By the time this film was released in 1907, Melies best days were behind him according to most film historians. However, this may be the only Georges Melies film requiring a PG-13 rating at least. The film is bookended with some comical sidelights about a stuffed shirt lecturer played by Melies who interacts (not always with aplomb) with a bunch of rowdy students who eventually do seem genuinely interested in viewing the subject matter at hand: an eclipse. Once again, the special effects of Melies are wonderful, first an eclipse in the form of human faces superimposed on images of the sun and moon, then some of the other heavenly bodies appear (literally!) like Venus, etc., followed by what appears to be a meteor shower. As some reviewers have noted, the eclipse scene is jaw-dropping for its time with its obvious eroticism, and unlike most of the rest of Georges Melies' films, you may want to remove children from the room when viewing this film. *** of 4 stars.
