Release A Trip to the Moon

preliminary sketch méliès poster film

méliès, had begun trip moon in may 1902, finished film in august of year , began selling prints french distributors in same month. september through december 1902, hand-colored print of trip moon screened @ méliès s théâtre robert-houdin in paris. film shown after saturday , thursday matinee performances méliès s colleague , fellow magician, jules-eugène legris, appeared leader of parade in 2 final scenes. méliès sold black-and-white , color prints of film through star film company, film assigned catalogue number 399–411 , given descriptive subtitle pièce à grand spectacle en 30 tableaux. in france, black-and-white prints sold ₣560, , hand-colored prints ₣1,000. méliès sold film indirectly through charles urban s warwick trading company in london.

many circumstances surrounding film—including unusual budget, length, , production time, similarities 1901 new york attraction—indicate méliès keen release film in united states. because of rampant film piracy, méliès never received of profits of popular film. 1 account reports méliès sold print of film paris photographer charles gerschel use in algiers theatre, under strict stipulation print shown in algeria. gerschel sold print, , various other méliès films, edison manufacturing company employee alfred c. abadie, sent them directly edison s laboratories duplicated , sold vitagraph. copies of print spread other firms, , 1904 siegmund lubin, selig polyscope company, , edison redistributing it. edison s print of film offered in hand-colored version available @ higher price, méliès had done. méliès uncredited altogether; first 6 months of film s distribution, american exhibitor credit méliès in advertisements film thomas lincoln tally, chose film inaugural presentation of electric theater.

in order combat problem of film piracy became clear during release of trip moon, méliès opened american branch of star film company, directed brother gaston méliès, in new york in 1903. office designed sell méliès s films directly , protect them registering them under united states copyright. introduction english-language edition of star film company catalog announced: in opening factory , office in new york prepared , determined energetically pursue counterfeiters , pirates. not speak twice, act!

in addition opening of american branch, various trade arrangements made other film companies, including american mutoscope , biograph, warwick trading company, charles urban trading co., robert w. paul s studio, , gaumont. in these negotiations, print sale price of us$0.15 per foot standardized across american market, proved useful méliès. however, later price standardizations motion picture patents company in 1908 hastened méliès s financial ruin, films impractically expensive under new standards. in addition, in years following 1908 films suffered fashions of time, fanciful magic films made no longer in vogue.

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