An Over-Incubated Baby
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (5/10) Britain’s first sci-fi film features a marvelous incubator. The short comedy clip was directed by Walter R. Booth, early cinema’s most prolific science fiction director and the artistic […]
The Flying Machine
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (7/10) Movie pioneer Ferdinand Zecca rides his steampunk bike over Paris in this short, but beautifully filmed trick film from 1901, marking France’s first science fiction movie. The Flying […]
The Mechanical Butcher
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (5/10) The first science fiction film in history was made by movie pioneer Louis Lumière in 1895, and depicts a futuristic machine turning a live pork into sausages and […]
The Astronomer’s Dream
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (7/10) Georges Méliès’ French short film was an important step in the development of the science fiction movie, even if it should probably be categorised as a fairy-tale. The […]
The Invisible Thief
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (8/10) The first film based on H.G. Wells novel The Invisible Man is a 5 minute short with stunning special effects and superb acting, directed by Segundo de Chomon […]
Frankenstein 1, 2 and 3
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) The supposedly first Frankenstein movie of 1910 turns the monster metaphysical rather than physical, but the gruesome special effects in the creation scene is fleshy enough. We also […]
The Airship Destroyer
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) An action-packed British short from 1909 depicting future warfare with missiles and airships. Walter Booth directs with typical energy and audacity and some of the physical effects are […]
The Impossible Voyage
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (7/10) Pioneering film maker Georges Méliès’ 1904 follow-up to the groundbreaking A Trip to the Moon is perhaps his most beautiful film, but the master is starting to repeat himself. The […]
The Trailblazers
Early cinema was the pulp fiction of its time: a crude and undistinguished novelty, and just as with other lower-tier entertainment, there were surefire moneymakers: nudity, shock, thrills and escapism. […]
Before the movies
This blog concerns science fiction films, not literature. But it would be unwise not to pay some homage to the roots of the genre. Here then, is a small essay […]
A Trip to the Moon
This 1902 film about a trip to the moon and an encounter with aliens is in many senses the first of its kind, notable for its large budget, entertaining and fantastical story, state of the art special effects and lavish, moving sets. A true benchmark not only for sci-fi films, but for the medium of film as a whole.
