Film history

Le Voyage dans la Lune

Georges Méliès's Le Voyage dans la Lune is a 1902 film whose history includes preservation, losses and recovery of materials. Production year, versions and running time are separate matters.

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Georges Méliès's Le Voyage dans la Lune is a 1902 film whose history includes preservation, losses and recovery of materials. Production year, versions and running time are separate matters.

Credits, production, and historical context

Cannes identifies Georges Méliès’s 1902 film and relates its story to Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon. The lunar expedition frames a cinematic fantasy of visual tricks. These identified details offer a firmer basis than additional credits or budget figures without specific documentation.

Duration: a disputed datum

Centre Pompidou records a silent, tinted and coloured 35 mm print lasting 10 minutes and 50 seconds. The 2011 Cannes presentation states 14 minutes. These refer to different prints or presentations, not a verified conversion between projection speeds. A runtime should identify its catalogue record or edition rather than infer numerical equivalences those records do not establish.

Loss, rediscovery, and restoration

The 2011 Cannes report specifies that it was the colour version that had been considered lost. It was found in Barcelona in 1993 in very poor condition; recovering it required isolating and digitising the images. The recovered version was presented at Cannes in 2011. Centre Pompidou separately records a donation of the work in 1991. The discovery of that colour print should therefore not be confused with the first access to the complete film in the 1990s.

Impact and legacy: beyond the myth

Studying the film becomes more precise when the 1902 work, surviving prints and later restorations are distinguished. Cannes highlights visual tricks and the connection with Jules Verne. Recorded runtimes and the recovery of colour help trace its material transmission without turning a retrospective genre label into a proven universal first.

Key takeaways

  • The film was directed by Georges Méliès and produced by Star Film Company in 1902.
  • Runtime should identify the print: Centre Pompidou records 10 min 50 sec; Cannes announced 14 minutes.
  • The colour version considered lost was found in Barcelona in 1993.
  • The recovered colour version was presented at Cannes in 2011.
  • Its status as the 'first science fiction film' is a retrospective critical label.
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Sources and filmography consulted

  1. VIAJE A LA LUNA (1902). Georges Méliès transforma el cine .... www.instagram.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  2. Viaje a la Luna. es.wikipedia.org. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
    Colaboradores de Wikipedia · Viaje a la Luna · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. “Le Voyage dans la Lune” (“Viaje a la Luna”, 1902). .... www.facebook.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  4. Le Voyage dans la Lune – el juego de rol. nogarung.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  5. Viaje a la Luna (1902) Cortometraje. www.filmaffinity.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  6. Viaje a la Luna (Corto 1902). www.imdb.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  7. La película muda dirigida por Georges Méliès : r/movies. www.reddit.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  8. Centre Pompidou: Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902), AM 1991-F1164. www.centrepompidou.fr. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  9. Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) - Georges Méliès - (HQ). www.youtube.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  10. VIAJE A LA LUNA (Le voyage dans la lune). mundocinemudo.blogspot.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  11. “Le Voyage dans la Lune” (“Viaje a la Luna”, 1902).. www.facebook.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026
  12. Festival de Cannes: A Trip to the Moon – a return journey (2011). www.festival-cannes.com. Consulted 23 Oct 2026