Le Voyage extraordinaire

The Extraordinary Voyage is a valuable supplement to the restored and colourised A Trip to the Moon, which AIR’s music turns into a sort of remake of the original film, adapted for nerds who revel in campy weirdness). Judging from what little I know about Méliès, the information presented here is not erroneous; at most, it is simplified (for example, it is not customary to state the original length of silent films in minutes). In the commentary of several film dreamers (Jeunet, Gondry, Hazanavicius), the cinephilic value clearly outweighs the informational value, and the filmmakers could have also forgiven themselves for the slightly anti-American element (though I fully agree with the oblique message that Méliès’s film was a more valuable achievement than sending men to the moon). However, that is a negligible price to pay for increasing the film’s attractiveness to audiences. Of course, the whole sixty minutes could have been filled with a detailed description of the restoration process, but the filmmakers wisely decided to take a more accommodating approach to viewers who are less passionate about the technical side of things and viewers knowledge of Méliès’s film begins and ends with the image of the Moon with a rocket in its eye. The result is rarely balanced, but I believe that scientists and enthusiasts will not be offended by it and others will not be bored. 80% (27/09/2012)

There’s nothing that groundbreaking about this documentary, but it tells the story with such vigor that you’re happy to watch, both the documentary and the interviews with France’s renowned directors of this era, who certainly have a lot to say. Plus, I was able to see A Trip to the Moon in color, which must have left the makers sweating bullets. (24/04/2018)