The Extraordinary Voyage (Le voyage extraordinaire)/A Trip to the Moon (Le voyage dans la lune)
Directed by: Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange/Georges Mélies
Cast: Georges Mélies, Michel Gondry
Running Time: 60 min/14 min
Rating: Not Rated
Showtimes at PIFF: Friday 2/10 8:45PM at World Trade Center Theater and Sunday 2/12 at 3:00PM at Whitsell Auditorium Complete PIFF Schedule
PLOT: The Extraordinary Voyage tells the story of Georges Mélies and his creation of A Trip to the Moon. It also tells the story of the discovery of a colorized version and its restoration over almost a decade. Followed by a screening is the remastered version of the short film.
WHO'S IT FOR? Filmgoers who saw Hugo and want to know more about the film that inspired it.
OVERALL
Every few years, someone makes an homage to Georges Mélies and his most famous film, A Trip to the Moon. Smashing Pumpkin's "Tonight Tonight" video popularized it for my generation, and a few years ago its creation inspired a whole episode of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. But Martin Scorsese's Oscar nominated film Hugo is probably the most impressive one it has received. I can't help but think it played a part in the timing of the re-release of the short film. The doc that precedes it is a history lesson and gives a lot of background information, but it's not really a movie doc. It really feels like it's made for the small screen. I did appreciate the insights from some of the directors they picked. I had never thought about it before, but of course Michel Gondry is influenced by Mélies! But I was really waiting for the main event, and it's pretty great. The quality of the remastered A Trip to the Moon is impressive. For a 110 year old film, it looks almost pristine. My favorite part is the new soundtrack by Air. They not only use instruments, but also sound effects and ambient voices to create a soundscape that works for the film and makes it feel modern. Combine that with the saturated colors and it's a pretty cool viewing experience.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10