Destination Moon

A cornerstone of the sci-fi boom of the 1950s; very serious and earnest, with groundbreaking special effects for the time. It has depictions of weightlessness (which the astronauts overcome with magnetic boots) and related scenes such as a tablet floating freely in the air, which one of the protagonists tries to swallow, lots of camera tricks, optical illusions and unconventional shots to achieve the visual impression of weightlessness. Then there's the ascent of the astronauts onto the rocket's casing in flight, when one of them falls into open space, unsecured, and his comrades try to capture him with the help of a rope and an air bomb. There are also shots from the surface of the moon (the entire final act, actually), where the movement of the astronauts under lower gravity is simulated with the clever use of invisible cables. At the beginning of the film, we are even graced with none other than Walt Disney, or rather his five-minute film, which humorously explains the physical principles and pitfalls of interplanetary flight. The only disappointment is the way the plot develops in the last act: too naive, like a cheap B-movie. Otherwise a great satisfaction and basically a "required reading" for sci-fi fans. (12/25/2012)