The Extraordinary Voyage

Cinema’s most unforgettable image is perhaps that of the Man in the Moon being poked in the eye by a rocket ship. The magical Georges Méliès, one of the celebrated heroes of Martin Scorsese’s new movie Hugo, was the creator of that image, and his Trip to the Moon thrilled audiences in 1902. Now, thanks to one of the most technically sophisticated and expensive restorations in film history, A Trip to the Moon can thrill audiences once again in color. This fascinating documentary charts the film’s voyage across the century and into the next millennium, from the fantastical Méliès’s production in 1902 to the astonishing rediscovery of a nitrate print in color in 1993 to the premiere of the new restoration on the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival in 2011. Interviews with some of contemporary cinema’s most imaginative filmmakers attest to Méliès’ enduring significance. —MoMA