This may be Scorsese’s first venture into 3D-land. It may be considered the biography of George Méliès, the “inventor” of movie special effects. Heck, it may even be considered a showcase for how Paris can provide dazzling panoramas and tracking shots. But far and foremost, Hugo is about the love for cinema, and how people are obsessed with movies all their lives. We’ve always loved Scrosese’s exquisite gangster films ... but we wouldn’t mind if he makes more of these also.
DISCLAIMER: To fully enjoy Hugo, make sure you watch this 15 minute sci-fi film by Méliès made in 1902, called A Trip to the Moon. (Keep the audio on mute - the added music is a disaster.)
PS: Thanks again to my 32-year friend Ali S., for sending me the short film 48 hours before I saw the movie!
Mo says:
MoMagic!
Well , as a lesson from you,without knowing the number of nominees, I got all elements of an Oscar- movie together are here…No doubt it deserved that .This is the second time I got surprised of Marty when he changes his usual track to a new direction … from violent-Crime thriller to such delicate and soft theme with all perspective of beauty and nostalgia…The first time was in" Age of Innocense" when he tried his luck in Romance genre and he was absolutely perfect and now here, he paid his debt to cinema and its great pioneers and legends....,as a reminder that nobody should be left alone and forgotten in Art and how beautifully he told that !...Someday someone else will do the same for him and tell the future what great things he carried out in such area… this story never ends….
ReplyDeleteHow should we repay whatever we owe to Cinema and its people?.. for all great pleasure they gave us !
* I saw this 15 minute masterpiece of 1902...you saw the cloths of actresses? and now after more than one century in some places there is still talking about what ladies should wear !
Guilty confession: I haven't seen "Age of Innocence" yet! Maybe because its a romance movie.
ReplyDeleteBut "Hugo" very much manages what it sets out to do. Scorsese has accomplished many achievements in restoring old movies, and here he tries to restore an old forgotten filmmaker. He succeeds, because the movie is so beautiful, everybody now knows a thing or two about George Melies.
And about the 1902 film: Is there any doubt that "some places" are trying very hard to push people centuries backwards?