Extreme Veganism and A Trip to the Moon

Mushrooms, Moon masks, and Martians: Georges Méliès and his "A Trip to the Moon"/"La Voyage dans la Lune" The theater smells old: like dried up sweat and Chanel from the countless black ties and gowns that have sat in these red velour seats. But it was seeing Oscar in all his golden glory that made me realize I was actually in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles, where I had pulled up in the Vespa as the sun set glowing and rosy behind the classically willowed Beverly Hills palms. The line of anxious theater-goers stretched around the block. The lady in charge assumed I was a student and charged me as such, then I was handed 3D glasses and an awesome print of the film I planned to see, plus a narration script. I found a seat in the fifth row, stage left, and received a few compliments on my sparkly pink helmet as I sat down.

Some professor made an unnecessary elaborate introduction, then Serge Bromberg came on stage to emcee with his brilliant piano playing, delightful French accent, and charming sense of humor, and the rest of the evening was magical.

The program was a full hour and a half of short films, beginning with a fascinating trolley ride of San Francisco a few days before the 1906 earthquake, continuing with post-earthquake footage, followed by ...

- "The Acrobatic Fly" (hilarious)
- "Japanese Acrobats"
- 3 Cinemascope 3D shorts
- Butterfly garden (Also hilarious)
- Metamorphasis
- "The Joy of Living"--a rather amazing French cartoon from 1907
- A risque train scene
- "After the Ball"
- India travelogue

Serge himself played piano for all of these, and in between showings entertained us with his film knowledge and wit. The creme de la creme was of course the restored, colored, "A Trip to the Moon," which was the result of more than a decade of hard work. The presentation, which opened the Cannes Film Festival in France this past May, has been updated by original composition from the French group “Air:" modern beats and sounds fused to create an absolutely fascinating (if someone dissonant) audio-visual production. Some notes about the film and its maker I've listed below. The showing was followed by a lengthy powerpoint presentation from the technical leader of the restoration project, and followed yet again by a second showing of the film, this time to apporpriate period music played live, of course, by Serge Brombart.

At this point, it was ten thirty pm, I'd been in the theater for three hours, and a Questions & Answers session was getting underway. Considering myself diehard enough, I left, thrilled at the fascinating experiences and memories. This is about the time of year that I would be attending the Chungmuro Film Festival in Seoul, and this event eased my recent hankering to attend a film festival.

About Georges Méliès:
Magician who bought Robert Houdin Theater.
Used Cinemascope 3D and trick cameras.
Made the first indoor studio for shooting film.
Created the “Star Films” logo to prevent pirates.

About "A Trip to the Moon":
First story film ever made.
Longest film of its time.
Most pirated film of its time.
Consists of 13,375 frames.

The Update:
- After opening the Cannes Film Festival this year, the program played at Telluride in Colorado. (This was its third showing and the first in LA/CA).
- One color copy found in Argentina partially decomposed as solid brick was found. Decided to melt it (further decompose it) under glass bell with chemical treatment in order to salvage the color bit by bit (took over two years!). They then took digital stills over a light screen. It ended up as a “Bucket of shards” which they painstakingly pieced together using intact B&W versions (about 4-5 from different parts of the world). The slides of the workflow during production were insane AVID nightmares including bizarre tactics like rotoscoping and multiple timelines and colored keyboards and who knows what mind-numbing, painstaking else.
-“It was a race to the finish, quite literally.” ~Tom Burton
- Interesting: No record of it being produced in color at the time, but it was probably ordered tinted by a Spanish patron, as evidenced by the French flag (now in Spanish color).

Memorable quotations used to describe the restoration process/film: “Turning a hamburger back into a cow,” (something I've deemed "extreme veganism"...perhaps I could market this catchphrase? “Making a Frankenstein,” “If I was gonna launch a rocket the first place I’d go is my roof.”

From the Telluride Film Festival program: Georges Méliès’s famous 1902 “moon with a rocket in the eye” masterpiece was the Holy Grail for film preservationists, long available only in battered black-and-white prints. But this glorious, hugely entertaining landmark— groundbreaking as fantasy and science fiction and for its special effects— was rescued in its original color version, frame by frame, by Lobster Films and the Groupama Gan and Technicolor foundations, in the most elaborate and expensive restoration in the history of cinema. How important is this film? It was the first archival work and first short to open the Cannes Film Festival. MOON is the finale of Serge Bromberg’s latest extraordinary picture show. What else will you see? San Francisco the day before the 1906 earth- quake, the first hand-colored films, Japanese acrobats and Buster Keaton going nowhere, plus other surprises gleaned from attics and flea markets. Serge accompanies it all with live piano and stories. Total run time: 100 minutes.