutely fascinating documentary which charts the life and work of Méliès and the incredible restoration process that went into bringing this historic short film back from an almost unwatchable state, into an amazing Blu-ray release.
A 214 page hardback book is the icing on a very tasty cinematic cake that should be snapped up by anyone with even the vaguest interest in the history of cinema.
ARROW STORE EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited Edition of 1,000 copies
- Deluxe limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork
- 214-page hardback casebound book of Georges Méliès’ autobiography, previously unpublished in English
BLU-RAY
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original uncompressed Stereo 2.0 audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Multiple scores by world renowned composers
- The Innovations of Georges Méliès – new video essay by Jon Spira exploring A Trip to the Moon and Méliès’ career
- An Extraordinary Voyage – Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange’s 2011 documentary on the film, its rediscovery and preservation for future generations, featuring interviews with Costa Gavras, Michel Gondry, Michel Hazanavicius, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Le grand Méliès (1952) – a short film directed by Georges Franju about the life and work of Méliès
- 2020 re-release trailer
BOOK
The Long-Lost Autobiography of Georges Méliès: Father of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Cinema
- Available for the first time since 1961, finally translated into English by Ian Nixon, with annotations and supporting material by Jon Spira, Méliès filmography, illustrations by Lucy Collin, interviews with filmmaker Serge Bromberg, silent film expert Bryony Dixon, and filmmaker Michel Gondry.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.
