criterionforum.org

Georges Méliès was not just a pioneer of early cinema, he was central to what we know as film today. An illustrator, magician, filmmaker, and inventor he paved the way for animation and multi-media filmmaking.

Of all of Méliès films, his boldest and most well known is certainly A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune), loosely based on the writings of Jules Verne. A Trip to the Moon follows a group of travellers who jet off to the moon from earth on an exploration mission only to end up in peril and captured by the local inhabitants, the Selenites. Featuring a who’s who of theatrical cast from the era, with Méliès himself taking a lead role, this is one of the very first forays into sci-fi cinema, and spawned one of the most iconic images of cinema – the man in the moon with a rocket in his eye.

Presented here in both black and white and its original colours, and supplemented by Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange’s phenomenal documentary, An Extraordinary Voyage, along with Méliès’ unpublished autobiography, A Trip to the Moon can now be fully celebrated in this deluxe package.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited Edition of 1,000 copies
• Deluxe limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork
• 214-page hardback casebound book of George Méliès’ autobiography, previously unpublished in English

BLU-RAY

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed Stereo 2.0 and 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Multiple scores by world renowned composers
• The Innovations of Georges Méliès - new video essay by Jon Spira exploring A Trip to the Moon and Méliès’ career
• An Extraordinary Voyage - Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange’s 2011 documentary on the film, its rediscovery and preservation for future generations, featuring interviews with Costa Gavras, Michel Gondry, Michel Hazanavicius, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• La grand Méliès (1952) - a short film directed by Georges Franju about the life and work of Méliès
• 2020 re-release trailer

BOOK

• The Long-Lost Autobiography of Georges Méliès: Father of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Cinema: Available for the first time since 1961, finally translated into English by Ian Nixon, with annotations and supporting material by Jon Spira, Méliès filmography, illustrations by Lucy Collin, interviews with filmmaker Serge Bromberg, silent film expert Bryony Dixon, and filmmaker Michel Gondry

The book sounds more interesting than anything else here

My thoughts exactly. It seems to have fewer extras than the flicker alley release (missing The Eclipse and The Astronomer's Dream) but adds Franju's La grand Méliès. and the video essay.

The book is definitely the highlight.

I got the Lobster restoration of A Trip to the Moon with the Air soundtrack CD a few years ago, so I’ll pass. Arrow Academy have gone off the boil, haven’t they?

Apparently this is a limited edition of 1,000 available exclusively through arrowfilms.com

Are they kidding with this 40 pounds “sale” price? Never mind

The book is available separately for £25 as a Kickstarter reward.

It's certainly the most enticing part of this package. I wonder why Arrow attempt a more extensive Melies collection along the lines of the Flicker Alley Fairy Tales or First Wizard of Cinema sets?

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:15 pm Are they kidding with this 40 pounds “sale” price? Never mind

Plus £15 shipping to the U.S.!

Arrow’s prices have went completely insane this year - I have no idea what happened, but they’ve basically raised the cost of everything across the board. I have all the Academy “sets” other than Boro and I seriously doubt I can rationalize the Game or this when it’s so prohibitively expensive.

I was going to make a comment about this offering really poor £ per minute, but feck me that price is flogging this short for all it is worth.

Calvin wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:17 pm The book is available separately for £25 as a Kickstarter reward.

Thanks. Anyone know what the US shipping cost is on this?

Also available for £45 from Arrow’s webstore? Out 1. A movie approximately 52 times as long.

(I understand there’s more draw here than literally just the movie, but I think it does highlight a steep upward price curve)

Counterpoint: I am rich, and this looks classy as hell

Surely a more worthwhile approach would be to drop the appropriate amount of cash on that Kickstarter then just wait for the inevitable 'Back In Stock' Arrow re-release of their Blu-ray? Might save a bunch of faffing around.

Since everyone is talking pounds, and I can’t tell via Tapatalk where this thread is from, just confirming this is a UK ONLY release?

Yes, it's Region B-locked and UK only

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:26 pm

Calvin wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:17 pm The book is available separately for £25 as a Kickstarter reward.

Thanks. Anyone know what the US shipping cost is on this?

Looks like £22 to ship to the US, so £47 for just the book.

So basically, no matter how nice any part of this looks, thank u, next

I could only afford this if I had that sweet Joe Eszterhas money

Other option:

Spoiler

Steal £40
Fake own death
Come again
The double cross
Twist ending: don't even buy A Trip to the Moon, who saw that coming?

Just got this in the mail and was surprised to see that the whole thing has been sized to accommodate the book (so a little over 10" tall). I figured it would be standard size and the book would come separately.

swo17 wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:42 pm Just got this in the mail and was surprised to see that the whole thing has been sized to accommodate the book (so a little over 10" tall). I figured it would be standard size and the book would come separately.

Did you sell the second copy yet?