Post by klep on Jul 13, 2020 9:28:54 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/13: A Trip to the Moon
SCIENCE FICTION WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is graciously provided by a guest contributor.
No one's going to accuse us of recency bias this week. In fact, this movie is frequently used as a "look, we know old movies!" movie. In a way, that's unfortunate, though, because it means that people don't talk about its merits. And it does have them. It has quite a lot of them, actually, And that's why we still remember it, in part, because it really is an impressive film, the more so given its age. Georges Méliès was a genius of special effects, the first true genius of special effects, and the film has lasted until now and become a textbook reference of old movies because of its quality.
The story is also well-known, being as it is adapted from two works by Jules Verne and possibly one by H.G. Wells. A few scientists climb into a capsule which is fired at the Moon. It hits the Man in the Moon (Georges Méliès himself) in the eye in one of the most famous scenes in silent movie history. It turns out the Moon is populated, with beings called Selenites (I don't know how we know that's what they're called; possibly it's from one of the books?) that attack Our Heroes but turn out, as it happens, to explode into dust when they are hit with any force. Which makes it rather easy for them to escape and return to Earth.
It is one of the heartbreaking stories of early film, as it happens, and get ready to be mad at Thomas Edison all over again. Because while Edison was busy haranguing the American filmmakers over patent rights so hard that they literally crossed a continent to get away from him, he pirated so many copies of this film that Méliès was unable to profit from it. He spent a fortune on the movie, and he hoped it was going to bring him American success, the only possible thing that would've recouped his losses. The film has no title cards or anything, so it would have been just as appealing to audiences in any language, but there was no chance of that with the copies flooding the market cheaper.
It drove Méliès out of the business, bankrupting him utterly. It's almost heartbreaking to think about, given the wizardry he brought to cinema. He was an actual magician, having built a theatre for stage magic with the money from his first wife's dowry and his share of the family shoe business. He then took that artistry into the film field. He managed to get into the business despite the Lumières' attempt to keep him out and keep their monopoly on film in France. He made somewhere around five hundred films of varying length, and I've seen more than just this one and they're frankly amazing. Tricks that you might not expect to see in film for decades first appear in his films. Freakin' Edison.
You will note that, this week, we have some colour images included. It's a little-remembered fact, I think, how many films were tinted in the early days of silent film. For many years, the original tinted version was lost, and when a copy was found, it was too damaged to be viewed. It is my understanding that it has been computer scanned and is available to view, all though that's not the print I watched. After all, the whole thing is long since in the public domain, even in the US. Not that it would have mattered, given the history of payment for that movie in the first place.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/20: Freaks
1930s WEEK!
For 1930s Week we'll be watching Tod Browning's Freaks, a film about a woman marrying a circus sideshow performer for all the wrong reasons. Controversial at the time because it cast people with real disabilities, the film has since been reappraised and recognized for the compassion and humanity it grants its characters. Come join us next week for our discussion of Freaks, available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 7/14: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
The podcast crew concludes its pairing with this new comedy from David Dobkin starring Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell. Come join us Wednesday for our discussion of this film, available on Netflix.
SCIENCE FICTION WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is graciously provided by a guest contributor.
No one's going to accuse us of recency bias this week. In fact, this movie is frequently used as a "look, we know old movies!" movie. In a way, that's unfortunate, though, because it means that people don't talk about its merits. And it does have them. It has quite a lot of them, actually, And that's why we still remember it, in part, because it really is an impressive film, the more so given its age. Georges Méliès was a genius of special effects, the first true genius of special effects, and the film has lasted until now and become a textbook reference of old movies because of its quality.
The story is also well-known, being as it is adapted from two works by Jules Verne and possibly one by H.G. Wells. A few scientists climb into a capsule which is fired at the Moon. It hits the Man in the Moon (Georges Méliès himself) in the eye in one of the most famous scenes in silent movie history. It turns out the Moon is populated, with beings called Selenites (I don't know how we know that's what they're called; possibly it's from one of the books?) that attack Our Heroes but turn out, as it happens, to explode into dust when they are hit with any force. Which makes it rather easy for them to escape and return to Earth.
It is one of the heartbreaking stories of early film, as it happens, and get ready to be mad at Thomas Edison all over again. Because while Edison was busy haranguing the American filmmakers over patent rights so hard that they literally crossed a continent to get away from him, he pirated so many copies of this film that Méliès was unable to profit from it. He spent a fortune on the movie, and he hoped it was going to bring him American success, the only possible thing that would've recouped his losses. The film has no title cards or anything, so it would have been just as appealing to audiences in any language, but there was no chance of that with the copies flooding the market cheaper.
It drove Méliès out of the business, bankrupting him utterly. It's almost heartbreaking to think about, given the wizardry he brought to cinema. He was an actual magician, having built a theatre for stage magic with the money from his first wife's dowry and his share of the family shoe business. He then took that artistry into the film field. He managed to get into the business despite the Lumières' attempt to keep him out and keep their monopoly on film in France. He made somewhere around five hundred films of varying length, and I've seen more than just this one and they're frankly amazing. Tricks that you might not expect to see in film for decades first appear in his films. Freakin' Edison.
You will note that, this week, we have some colour images included. It's a little-remembered fact, I think, how many films were tinted in the early days of silent film. For many years, the original tinted version was lost, and when a copy was found, it was too damaged to be viewed. It is my understanding that it has been computer scanned and is available to view, all though that's not the print I watched. After all, the whole thing is long since in the public domain, even in the US. Not that it would have mattered, given the history of payment for that movie in the first place.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/20: Freaks
1930s WEEK!
For 1930s Week we'll be watching Tod Browning's Freaks, a film about a woman marrying a circus sideshow performer for all the wrong reasons. Controversial at the time because it cast people with real disabilities, the film has since been reappraised and recognized for the compassion and humanity it grants its characters. Come join us next week for our discussion of Freaks, available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 7/14: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
The podcast crew concludes its pairing with this new comedy from David Dobkin starring Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell. Come join us Wednesday for our discussion of this film, available on Netflix.