Steampunk Cinema: Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon and Charles Schneer's First Men in the Moon

The theme of this year's festival is largely taken from the fascination in Victorian science fiction with making an actual voyage to our closest neighbor in the Solar System. The famous French silent film A Trip to the Moon (1902, originally titled Le Voyage dans la Lune) by Georges Méliès is a visual fantasia and now considered an innovative classic in early cinematic storytelling and special effects. On the other hand, producer Charles Schneer's First Men in the Moon, a feature film done in Panavision and Dynamation in 1964, imagines an encounter between the 1960s Space Program and lunar archaeology that exposes a secret space expedition launched for Queen Victoria in 1899!  These films are equally influenced by the lunar science fiction novels of both Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Our program includes an historical introduction of each film, a viewing of the earlier silent film and official trailer for the 1964 film, followed by a discussion.Our guest speaker is Lorraine Wochna, Performing Arts Librarian at Ohio University's Alden Library.Sponsored by the Friends of the Athens Public Library. This event takes place in the Raymond C. Cook Meeting Room.