Woman in the Moon (1929) & Moon (2009): Secrets of the Moon | EP02

In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we continue our journey through the space subgenre by looking at two films that explore humanity’s fascination with the Moon across very different eras of cinema.

First we travel back to Woman in the Moon (1929) — originally titled Frau im Mond — Fritz Lang’s pioneering silent-era science-fiction film about a journey to the Moon.

Then we jump forward eighty years to Moon (2009), Duncan Jones’ modern sci-fi drama exploring isolation, identity and artificial intelligence on a lunar base.

Together these films show how science fiction’s vision of space has evolved — from early cinematic dreams of lunar exploration to deeply personal stories about life beyond Earth.

Because here on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we explore the history of science-fiction cinema one subgenre at a time.

Listen to the full episode below:

What We Discuss In This Episode

In this episode we talk about:

• How Fritz Lang’s Frau im Mond helped shape early cinematic visions of space travel

• The influence of silent-era science fiction on later space films

• How Moon (2009) reimagines space as a setting for psychological drama

• Themes of isolation and identity in modern sci-fi

• How depictions of the Moon have changed across a century of science-fiction storytelling

Woman in the Moon (1929) – Early Visions of Space Travel

Directed by Fritz Lang, Frau im Mond is one of the earliest films to depict space travel with a degree of scientific imagination.

The story follows a group of explorers who travel to the Moon in search of valuable lunar resources.

Although the film predates real spaceflight by decades, Lang attempted to present rocket travel in a surprisingly realistic way — even introducing ideas like countdown launches that later became standard in real rocket missions.

The film captures the sense of wonder that defined early science-fiction cinema: the belief that humanity might one day leave Earth and explore the cosmos.

Moon (2009) – Isolation and Identity in Space

More than eighty years later, Moon (2009) presents a very different vision of life beyond Earth.

Directed by Duncan Jones, the film follows Sam Bell, a solitary worker stationed on a lunar mining facility nearing the end of his three-year contract.

With only a computer named GERTY for company, Sam begins experiencing strange events that lead him to question the reality of his situation.

Unlike many space epics, Moon focuses on intimate themes — loneliness, identity and what it means to be human — demonstrating how the space subgenre has evolved into something more introspective.

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  About Journey Through Sci-Fi

Journey Through Sci-Fi is a podcast exploring the strange, visionary and world-changing history of science-fiction cinema.

Each series focuses on a different sci-fi subgenre, examining the films and ideas that shaped the genre - from classic cinema to modern science-fiction storytelling