A Trip to Mars

A Trip to Mars (original Danish title *Himmelskibet*, meaning "Heaven Ship") is a 1918 Danish film depicting a voyage to Mars. Phil Hardy describes it as the movie that launched the space opera subgenre of science fiction, although Denmark would not make another science fiction film until *Reptilicus* in 1961. The Danish Film Institute restored the film and released it on DVD in 2006.

In the story, scientists construct an airship named the *Excelsior* and travel to Mars. There they encounter a utopian, pacifist civilization. The ship's captain falls in love with Marya, daughter of Mars' philosopher-king, and she must obtain her father's permission before they can return to Earth and marry.

The cast includes Gunnar Tolnæs as Captain Avanti Planetaros, Zanny Petersen as his sister Corona, Nicolai Neiiendam as Professor Planetaros, Alf Blütecher as Dr. Krafft, Svend Kornbeck as David Dane, Philip Bech as the Martian leader, Lilly Jacobson as Marya, and Frederik Jacobsen as Professor Dubius. Production design was by Carlo Jacobsen, with art direction by Axel Bruun.

Critic Jörg Hartmann notes that while the humanoid Martian woman is still a coveted object, she independently decides to leave her home planet to spread a message of peace through her love for the human captain. He adds that the film's pacifist stance was aimed at audiences watching during the ongoing First World War. Similarly, Matthew Coniam observes that the film, produced when the war showed little sign of ending, impresses as a plea for compassion and tolerance, featuring perhaps the least antagonistic meeting of Martians and Earthlings in screen history.