Tag: H.G. Wells

  • The Invisible Thief

    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 and Ferdinand Zecca.  The Invisible Thief (Le veleour invisible). 1909, France. Directed by Segundo de Chomon & Ferdinand Zecca. Based on…

  • The Airship Destroyer

    The Airship Destroyer

    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 very impressive for their time. However, the design of the film is amateurish, the model work crude and the substitution splices sometimes…

  • The Trailblazers

    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. And thanks to the possibility for movie magic, science fiction was popular in these early days. All the pioneers dabbled…

  • Before the movies

    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 on the origins of science fiction.

  • A Trip to the Moon

    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,…