A Trip to the Moon

I watched the 1902 film A Trip to the Moon a few months ago when I was recovering from a root canal. I had heard of it being a early film classic but knew nothing else other than its name. I saw that they had it on Netflix in both a restored black and white version and colorized version. I much preferred the black and white, even though the restored colorized version was impressive.

 

It is a short silent film, around fifteen minutes in length. I found it to be creative and charming. It has all the things I love about early adventure and sci-fi/fantasy tales. This was clearly before the time those genres had developed all their trappings, so it is a funny blend of people dressed in wizard robes, rocket ships shot out of cannons, bloody moon eyes, capturing aliens, and town parade! All in fifteen minutes. The aesthetics are fantastic and inspirational.

I don't have much else to say about this film, other than you need to watch it. It is a good entry point if you are interested in black and white or silent films, because of its short length and simple story line. Plus, I know I'm sending my players on a moon adventure by shooting them in a giant bullet out of a cannon in a tabletop RPG someday!