One of the most iconic images in cinema history shows us the face of the Moon with a rocket stuck in one eye. Image which corresponds to the first feature film in the history of the seventh art: Journey to the Moon.
He December 28, 1895at the Indian Salon of the Grand Café on Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, the brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière They presented their invention, the cinematograph, in society, where they screened the short film Leaving the factorylasting 46 seconds. Georges Méliès was present at the event, who had been personally invited by the father of the Lumière brothers.
Méliès, magician and illusionist, owner of the Robert Houdin Theaterhe immediately saw the possibilities of Lumière cinematography, so he decided to include it in his duties as a complementary tool to his tricks.
In 1900, on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in Paris which attracted both foreigners and provincials to the capital, Méliès experienced his first successes and became known with shows where he combined magic tricks, projections, sketch in short, lots of rhythm and humor.
On the other hand, cinema experienced a real moment of splendor during the aforementioned period. Universal Exhibition, where the projections, which lasted one or more minutes, were accompanied by music and narrated by a commentator. The audience laughed, whistled or shouted… all of which ended up becoming part of the show itself.
With the funfairs, the first cinema found its great allies, becoming the great spectacle of French fairs between 1897 and 1905. Thanks to them, cinema developed massively and quickly.
The first feature film in history
On September 1, 1902, Georges Méliès, who has already directed hundreds of films in just a few years, will mark a turning point in the history of cinema with his film: Journey to the Moon either trip to the moon.
More than a hundred years have passed since Méliès made this film, which lasted more than twelve minutes, a record if we take into account the length of previous films, which made it the first feature film in history.
As has been said, the fairs were responsible for distributing and screening the new films, refusing to buy Méliès’ film, finding it too long. This did not discourage him, however, and, fully convinced of the quality of his work, Méliès prepared a screening as a presentation, achieving resounding success. The next day, all the showmen in France were aware of it and all now wanted to screen his film, flooding him with orders.
The undisputed reference of Journey to the Moon It was the work of Jules Verne From the Earth to the Moonof 1865. Although Méliès, in his production, made fairly free adaptations compared to the literary work of his French compatriot.
As for the synopsis, in the movie you see how they build a cannon that needs to be launched and reach the moon. After the moon landing, they face a group of Selenites, resembling an African tribe, where the Earthlings confront their king, whom they defeat, managing to escape. Upon their return to Earth, they are honored with a massive parade.
own Méliès is the protagonist of trip to the moonwhere he plays the role of chief astronomer.
The film was shot in what was the first movie studio, which turned out to be a glass greenhouse to try to get as much light as possible, as well as protect the equipment from bad weather, thus guaranteeing the continuity of filming.
In overproduction, there is a lot special effects like disappearances and transformations, effects that Méliès knew well from his days as an illusionist. It is about camera tricks and which are considered to be the first known special effects. Although these effects may seem rudimentary today, the truth is that they are visual epiphanies with a lot of charm.
This first feature film, and which is also the first science fiction film in the history of cinema, cost ten thousand francs at the time. A large part of the budget went to sets, costumes and the salaries of the best actors in Parisian theaters; as well as the choristers who appear, and who were dancers from the Théâtre du Châtelet; or the Selenites, acrobats of the Folies Bergère. These twelve minutes of film took three months of hard work.
Méliès shot a total of 520 films, among which the first considered stands out horror movie about a vampire, but, without a doubt, trip to the moon It will always be his best known film.
