EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH!

NOT 'GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY'..1ST WAS 'TRIP TO MOON'!

- Manoj Kulkarni

Poster of Edwin S. Porter made early..

American film 'The Great Train Robbery' (1903).

Poster/Advt. of Georges Melies made..

early French film 'A Trip To The Moon' (1902).

In study of cinema we read that American short silent 'The Great Train Robbery' (1903) was the first feature film which introduced narrative world cinema; but that's not believable! According to my research..1902 made French short silent 'Trip To The Moon' was the first to introduce narrative cinema; So this film should be consider the First Feature Film made in the world!

American pioneering filmmaker Edwin S. Porter.

I n 1903 'Edison Studio's cameraman Edwin S. Porter produced & directed film 'The Great Train Robbery' was early action in genre! Actually it was original a play wrote by Scott Marble with whom Porter written the screenplay of this film. Then Porter cinematographed this film with Blair Smith. In this on-location shooting happened in Milltown, New Jersey..with frequent camera movement. Porter only did it's composite editing & cross cutting in which scenes shown parallel! Artists appeared in this films were..Alfred C. Abadie, Broncho Billy Anderson, Justus D. Barnes & Walter Cameron. This film was primitive one-reeler silent picture which run (with 18 frames) in 12 minutes only. I can say..this film was like a pioneer of Hollywood popular Western!

Scene of early American Western film..'The Great Train Robbery' (1903).

French pioneering filmmaker Georges Melies.

Before that film..in 1902 French illusionist Georges Melies made adventure film 'A Trip To The Moon' ('Le Voyage Dans La Lune') which produced by his 'Star Film Company'. It was inspired from the French novelist Jules Vern's 'From The Earth To The Moon' & 'Around The Moon'! In this a group of astronomers travels to the Moon in a connon-propelled capsule and explore the Moon's surface! Georges Melies wrote the screenplay and himself acted in it..with mostly French theatre artists like Bleutte Bernon, Francois Lallement & Henri Delannoy. Cinematography done by Theophile Michault & Lucien Tainguy. It's 260 meters film run (with 12 frames) in 18 minutes, (with 14 frames) in 16 minutes & (with 24 frames) in 9 minutes!

A scene of early French ( Science Fiction) Film 'A Trip To The Moon' (1902).

'A Trip To The Moon' became internationally popular because of it's lavish production values, innovative special effects & emphasis on storytelling. And it was extensively pirated by other studios especially in the US! Movie was influential on other filmmakers & ultimately on the development of narrative cinema as a whole! This was also pioneering Science Fiction Film which discovered in hand-coloured in 1993. This is one of the most important & influential films from the history of world cinema!

French (hand-coloured) Film 'A Trip To The Moon' (1902).

So I think 'A Trip To The Moon' should get honour of first full length feature film in the history of world cinema!

Tributes to both the films!!

- Manoj Kulkarni
  ['Chitrasrushti']
     [Pune, India]