38 Movies About The Moon For Every Space Lover

As one of the most visible celestial bodies visible from Earth with the naked eye, it's no surprise that the moon has had an immense influence over mankind's fascination with traveling beyond the stars. The moon appears in everything from folk legends to modern conspiracy theories. It's both a clear, material objective for enterprising astronauts and an out-of-this-world presence that governs everything from the tides to our love lives. 

Naturally, ever since the invention of cinema, filmmakers have been finding captivating, terrifying, and inspiring ways to tell stories about the moon, from early cinematic special effects showcases that are now over 100 years old to modern-day blockbusters that dramatize the numerous enthralling stories of mankind's quest to take one small step on that dusty, porous, space rock. There are certainly no shortage of movies about the moon. Moon-vies, if you will. 

But with so many movies about the moon, it can be difficult to know where to start. To boot, moon movies come in all shapes, sizes and genres, from experimental collages of found footage to outlandishly cheesy B-movies. Luckily for you, we've sorted through the vast array of films about the moon to bring you a rundown of the best of the best. So sit back, relax, and prepare for blast off with the following list of the best movies about the moon that cinema has to offer.

Some films about Nazis are deadly serious, stern, and sober. Others ask the question, what if there was a secret Nazi space program that has been hiding out on the dark side of the moon since the end of World War II? You know, that old chestnut. The plan? Create a space base (in the shape of a hate symbol because subtlety has no place in this film) and a fleet of flying saucers to spearhead the Fourth Reich.

Incredibly silly without holding back any punches, "Iron Sky" is overacted cheesy nonsense that must be seen to be believed. Firmly planted in the satirical targets of 2012 (Sarah Palin send-up included), "Iron Sky" is outlandish dumb fun through and through. Take it on its own silly, satirical terms and enjoy one of the goofiest moon movies ever made, which, given some of the other films on this list, is really saying something!

The second entry in the excessively groovy "Austin Powers" trilogy, 1999's "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" sees our titular hero (Mike Myers) once again facing off against his arch nemesis, Dr. Evil (also played by Mike Myers). This go-round, the nefarious doctor's plan involves traveling back to the past to steal the most powerful, potent asset in British Intelligence: Austin Powers' mojo. With a swinging and exceptionally fashionable CIA agent named Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham) in tow, Austin faces off against the forces of (Dr.) Evil, which include a supremely repugnant baby-eating Scotsman (also played by Mike Myers).

An unapologetic send-up of the James Bond franchise, the third act of the film is especially laser-focused on 1979's space-set "Moonraker." So, naturally, Dr. Evil has a moon base. Because what kind of James Bond villain knock-off doesn't want a moon base? Sure, it looks like it's made out of sheets of plastic and aluminum air duct tubes, but that's part of the charm, baby!

Roger Moore's fourth outing as international super spy James Bond sees agent 007 travelling around California, Venice, Rio, the Amazon, and outer space! The titular space shuttle, Moonraker, is missing. But surely the company's eugenics-loving, power-hungry owner (Michael Lonsdale) has absolutely nothing to do with it. With the metal-mouthed goon Jaws (Richard Kiel) nipping at his heels, Bond must locate the missing moon-themed space station to foil the plans of the megalomaniac du jour.

While all of the Moore Bond movies have their campy moments, "Moonraker" is the only outing to fully realize the goofy, ridiculous tone other films merely flirted with. If you're going to have a clownish Bond, why only do it halfway? And why not jump the shark and go to space? So yes, there is technically no moon in "Moonraker," but we're willing to bend the rules a little bit as far as this goofy, incredibly entertaining espionage romp is concerned.

Truth be told, most of the films on this list could have been called "Destination Moon." But don't hold its on the nose title against it. Released in 1950, nearly 20 years before we actually landed on the Moon for the first time, "Destination Moon" imagines what such a journey might look like. The film follows a rocket scientist (Warner Anderson) who wrangles up two friends to raise private funds to make their dream of a lunar landing a reality. Their journey encounters a slew of hiccups (including public nervousness about radiation). But the expedition reaches a pivotal point when the team realize that they have to leave one of their number behind on the moon in order to make it back to Earth.

A film with some pretty notable fans — Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, for example – "Destination Moon" is a film more concerned with the science than the fiction, using the majesty of technicolor to truly map out how a then-imaginary lunar landing might play out.

Directed by B-movie heavyweight Nathan H. Juran (the man behind "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"), "First Men in the Moon" tells the story of three astronauts who land on the moon for the first time ... only to find a tattered British flag and a note claiming the moon for the glory of Queen Victoria. Locating the final surviving member of the 19th-century expedition, the team listens closely as the pioneering astronaut explains how he, a mad inventor, and his girlfriend made it to the moon in 1899.

Based on H.G. Wells' novel of the same name, "First Men in the Moon" features incredibly charming special effects from stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen. Part romantic comedy, part steampunk special effects showcase, "First Men in the Moon" is like a cheeseboard of moon-based B-movie tropes. A perfect Saturday morning matinee watch, taken on its own lighthearted terms, the film is a loopy lunar delight.

Boasting what is far and away the weirdest title on this list, "There Were Days... and Moons" was directed by French filmmaker Claude Lelouch, perhaps best known for his 1966 romantic drama "A Man and a Woman." (For those of you wondering, no, the film's title doesn't make any more sense in French than it does in English).

Lyrical and miasmatic, "There Were Days... and Moons" follows a series of characters whose lives seem to be governed, influenced, or otherwise affected by the moon. And, look, if that big space rock can hold sway over Earth's tides, why shouldn't it have some impact on us? Aren't humans mostly water? In the grand tradition of many an "ensemble cast whose lives improbably intersect," the film charts how the full moon (bolstered by an especially auspicious overlap with daylight savings time) brings boons to some and bad luck to others.

One of the earlier films on this list, "Cosmic Journey" lives up to its name. Released in 1936, Vasily Zhuravlyov's film pushes silent era special effects to their limits to imagine what a Soviet lunar landing might look like. The film follows three space-farers who launch themselves to the moon to prove that such a venture can, in fact, be done. Once there, the trio does what we would all do if we had the chance — namely, skip around like maniacs and enjoy the lighter gravity.

Despite its country of origin, the film boasts plenty of steampunk Jules Verne-like adventurism that is certainly worth a peek. We have plenty of films on this list, from all periods of history, that tell the story of the Space Race from an American perspective. Those interested in a different and strikingly prescient take would do well to seek this early Russian sci-fi film out.

While plenty of modern-day filmgoers tend to think of older films as intimidating, dismissing all silent films outright would be a mistake. "Woman in the Moon" may be almost 100 years old, but don't hold its age against it! Directed by Fritz Lang (and released right before the German director's genre-defining masterpiece, "M"), "Woman in the Moon" kicks off with an inciting incident that (as far as we can tell) hasn't been used before or since — what if there was gold on the Moon? As if that bombshell weren't enough, "Woman in the Moon" boasts all manner of deliciously tense narrative wrinkles: greedy, bickering financiers, stowaway children, and chaotically unbridled scientific ambition.

While undoubtedly the less well-known of Lang's two sci-fi films (the other being "Metropolis"), "Woman in the Moon" is a visually stunning and gob-smacking early benchmark for the "more grounded" moon mission genre.

William Peter Blatty, acclaimed author of the novel "The Exorcist," only directed two feature films. Luckily for moviegoers, they are both grade-A masterpieces. While the moon is missing from "The Exorcist III," its presence looms large over 1980's "The Ninth Configuration." Written, directed, and produced by Blatty — adapting his own 1978 novel of the same name — "The Ninth Configuration" tells of a massive castle in the Pacific Northwest that houses mentally disturbed U.S. soldiers and federal personnel. Among their number is Billy Cutshaw (Scott Wilson), a NASA astronaut who has totally lost his mind. Then, one day, the not altogether sane Colonel Kane (Stacy Keech Jr.) arrives to "rehabilitate" the patients through ... unorthodox means.

Unapologetically theological and paranoia-soaked, "The Ninth Configuration" is one of the most existentially alert films ever made. And with an ensemble cast of top-shelf character actors (including Jason Miller, Joe Spinell, and Tom Atkins), "The Ninth Configuration" is a powerhouse of cinematic philosophizing with an iconic lunar set piece sure to rattle you to your core.

Astronaut and daddy-issues-haver Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is tasked with investigating the event that has haunted him his whole life — the disappearance of his father. A lifetime ago, Roy's dad Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones) vanished during an expedition to Neptune. Decades after his presumed death, strange destructive surges of energy threaten Earth. Their origin point? Neptune. Tasked with traveling across the galaxy to verify his father's demise, Roy hopes to finally find answers to the questions that have plagued him since he was a child. All he needs to do is travel 4.3 billion kilometers across the stars.

How does the moon figure into a mission to Neptune you ask? Well, before going deeper into space, you have to stop on the moon. In an incredibly memorable sequence vividly realized by director James Gray's artistic sensibility, Roy and company are ambushed by pirates. Moon pirates! Heck yes! Bringing color to a typically grayscale location with striking glimmers of gold, the moon sequence in "Ad Astra" absolutely guarantees it a spot on this list.

The teeny, tiny, completely insignificant country of Grand Fenwick needs new plumbing. And what do you do when you need a fresh set of pipes? You request foreign aid from the United States and pretend you want to try your hand at intergalactic research. Things get complicated when the U.S. and the Soviets don't take too kindly to this new contender in the Space Race. Screw hot water, it's time to conquer the moon!

A pointed send-up of Cold War chicanery and the international posturing involved in laying claim to a hunk of space rock, "The Mouse on the Moon" is one of the few outright comedies on this list. Not only that, but it's a sequel to the equally hilarious "The Mouse that Roared," which sees the duchy of Grand Fenwick side-stepping bankruptcy by declaring war on the United States. Knowingly silly and charmingly directed by Richard Lester (of "A Hard Day's Night" fame), "The Mouse on the Moon" is a wildly pleasant watch and a welcome barrel of laughs among its more serious moon-movie peers.

If there's one name that goes hand in hand with the moon, it's Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk upon that craggy lunar landscape. Directed by Damien Chazelle (who readers may know for 2014's "Whiplash" and 2016's "La La Land"), "First Man" dramatizes Armstrong's journey from humble civilian test pilot to one of the most inspiring and enigmatic astronauts mankind has ever produced. With a striking lead performance from Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, "First Man" takes aim thematically at the machismo and nationalistic posturing of the Space Race while producing a touching, intimate, and humanizing portrait at the same time. While dabbling in its fair share of biopic clichés, the film absolutely nails the claustrophobia, death drive, and tension of being shot into space. It's a film well worth the watch for the lunar module sequences alone. The stunning cinematography from Linus Sandgren and the technical prowess of the film's special effects are just the icing on the cake.

An oldie (but a goodie), 1936's "Things to Come" marks a noteworthy collaboration between the legendary writer H.G. Wells and director William Cameron Menzies. Leaping and bounding forward through time, "Things to Come" speculates on what the coming century has in store for humanity ... which includes (say it with us) man's inaugural flight to the moon. An epic in the true sense of the word, loosely adapted from Wells' own novel "The Shape of Things to Come," the film eschews gilded optimism for a far more measured, darkly tinged glimpse into the future.

A landmark of sci-fi cinema that predates much of the aesthetic and tenor of the genre boom of the 1950s, Wells' take on futurism boasts an immense scope and somehow, despite the odds, manages to tease out a sliver of tempered optimism out of our self-destructive tendencies. We've said it a couple of times on this list already, but we'll say it again — don't let this film's age scare you off! The themes of "Things to Come" are, for better or for worse, truly timeless.

Richard Linklater is no stranger to rotoscoping, the animation process in which either hand-drawn or digital images are "laid over" live-action performances. Fans of the Texan director have seen Linklater employ the process in both 2001's "Waking Life" and 2006's "A Scanner Darkly." But where those efforts used the uncanny qualities of rotoscoping to invoke dreams and drugs, respectively, "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood" uses the technique to give Linklater's suburban tale a nostalgic, fantastical warmth.

As is the case with much of Linklater's work, "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood" is light on plot points but rich in vibes and characterization. The film relays the iconic 1969 moon landing from the perspective of the NASA operation and eyes of a starry-eyed Texas kid (voiced by Milo Coy and Jack Black at different ages), one who daydreams that he secretly paved the way for Neil Armstrong's iconic moonwalk. Full of incredibly charming animation, "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood" is sure to make you nostalgic (even if you didn't grow up in Texas during the 1960s).

Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece takes place in a variety of locations across the galaxy. We begin in prehistoric Earth and go as far as Jupiter (slipping through dimensions along the way, but that's neither here nor there). After its ape-filled opening segment, the film sees humanity discovering a mysterious object buried on the moon — a pitch-black monolith that's sending bizarre, inscrutable signals to Jupiter.

The operatic, non-verbal opening segment and the third act with its rogue AI and existential nightmare fuel often overshadow the more languid middle section, which follows Dr. Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester) as he travels to the moon. It's a protracted and methodical portrayal of what commercial lunar travel might look like, exacting in its detail and in no hurry to brush over any of the mechanics of how such a voyage might play out. Simultaneously plausible and speculative, the middle segment of "2001: A Space Odyssey" may require a bit of patience. But for our money, it's all worth it for the final, haunting reveal of the dark structure hidden deep beneath the lunar crust.

An unimpeachable romantic comedy and one of the greatest holiday movies not explicitly about Christmas, Norman Jewison's 1987 masterpiece is also one of the greatest movies out there about the moon. While neither Cher or Nicolas Cage don a space suit or hop about on the craggy surface of the moon, the celestial rock has such a powerful presence over this film that we feel totally confident including it on this list.

"Moonstruck" follows Loretta Castorini (Cher), a Brooklynite widow who accidentally falls for the bombastic younger brother (Cage) of her wimpy fiancé (Danny Aiello). Over the course of the film, the moon looms large. Quite literally. Its enormous nocturnal glow illuminates many a nighttime tryst and solitary dogwalk — it's impossibly radiant and large, like one of the set pieces in an operatic production at the MET. A repeated refrain is that, much like the tides, the moon's gravitational pull brings lovers together, old and new. Boundlessly romantic and radiant, "Moonstruck" is one of the greatest films about the more emotional power the moon holds over our lives.

Released in the year 2000 and directed by Australian filmmaker Rob Sitch, "The Dish" takes place in Parkes, a remote community in the Land Down Under that houses a massive satellite dish in the middle of a sheep farm. The titular dish has a very important job — to broadcast Neil Armstrong's moonwalk to the rest of humanity. The events leading up to the broadcast are told from the perspective of Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill), who was the man in charge when NASA arrived on the scene to take charge of the satellite to transmit footage of the first Apollo moon mission.

A true story that leans on one of the more heartwarming notes in the Space Race story, "The Dish" is one of the rare films on this list to depict the moon landing from a non-American perspective. A mellow, low-key, and charming tale about how a small Australian town contributed to one of humanity's greatest accomplishments, the best quality about "The Dish" is its ability to carve a distinctly Aussie identity onto a historical event that is often recounted with American bravado.

Easily the oldest, and shortest, film on this list (clocking in at a snappy 15 minutes), Georges Méliès' 1902 sci-fi effort features arguably one of the most iconic images in all of cinema history — a rocket lodged in the eye of the man in the moon. If you find early cinema intimidating or off-putting in any way, trust us when we say that you can't go wrong with "A Trip to the Moon," which is as brisk as it is imaginative, brimming with nascent special effects and an infectious scientific curiosity. The film's plot follows, get this, a trip to the moon — from the project's planning stages to the construction of the rocket to the exploration of the lunar surface's many hidden secrets.

It's difficult to speak to films that are so intrinsic and baked-in to film history without dovetailing into hyperbole. But the charms of "A Trip to the Moon" are not to be denied. This is a film that commands respect for a reason, with "dated" effects sublimating into timelessness thanks to Méliès' undeniable talent for stylization. An incredible experiment in and of itself, "A Trip to the Moon" is an unmissable piece of cinema history that is well worth seeking out.

Over the course of this list, we've seen a handful of different ways filmmakers approach the moon as a cinematic subject. For some films, the moon is a means to a political end or a benchmark of human potential. In others, the moon is a stage for fantasy and speculative science fiction — a terrifying alien prison or the first step towards mankind's greater quest beyond our solar system. 

But the best film about the moon has far more humbler ambitions. The titular Wallace and Gromit — a ditsy British inventor (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his intrepid canine companion — have run out of cheese. With their home cleaned out of the delicious dairy product and indecisive about what they should do for a weekend getaway, the two set their sights to the stars because, as everyone and their dog knows, the moon is made of cheese. Only, when the duo arrive for their lunar picnic, they find they're not entirely alone.

Arguably the grandest day out of all time, the 1989 film is overwhelmingly lovely, filled with adorable details and a tactile, lived-in look that give the entire affair an undeniable charm. Space is a terrifying, exhilarating, and boundless place, but in the claymation hands of Wallace and Gromit, the moon and its surrounding void feel warm and inviting.