The Criterion Channel has added a number of Georges Méliès movies this month, including his most famous film, 1902's A Trip to the Moon(Le Voyage dans la Lune). One of Méliès' hand painted colour prints of the film was restored in 2011 and it's pretty intense.
Everyone's so excited in this movie. Everyone's always cheering or giggling, it's great. Teams of bare-legged girls stampede across the screen unable to suppress grins and old wizards argue and laugh in the schoolroom about how to make a spaceship.
The lovely sense of watching giant, moving illustrations is wrapped up in the general euphoria. I love how the old guys pile rapidly out of the rocket and start cheering and waving their hats at the moon's surface and at the sun like arriving on the moon gave them the same feeling as seeing their winning horse cross the finish line.
The impression I have is that everyone was at least mildly inebriated. It's infectious, I feel slightly drunk just watching it, from something strong and sweet like Chartreuse maybe.
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