Georges Melies
Scroll down and click on the audio player (below the movie) to hear this post. Read as you listen.
One of the first science fiction writers, Jules Verne, and one of the earliest filmmakers, Georges Melies, combined to make one of the first science fiction movies called "Journey to the Moon." One of the earliest filmmakers was a Frenchman whose name I can't quite pronounce but I think it is Georges Melies or Melies - he made a movie of Jules Verne's novel, "Journey to the Moon."
Because he was one of the early filmmakers, he developed a number of techniques: multiple exposures, time lapse photography, dissolves, and, of course, hand coloring because he had no color. He was originally a magician. He started making movies in 1896. They're not the long movies that everybody makes now but shorts, probably. He made 500, over 500, in 20 years. His most famous is this "Trip to the Moon," which he made in 1902.
"The Trip to the Moon" was written by Jules Verne, a Frenchman who began the science fiction genre. And he wrote a number of famous novels. First, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 1864; "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" which was written in 1870; and "Around the World in 80 Days" which was written in 1873. He wrote a novel called "From the Earth to the Moon" in 1865 and it was this novel that Georges Melies made into the movie, "A Journey to the Moon." Altogether, Jules Verne wrote about 60 novels.
The movie, "Journey to the Moon," is about 10 minutes long. Please watch and please enjoy. (It's a silent movie but this one has sound attached.)
Listen Here! Listen to the words as you read. Click play for "Moon Movie."
