The Impossible Voyage
film by Georges Méliès
The silent film The Impossible Voyage was made in 1904 by French filmmaker Georges Méliès, following his most well-known film, A Trip to the Moon. Like A Trip to the Moon, some copies of The Impossible Voyage were hand-painted, frame by frame, by the lab of Elisabeth Thuillier. This new score was created exclusively through digital synthesizers, channeling the futurist spirit of the film.
The film concerns a group of travellers from the Institute of Incoherent Geography who seek to travel around the entire world. The group chooses the engineer Crazyloff (played by Méliès himself) to lead the journey via train, automobile, flight, and submarine, all whimsically designed by Crazyloff.
The group travels via train to the Swiss Alps, and immediately begin the next leg of the journey via automobile. Not letting anything get in their way, the travellers unceremoniously drive through a dining hall, and later unsuccessfully attempt to jump a canyon, crashing at the bottom. After recovering in a hospital, they continue the journey via train, outfitted with dirigible balloons. The balloons fly them to outer space where they are swallowed by the sun, which happens to be sentient and has a face.
Inside the sun, they crash again and find the heat unbearable. To cool off, Crazyloff loads the travellers into an icebox, but soon realizes they have foolishly shut the door and are now frozen alive. He quickly starts a fire with straw, and melts the group. They decide to escape via the submarine, plunging from the sun towards Earth, and into an ocean.
However, misfortune strikes again as the boiler on the sub explodes, launching the travellers out of the ocean and crashing onto land. Again, miraculously, everyone is safe, and their return is celebrated with a parade.
The film concerns a group of travellers from the Institute of Incoherent Geography who seek to travel around the entire world. The group chooses the engineer Crazyloff (played by Méliès himself) to lead the journey via train, automobile, flight, and submarine, all whimsically designed by Crazyloff.
The group travels via train to the Swiss Alps, and immediately begin the next leg of the journey via automobile. Not letting anything get in their way, the travellers unceremoniously drive through a dining hall, and later unsuccessfully attempt to jump a canyon, crashing at the bottom. After recovering in a hospital, they continue the journey via train, outfitted with dirigible balloons. The balloons fly them to outer space where they are swallowed by the sun, which happens to be sentient and has a face.
Inside the sun, they crash again and find the heat unbearable. To cool off, Crazyloff loads the travellers into an icebox, but soon realizes they have foolishly shut the door and are now frozen alive. He quickly starts a fire with straw, and melts the group. They decide to escape via the submarine, plunging from the sun towards Earth, and into an ocean.
However, misfortune strikes again as the boiler on the sub explodes, launching the travellers out of the ocean and crashing onto land. Again, miraculously, everyone is safe, and their return is celebrated with a parade.