Mediocre Movie Club Movie Reviews

A Trip to the Moon

12/1/2015

A-
3.71

A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the moon.

Directed by George Melies

Initial Review by Shane Setnor

Here you have it. Here is the foundation to every science fiction movie ever made. A Trip to the Moon is a 15 minute blur of simple storytelling, set to an amazing score from Air. The first movie of its kind, I can’t imagine the responses of people watching something like this having possibly never even seen a moving picture before. It taps into this running thought that I have in my head when watching even the most mundane of modern commercials: “This commercial would blow the minds of anyone 50 years ago. What would they even think? Would they even get it?”

With A Trip to the Moon, I wonder if the original viewers were even able to keep up with the story. We all get it: It’s a bunch of smart scientist types who travel to the moon, take a dang nap for some reason, fight some aliens and bring one home and parade it. (Colonialism FTW!) This brainy neurologist says yeah, people probably got it because of Jules Verne introducing those ideas into their heads: (http://brainknowsbetter.com/news/2014/2/21/georges-melies-a-trip-to-the-moon-reveals-the-psychology-of-film) The author mentions how when movies are shown to people living in remote areas of Turkey, they don’t necessarily understand all of the plot or what is going on. But if they’ve been introduced to the concepts being shown, they follow along just fine. So suffice to say, this film was well-received in its day. (Speaking of well-received, it was so popular that Thomas Edison stole it, removed director George Melies’s name and illegally shared it across the USA. Thomas Edison is the original Napster.)

Ultimately, we can’t really evaluate the plot here. It’s simple by necessity. It could have added some clarifying dialogue (I assume that was invented by then), but it isn’t necessary for such a simple plot. I like that the viewer had to figure out what was going on. I think it added to what we were seeing. However, I really have no idea if this was remotely intentional or not. I do know that it was original to put this story on film.

I think we can take a second to appreciate the special effects here. There’s really nothing special about the moon men disappearing when being struck by an umbrella. Hell, we probably all did similar effects as kids when making home movies. Even though I knew what the trick was, Melies pulls it off with deft editing (and smoke bombs) that I don’t even care. I’d rather watch those special effects, which actually feel tangible, than the CGI in Charlie’s Angels or Fast and Furious, which never seem real to me.

We know a lot of old films are unremarkable. A Man Shaving His Face isn’t something I eagerly want to see pop up on Netflix, but I’m sure it was revolutionary at the time. But with a Trip to the Moon it’s how the movie looks and feels. Melies gives us something with style that is a pleasure to watch. Even in black and white, you can appreciate the layering and slick artistry that pops off of the screen. The color version is even more interesting to watch. (It’s also interesting that each frame was hand-painted. This blows my mind that 200 people did that.) Melies can’t provide the viewer with realistic depictions of rockets or the moon, so he embraced that gave the viewer highly stylized version instead. It’s amazing that Melies was able to do so much more to add to the film visually than Linklater did in the train wreck Waking Life. (Fun game: type “awful animated movie about philosophy”)

I’m certain some purists might take offense to the addition of an electronic musician doing the score to a movie over 100 years old, but I think Air hits a homerun here. The backing music always matches the tone and pace of the scenes. The eerie noises in the soundtrack add to the mysticism of the moon men. The steady beat pulls you further into the workers swinging hammers. Really, there’s no reason for a scene of people hammering sheet metal to be interesting, but the visual and auditory rhythms kept my eyes on the screen. And the final track gives us a celebratory feeling and leaves the viewer feeling like something amazing just happened.

Ultimately, this film left me feeling like a child. Like I was watching something for the first time. It’s a great feeling to get back.

A

Original review by Shane.

19 Comments

Bobby

12/1/2015 03:08:31 pm

A Trip to the Moon was visually appealing, and clearly remarkable for it's time. The leads name is Professor Barbenfouillis, which is awesome.

I, too, enjoyed the score.. and felt it was fitting.

All around good great grand experience.. which is even short enough to view many multiple times.

A

Bryan

12/1/2015 09:58:43 pm

I found the modern score to be incredibly distracting. My first watch was in mute and I enjoyed that much more. However, I also can't listen to music and accomplish things. The brain works in funny ways.

The classroom scene from A Trip to the Moon had Mediocrities written all over it with slightly more sitting and many more women. The raucousness of it was splendidly done.

Of course they brought an alien back to parade around, what else is there to do. Great symbolism whether the director was trying or not.

I love this quote Shane, "Ultimately, this film left me feeling like a child. Like I was watching something for the first time. It’s a great feeling to get back."

I'm somewhere between A and B.

Shane

12/3/2015 04:35:58 pm

Would you re-watch this one? It passes my re-watch test easy.

12/4/2015 11:54:31 am

I've already seen it twice. My inattention span and the length go well together. Multiple viewings allow me to pick up on background things.

12/4/2015 02:27:03 pm

I've paid more attention to the background the past couple viewings. The attention to detail is fantastic. I still need to watch it under the influence of something other than booze I think

12/9/2015 12:07:31 pm

I think I've settled on B+

Cooker

12/2/2015 09:11:38 am

I don’t know why, but the entire time I was watching this I felt like I was a character in the movie and constantly telling everyone, “Go home, you’re drunk.” Maybe it was because I watched this at 1am on the Ipad because I couldn’t sleep. From the opening sequence of the Army of Dumbledores (the only thing missing was a “rabble rabble” from the crowd) to the conclusion, I wanted to say that phrase out loud.

I watched only the color version and it was visually stunning. Another Harry Potter reference, but it reminded me of paintings that had come alive. I also enjoyed the soundtrack. The only thing missing was Billy Corgan screaming “Tonight, Tonight” in his nasally tone. A Trip to the Moon was one of the inspirations for the music video. I’ll post it on the Facebook page.

I’m aware this was made in 1902 and film production techniques had only gotten so far, but I was really bothered by the cuts between scenes. And there wasn’t a single star wipe. Haha. Overall, an enjoyable experience, and it did help me finally fall asleep. Now go home, you’re drunk. Giving this a B+

Jon

12/4/2015 06:01:42 pm

Star wipes are the easily the most under-utilized tool in the editor's kit.

Lane

12/2/2015 03:21:48 pm

I admit, I have trouble writing these kinds of reviews because it’s pretty hard (maybe impossible) to compare a film like “A Trip to the Moon” to anything that happened in film after about 1918 (note: I picked that date from watching the first episode of “The Story of Film” – thanks Kissel). There were so many advancements happening in film during this time that it’s impossible to dock points because so much of what we think they could have done simply hadn’t been invented yet – like camera technique or manipulating story timeframes.

So, I chiefly have to base my judgment of the film on the historical significance of the film, which is, as noted by Shane, significant. Also, I kept thinking back to “Hugo,” which is a little too sentimental for my taste (I like my Scorcese gritty, and based in the Northeast), but is still a pretty solid homage to Melies and nice bit of invented film history. Melies himself continues to play a starring role in the history of film.

Also, I’m a huge fan of the Air soundtrack. I heard an interview with them back in 2012 when this was released, which only helped my esteem for what they tried to do with this. A good listen if you’ve got 10 minutes: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/29/146005351/air-scoring-a-cinematic-marvel-100-years-later

I had to go to my rating guide to try and judge a grade. Since so much of my scale resides on originality and “groundbreaking” achievement, I don’t know how I can keep this film from anything less than an A+. With the addition of a solid soundtrack, it’s a no-brainer. So…

Grade: A+

Sean

12/3/2015 05:16:13 pm

It was a cool music video, pretty colors and I'm sure it was amazing for the time. But I didn't care. I'm glad it was only 15 minutes.
Do you boost the grade because its history says you should? I don't care. I'm gonna take a nap

12/4/2015 11:55:15 am

Letter grade, damn it. That's why we're here.

12/4/2015 02:27:31 pm

This is a proper Vegas review.

12/5/2015 11:44:09 am

Thank you Shane- I watched it when we decided to skip a conference session. I did get about 25 minutes of nap in. I also loved Phil refusing to grade it.

Phil

12/3/2015 11:52:32 pm

I had one very random thought running through my head as I watched “A Trip to the Moon”…

I would make a terrible kindergarten teacher.

Grading A Trip to the Moon is like grading an assignment from a kindergartner. You just can’t, b/c they have no context for anything at all. There’s no experience to draw from, no blueprint in their minds for how an assignment should be done. This is first day of school, first assignment, and that assignment is “draw something.” Again, how do you grade that?!

All that being said, some movies are just good to have in your lexicon. A Trip to the Moon fits that bill to a T. It’s unquestionably an achievement and a touchstone both technologically and culturally. I would recommend people seeing it simply for the purposes of historical significance. The plot is fine given 15 minutes. The acting is fine given no dialogue. It’s a well-made movie, especially given that there is no blueprint.

So, if I may, like any good kindergarten teacher I suspect, I choose to not give A Trip to the Moon a grade. It doesn’t fit any scale that makes any logical sense. You can either say that it’s just amazing it exists and give it an A, or… I don’t even know what the other option is. Good pick Shane, as it was something we needed to see in a group like this.

12/4/2015 02:23:29 am

It's easy to forget that everything about directing and editing had to be invented, as no one's thought up montage by 1902 and won't for another couple decades. I can attempt to imagine what it might have been like to see this when movies were brand new, but that mostly involves me thinking about how much I would've hated wearing the required headwear of the time. On the other hand, I would've enjoyed constantly saying 'Bully.' I'm sure it's accurate to call this a technical masterpiece for 1902. Melies is plainly having a great time with it, as A Trip to the Moon burbles over with whimsy.

I can't completely give myself over to it, because all those to-be-invented directing and editing tricks make storytelling better. Melies is doing as much as he can with what he's got. James Cameron came up with the (bad) idea for Avatar something like 20 years before it was released: current technology just couldn't match what he had in his mind. Melies is in a similar situation. I'm sure he'd be making great sci-fi today if he was around, but the picture in his mind is hampered by the technology of his life.

As sci-fi, A Trip to the Moon leaves its rustic trappings behind and gets some prescient ideas into its thin running time. The opening scene has its wise old men dressed as wizards, and then has them trade their robes and wizard hats for suit jackets and formal wear. As Arthur C. Clarke said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." The old men, and Melies by extension, are using science to create miracles, mankind at its absolute best. The most striking shot in the film is the rocketeers, having landed on the moon, watching the earth rise in the distance. Being able to see the location of everyone that was and is as just a floating ball in space, Carl Sagan's 'pale blue dot,' is always thrilling to me, in movies or from satellite photography. Sci-fi has a purpose of asking What If, but it also attempts to shift our perspective about our place in the universe. Did that shot blow minds in 1902?

Three years earlier, in an 1899 joke magazine, a character comments to another that "Everything that can be invented has been invented." People like Melies draw out the comedy of that quote, while also capturing the Luddite, things-fall-apart tendencies that humans so often indulge in. A Trip to the Moon is fundamentally optimistic about the future, a position I can always get down with. The physical experience of watching something this old, with the flickers and frame dissolution, is not exactly pleasant, but I would recommend this to anyone as a French movie where subtitles aren't a problem. B+

12/4/2015 10:30:24 am

Great review.

12/4/2015 02:30:12 pm

Bully!

Drew

12/9/2015 11:26:54 am

It is difficult to capture the mindset of space and space travel in 1902 and going in with that mindset, viewers were able to understand the film's presentation. What could it be? In George Melies' viewpoint, it was somewhat exotic with its own natives. Fantastic idea.

The plot also fascinated me. A group of scientists argued in favor of space travel, do so, and all returned within a matter of a day. They encountered angry natives, killed their "ruler," and barely escaped. It was also interesting to see how one of the angry natives came back to earth with the scientists. Another interesting aspect was the celebration that greeted the scientists upon their return. At first it seemed laughable but once it is put into the mindset of 1902, it was completely within reason. They made it back...alive!

The music was, generally, fine but at times misplaced. The bass line annoyed me and it was not entirely reflective of the story. That was its minor part.

Anytime anyone mentions the moon to me, I reminisce of Shane doing the voice of Dr. Gahan asking us to imagine watching the Battle of Bull Run while sittin' on the moon! Nice pick.

Grade: A-

12/9/2015 12:32:06 pm

What would it be like, you know, to be watching the Mediocrities from the moon? Just watching them from there, from the moon.

A Trip to the Moon

A-
3.71

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A Trip to the Moon

A-3.71

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A-
3.71