Way back in 2005, Martin Scorsese was celebrated for his non-fiction work at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, NC. At the end of an on-stage conversation with Scorsese, the interviewer invited people in the audience to step up to a microphone to ask questions to the director. An old woman waited her turn and when she had her chance said, “Mr. Scorsese, I like your movies, but they’re so violent. They’re like a punch to my face. Why can’t you make nice films?” Scorsese seemed taken back by the question. I was hoping he’d just say, “I know who didn’t see Kundun.” Instead he babbled on about his movies until the next person was brought up to change the topic. I’m not sure if this woman’s question affected him, but seven years later, Scorsese made a nice family friendly film in Hugo.
Hugo Cabret (Ender’s Game‘s Asa Butterfield) is an orphan who lurks around the Gare Montparnasse railway station. He’s not hustling passengers and swiping luggage. Hugo knows the various secret passageways in the building because he’s the mysterious reason why the clocks around the building are on time. While this is Paris in 1931, they frown on 12-year-olds doing such a job. How did he end up here? His father (The Talented Mr. Ripley‘s Judd Law) has died and Hugo’s uncle Claude (Sexy Beast‘s Ray Winstone) takes him in. Because he’s mechanically inclined, Hugo takes over the uncle’s job of keeping the clocks running. The Uncle uses this as an excuse to take a break. Hugo has no idea when the guy is coming back. This isn’t good since Inspector Gustave Dasté (Borat‘s Sacha Baron Cohen) is constantly on patrol looking to nab runaway children. Another person looking for Hugo is the guy working a toy store inside the station. Turns out Hugo has been stealing gears and other parts to finish the last major project his father was undertaking. He had found an abandoned mechanical boy and was getting it to work again. Little does Hugo know the identity of the toy seller. Will he solve all the mysterious in his life? Will he be able to survive until his Uncle returns?
How did Martin Scorsese end up making a movie that really is PG? The core of the film deals with French filmmaker Georges Méliès and film preservation. These are two subjects close to the director’s heart. Through the adventures of Hugo, Scorsese is able to show kids in the audience the early days of cinema. We see how Méliès used his magical skills to revolutionize cinema from being purely documentary efforts to fantastical visions including his A Trip To The Moon. Scorsese shows off how he created his effects in a time before optical effects and CGI didn’t exist. The only film effect Méliès had was editing. We also understand how for a period of time Méliès’ movies had vanished. Scorsese shows how a preservation effort isn’t merely about restoring a film, but creating a new audience to appreciate it. It’s kind of how the boxset should work for people who overlook Hugo to focus on Scorsese’s movies with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
If you have a 3-D HDTV and 3-D Blu-ray player, this is one of the movies that is essential in the collection. Scorsese doesn’t disappoint in making the film a bit magical with the extra dimension. He can go big and subtle with the effect. There’s a scene where the dust floats out at you. The movie is based on a children’s book. The 3-D effects make you feel like you’re engrossed in a fairytale about a distant Paris. The one thing you won’t feel from the 3-D effect is being punched in the face. Scorsese has made an excellent nice movie.
In addition to the boxset that has the 4K UHD and Blu-ray versions of Hugo, there’s also a Blu-ray only boxset that has the film in 3-D and 2-D. The 4K UHD only has the 2-D version of the film since there appears to not be a 4K UDH 3D player.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the storybook quality of the film. The 4K UHD (2160p) gives even more details to the Paris train station. The Blu-ray transfers looks sharp too. The gem here is the 1080p 3-D transfer. The movie has so much depth coming out of your TV screen. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 7.1 and 2.0 on all three versions of the film. You can have the French music and the clock noises all over your living room. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio commentary by filmmaker and writer Jon Spira, publisher of The Lost Autobiography of Georges Méliès. He talks about how the book was written during the last year of Georges Méliès‘ life. He gets into how Scorsese enjoyed the 3-D movie wave from when he was a kid including Alfred Hitchcock’s Dia M for Murder. He appreciates that Scorsese doesn’t use 3-D for cheap thrills.
Theatrical trailer (2:18) tells us the story of a boy and his robot.
DISC THREE – BONUS DISC (BLU-RAY)
Inventing Hugo Cabret (54:49) is a new interview with Brian Selznick author and illustrator of the original novel The Invention of Hugo Cabaret on which the film is based. He thought the book had very little prospects because it was a book about the early days of French Cinema written for children. He gets into the effect A Trip To The Moon had on him.
The Music of Dreams (13:49) spends time with composer Howard Shore. He talks about meeting Marty through David Cronenberg. He knew the book and wanted to explore the music. He went for the cafe orchestra of the period. He would take the music to the 88 piece orchestra later. He recorded at Abbey Road.
Ian Christie on Hugo (23:12) lets acclaimed film historian and editor of Scorsese on Scorsese put the film in the director’s context. He gets into how the book with its illustrations made it easy to be adapted to a film. He says the film is close to the book.
Secret Machines: Hugo and Film Preservation (18:17) is a visual essay by filmmaker and critic Scout Tafoya. He feels it is a dense movie even if it feels like a light entertainment. He finds autobiographical elements in the movie that links Marty to the elements on the screen.
Creating New Worlds (37:43) has French film historian and author Julien Dupuy gives us a tour of a Georges Méliès exhibit. We see his impact on cinema and special effects. There are plenty of photos and clips of Méliès. We learn the link between the robot in the magician turned filmmaker’s career. Dupuy speaks in French so there are English subtitles.
Papa Georges Made Movies (10:05) lets film critic and historian Pamela Hutchinson explores the days of early cinema. We’re taken to a cinema museum in Exeter, England. There are plenty of early cameras and projectors on display.
Méliès at the time of Hugo (7:43) is a visual essay by filmmaker and writer Jon Spira that gives the true story. We learn the Texas angle to the family business. Most of the film is real. After his movie career deep dived, he did work at a toy shop in a train station. The director did find himself one of the first people to have his career saved by film preservation.
Five archival featurettes from the original release – Shoot the Moon: The Making of Hugo (19:54) has cast and crew get into the film, The Cinemagician: Georges Méliès (15:40) is a primer on the director, The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo, Big Effects (12:45) goes into making the robot work, Small Scale (5:54) goes into the trainwreck and Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime (3:33) has him take over the set from Marty.
Image Gallery has about two dozen posters, press photos, behind the scenes shots and Marty by the camera.
Arrow Video presents Hugo. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Screenplay by John Logan. Starring: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Jude Law & Christoper Lee. Running Time: 126 minutes. Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: July 16, 2023.
