A gathering of scientists discuss, design and, eventually, pile into a spacecraft that takes them on a fantastic journey to our nearest satellite. This simple outline constitutes the majority of the action in Georges Méliès' groundbreaking 1902 fantasy short, Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon).
The Extraordinary Voyage tells the tale of how Méliès came to develop the techniques and audience that would allow him to undertake what was the most ambitious film-making production of its time, described as both the first international blockbuster and the Avatar of the silent era.
The crux of The Extraordinary Voyage is of more modern concern, detailing the discovery of a hand-colored version of Le Voyage dans la Lune and the painstaking restoration of that print. The piece does a good job of detailing the challenges of the process without dwelling too long on the technical aspects of the task. And its easy as a viewer to root for the restoration team and their small victories as the film is rescued frame by frame.
The real treat of the presentation, however, comes after the documentary reaches its end. The chance to see the restored, color version of A Trip to the Moon projected on a large screen is not to be missed. Featuring a new soundtrack by the French musical duo Air, A Trip to the Moon vibrates with an unexpected amount of energy, more than a century after its conception.
Contemporary audiences may have endless amounts of onscreen fantasies and spectacle to choose from nowadays, but this is a rare opportunity to see one of the earliest examples as it was meant to be experienced, in a theater setting. Do not pass it up.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the post. I shared it on my own blog. I'm seeing the documentary tomorrow.
Glad you enjoyed the post! And thanks for directing your readers my way, too. Have fun at the fest!
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