A Trip to the Moon

Photo courtesy of Technicolor

Many consider French director George Méliès’s 1902 short Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) to be the first film with visual and special effects. The milestone science fiction extravaganza was an international sensation when it was first released. Moviegoers were astonished at the time. The film can now be seen in color due to an historic restoration. Méliès developed a special effects style of the day that involved stop-motion animation; double, triple and quadruple exposures; cross-dissolves; and jump cuts. Scores of his films were overflowing with stunts, tricks, dancing girls and elaborate sets.