Saturday, August 3, 2019

Watchingwell 


                                 Curated classic films






Space Travels

     While we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, let us also celebrate the filmmakers who took us to the moon and other heavenly bodies decades earlier by way of their creative imagination.


    The first film to explore space travel was literally the first film – George Méliès' A Trip to the Moon from 1902. It is simply a creative masterpiece that still charms and it is only thirteen minutes long.





     Although the Méliès film is the most famous, there were other notable science fiction silents I should mention, even though I usually restrict my talk to talkies.


      A Trip to Mars (original title: Himmelskibet or Heaven Ship) from 1918 is a film from Denmark and, as opposed to the Méliès film, this is a serious and less fantastic story of space travel. Scientists discover a peaceful civilization when they take a rocket to Mars. Directed by Holger-Madsen, this film has been carefully preserved by the Danish Film Institute and they have issued a DVD version. *

*The Danish Film Institute (Det Danske Filminstitut) web pages at dfi.dk with 'Himmelskibet' to get more info.
   

Woman in the Moon (Frau im mond) from 1929 was directed by Fritz Lang.  Not as well-known as his other science fiction classic, Metropolis (1927), this film is one of the most realistic about some aspects of space travel since Lang consulted with scientists for technical details.  





Aelita:  Queen of Mars (1924)

        Alita is the daughter of the ruler of a totalitarian society on Mars.  Los is an earthling who builds a space ship and travels to Mars, where he and Alita lead a revolution. An early film from the Soviet Union, one could see this as propaganda for the noble, working class, but worth watching if only for the set design and costumes. Directed by Yakov Protozanov.




Mars Attacks the World (1938)


    Flash Gordon and his friends travel to Mars to battle Ming the Merciless and his ally, Queen Azura.  This is an edited version of the multi-part Flash Gordon serial “A Trip to the Moon”.  Directors:  Ford Beebe, Robert F. Hill.








Rocketship X-M (1950)


      Astronauts on their way to the Moon end up on Mars. Dated by lack of technology, it has a serious mood, real actors like Lloyd Bridges, and a terrific score.  Directed by Kurt Neumann.







Destination Moon (1950)



        Based on the book by Robert Heinlein, dean of science fiction writers, this film is remarkable for predicting many of the procedures that NASA used 19 years later in its actual launches. Directed by Irving Pichel. 





Flight to Mars (1951) 


      Four men and a woman blast off for Mars and find a Martian civilization.  They seem friendly, but they are hiding their secret desire to invade Earth.  Fun 50s sci-fi.  Directed by Leslie Selander.








Cat Women of the Moon (1953)



       Well, this may have been on one of my so-bad-it's-good lists. This is not a serious scientific efffort to describe a space mission to the moon. The cat women are all in black tights and speak English. Originally in 3D. It provokes the question: Why would Marie Windsor and Victor Jory agree to appear in this? Directed by Arthur Hilton.





Conquest of Space (1955)


        A rather competent sci-fi effort from George Pal with high production values and luscious Technicolor. The captain of a mission to Mars leaves a space station with questions about the ethics of the mission. Directed by Byron Haskin.






Missile to the Moon (1958)


      This is possibly a comedy. Or a cheap remake of Cat-Women of the Moon. As opposed to the high production values of the previous film, this one has characters standing in front of a cardboard rocket ship and rock monsters whose actor faces are visible. Directed by Richard Cunha.




  
First Spaceship on Venus (1960)
(Der Schweigende Stern) 


       The special effects are better than most of its time in this East German production.  A thoughtful story of an international group of scientists traveling to Venus to investigate whether aliens from that planet could have visited Earth. Directed by Kurt Maetzig.



Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)


    Authentic look despite its dated hardware, this adaptation of the classic novel was carefully crafted.  Still holds up even when compared to super-accurate, modern versions. Directed by Byron Haskin.
  







First Men in the Moon (1964)


          H.G. Wells story of a Victorian mission to the moon wrapped in a modern plot. Good performances in a film that is a visually interesting adaptation with a good score by Laurie Johnson. Directed by Nathan Juran.