The Pirates of 1920
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (7/10) Pirates of the air get more than they bargained for when they kidnap a resourceful damsel in this well-made British short feature film from 1911. And there’s an […]
Author Archives
Janne Wass
Janne is a journalist and magazine editor from Finland, who in his spare time runs the science fiction blog Scifist.
Police in the Year 2000
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (4/10) In the year 2000 police officers will be catching criminals with giant grapplers from the deck of their airship, according to this 1910 short from Gaumont. Notable for […]
The Aerial Submarine
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (4/10) A man and his daughter are kidnapped by pirates in a flying submarine in this 1910 British action adventure. Walter R. Booth’s story is too ambitious for its […]
A Trip to Mars
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (5/10) A scientist floats to Mars and is captured by Martians in this early American short film. Not a masterpiece, but a well made and intriguing little film. A […]
An Interplanetary Marriage
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) Move over Aelita! This 1910 short film about a scientist and a girl from Mars getting married on the moon is Italy’s first science fiction film. It is […]
A Trip to Jupiter
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (9/10) While derivative of Georges Méliès’ space voyages, Segundo de Chomon’s silent short from 1909 is a tour de force of innovative camera use, seamless special effects and stunning […]
Long Distance Wireless Photography
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (5/10) A fun and well-made 1908 short by Georges Méliès about a fantastic camera projecting images in real time of the subjects’ real selves, this French one-reeler mostly rehashes […]
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
No rating: Lost film The first ever adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1908 in many ways marked the beginning for Hollywood. Although filmed in Chicago, it was […]
A Message from Mars
No rating: lost film New Zealand’s first science fiction film is also the first ever film involving a Martian and an alien visitation to Earth. The 1903 movie was based […]
The Electric Hotel
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (8/10) Stop-motion animation with live actors has probably never been done as well as in Segundo de Chomon’s 1908 film The Electric Hotel. But this tale of a tourist […]
An Excursion to the Moon
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) In 1908 Spanish master filmmaker Segundo de Chomon directed a carbon copy of Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon. The result is professional, but uninspired. An Excursion […]
A Little Jules Verne
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (4/10) Gaston Velle’s 1907 film is a fairly entertaining underwater fantasy short, made hastily to cash in on Georges Méliès epic Under the Seas. Velle directs the imitation professionally, […]
Under the Seas
NO RATING; FILM INCOMPLETE Georges Méliès third science fiction epic (1907) is the first film based on Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, even if it is rather […]
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
In search of a lost epic – whatever happened to Wallace McCutcheon’s ambitious first ever adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? The American 1905 answer to Georges […]
The ‘?’ Motorist
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) Walter R. Booth’s short film is a subversive and funny trick film about a couple of mad motorists that speed through the British streets, toppling police officers, riding […]
