Le voyage dans la Lune (1902)

TSPDT Greatest Films #449 Le voyage dans la Lune (Georges Méliès, 1902)

The grand-father of cinematic storytelling, Georges Méliès with his best film Le voyage dans la Lune is the first film discussed in the revival of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Club. A ten minutes short that influenced many filmmakers to come. Probably one of the first Science-fiction films ever filmed. It even inspired a videoclip of the unfamous band of the 1990's Smashing Pumpkins.

Méliès's film is a mix of theatrical sets and funny pursuits. His heritage of filmmaking is vast but it is probably the one of the first artist to have understand the infinite possibilities this visual medium had to offer. The Art of the 20th Century sure has evolve since then, but it's still moving images and storytelling. The technique will be more and more elaborate with the few years to come. Eisenstein will bring is editing theories and Griffith will bring the epic scale moviemaking diserved.

Méliès made his films in a time where Theater and pictures shared many storytelling techniques; the sets and the acting especially. Méliès understood how moviemaking could be a grand spectacle and that the possibilities could bring human beings way as far as far its imagination.