Director: Fritz Lang
Year Released: 1929
Rating: 2.0
After discovering there may be gold (!) on the moon, a hermetic scientist (Klaus Pohl), an engineer (Willy Fritsch) and several other hangers-on (including Gerda Maurus, as part of a love triangle, and a young boy) board the rocket to go exploring. Though influential as a sci-fi picture, with some remarkable (for its time) visual effects (Oskar Fischinger was one of the cinematographers and special effects designers), it holds less weight as a dramatic piece, with the drab first half (pre-launch) consisting of theatrics and excessive plotting, and the post-landing riddled with logistical faults (despite some accurate moments) - plus, there's some uncomfortable subtext in this, specifically how the chief villain is an American master-of-disguise and the movie is about celebrating the 'German spirit' pre-Hitler (Mein Führer was apparently a big fan of this movie), although credit for that 'angle' goes to Lang's flag-waving ex-wife Thea von Harbou....
