Frau im Mond

Film Review by Michelle Devereaux | 22 Aug 2014
Film title: Frau im Mond
Director: Fritz Lang
Starring: Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch, Gustl Gstettenbaur, Klaus Pohl, Fritz Rasp
Release date: 25 Aug
Certificate: U

Soberly billed as ‘the first scientific science fiction film,’ Fritz Lang’s final silent feature, 1929’s Frau im Mond, is really almost a pure fantasy-adventure romp, lighter than the air the movie insists you can breathe on the moon, and much more indebted in tone to the utopian fantasy comics it references than to the heady sci-fi dystopia of Lang’s Metropolis, released just two years before.

While the science itself is laughable at times (the Jazz Age uniform for space travel consists of cosy jumpers and tweed shorts) and the narrative is beyond silly (it involves an evil consortium intent on securing all the moon’s gold – gold!), the expressionistic set design and cinematography, and the inventive effects are pure kitschy, imaginative fun. Frau im Mond is a must-see for historical science fiction buffs, and for those whose sense of childlike delight trumps their desire to have something make actual sense. [Michelle Devereaux]

Eureka! Entertainment to release Frau Im Mond in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition as part of their Masters of Cinema Series

http://eurekavideo.co.uk