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This week at the Scandinavian House in NYC I saw A Trip to Mars/Himmelskibet (1918). As many of you out there already know, Denmark stayed neutral in WWI and used that opportunity to use its resources to make films - this resulted in a Golden Age in Danish cinema from around 1910 to 1918 and a lot of great Danish films were made in this period. A Trip to Mars is the story of a group of adventurers who - taking up the challenge of interplanetary travel - create a space ship, endure the 6 months in space and land on the Red Planet, finding a a bunch of Greeks in togas.... no, they find a Shangri-La civilization that has given up violence. The pacifist themes in the film clearly reflect the attitudes of its time, with the war raging close at hand, and this spirit is seen in the attempt to show how a society could live, without violence or war. Of course the planet is ruled by men and the women seem to be completely subservient, but what else is new? And there is a dance (where would a trip-to-Mars-movie be without dancing women?) but this one is done with much good taste and decorum. My favorite character was a bearded academic who, instead of helping with the mission, casts doubt on every aspect of the enterprise, (laughing and stroking his beard every chance he gets), never missing the chance to reiterate the folly of the very idea of an idea of a trip. His name? Professor Dubious. I now have a new stock character to reference whenever something comes up that seems even a little bit...uncertain. "What?" I will say, scratching my chin. "No way. That's absurd. You're crazy. It will end in disaster. My name is Professor Dubious, and I say it can't happen."

If you've never seen it, 'Himmelskibet' sounds like something thought up for an April Fool's Day post. But it's real.

The film was screened in February as part of the annual Boston Sci-Fi Marathon to an audience of about 500 hard-core sci-fi fans at the Somerville Theatre. Reaction was wild! I had the privilege of creating a live score; it was one of the highlights of the performing calendar so far this year.

'Himmelskibet' It plays very well with a large audience, perhaps because it comes across as so unlikely today. The Danes build a blimp-like spaceship and travel to Mars, where they find a race of peace-loving vegetarians and, of course, love. What's not to like?

Even after years of exploring the silent film world, I continue to be surprised at films I didn't know about but turn out to be amazing. 'Himmelskibet' is yet another one!