Hugo

Scorsese is a brand.  His name implies a certain sort of filmmaking, despite the fact that his career is made up of eclectic choices and creative cul-de-sacs.  And Hugo (2011) is probably the least likely of his projects to have come to fruition.  A 3D children’s film built around French silent cinema, even the author of the book it’s based on realized the audience was a select group of imaginative cinephiles.  But surprisingly, for all its Zemeckis-style CGI visuals and big-budget gloss , Hugo winds up fitting quite well into Scorsese’s offscreenobsession with film preservation and the magic of our collective cinematic origins.

After the death of his father, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) escapes the orphanage by hiding in a post-WW1 Paris train station, winding the clocks to avoid detection.  His mechanical skills soon come to the attention of a lonely toy vendor, Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley), whose past life as a silent filmmaker has sadly faded away.  But Hugo is in possession of Méliès favorite creation, an automaton that rekindles memories for both of them…and may provide a new beginning as well.

 

An almost verbatim restaging of Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Scorsese uses the book’s illustrations as a launching point for the film’s intricate visual style, a world full of clockwork labyrinths, rumbling steam trains and colorful crowds.  Cinematographer Robert Richardson (who won an Oscar for his work) uses the 3D effects to create a beautiful sense of depth and scale; it’s like living inside an impeccably designed snow globe (created by Dante Ferretti, who also went home a winner). Scorsese seems to perk up as Méliès story moves to the forefront, taking great joy in recreating the famed director’s glass-walled studio and early cinematic illusions.

 

Hugo is built as meticulously as its featured automaton.  But it’s also a bit of an empty shell.  The emotional narrative should work - Scorsese populates his world with endearing characters all searching for their happy ending - but all that winding makes the methods seem transparent.  Perhaps it’s the attempt to straddle a children’s fable with a thinly disguised fundraiser for film preservation that’s at the root of the problem.  Either way, Hugo is a charming technical achievement the fits surprisingly well into Scorsese’s oeuvre.

 

This is no re-release cash grab from Arrow Films.  Their new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Limited Edition is loaded with lengthy new interviews from the likes of Robert Richardson, Brian Selznick, and composer Howard Shore.  You know, the kind of stuff the original studio should have included in the first place but couldn’t be bothered with.  The list goes on with four new visual essays covering film preservation, the early days of cinema, Méliès tragic personal history and Scorsese’s unusual career trajectory.  All the archival stuff from the previous release is tacked on as well.  But perhaps most exciting is the inclusion of the 3D presentation (2D is there too) since tracking down an old copy is all but impossible.  It’s staggeringly beautiful to look at!  A fold-out poster and illustrated collector’s booklet are also included.