Friday 6 April 2012

Voyage to the Moon - Original 1902 Colour Version

Instantly recognised by its iconic image of the man in the moon with a rocket in his eye, Georges Méliès 1902 Le Voyage dans la lune (Voyage to the Moon) is an integral part of cinematic history. 


However, for over a hundred years, the cinephile has been largely ignorant towards the existence of an original hand painted colour version that Méliès produced. This lack of knowledge was largely due to a copy of the colour version not being discovered until 1993 and then spending nearly twenty years being restored! 

Now available in a meticulously restored version with a score by Air, the hand coloured version is a refreshing look at this essential piece of film history. Air's score may not be what you would expect of a film of 1902 but, regardless of the context in which Voyage was originally released, Air's music conveys the film's surrealistic and fantastical tone, and is especially more vibrant due to the presence of colour. Enjoy!

 Le Voyage dans la lune 
 The 1902 Hand Painted Colour Version