It would be weird if I didn’t love “Hugo.” For so much of my life, I have been obsessed with film history. In elementary school, I was always going to the library to get VHS copies of the movies of Abbott and Costello, Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa. The whole experience was like a quest where one movie led to another that was influenced by another.
You couldn’t tell from the insipid advertising for “Hugo,” but that is the heart of this movie. A large part of the plot is a tribute to the early days of cinema, especially the magic of the silent age. No one else could tell this tale except Martin Scorsese. In high school, I was never a big fan of Scorsese because I could never really get into gangster movies. It wasn’t until I read Roger Ebert’s book about Scorsese that I understood his true passion.
In the book, Ebert recommends to Scorsese an obscure movie. Scorsese smiles and says he can’t see it because it’s the same studio that works with a lost love of his. Even if he came in late and missed the studio title card, “he’d know.” Movies aren’t just about a two-hour distraction, but art that will last with you for years and years for a variety of reasons.
That’s the true nature of Scorsese — not just juxtaposing violence with Rolling Stones songs but contributing to the grand collection of cinema. Most of the movies he champions are films like the Archer’s “The Red Shoes” or “House of Wax." These are the movies that affected him, so he makes movies that do the same things.
“Hugo” could easily go down as a classic among family films, if only more people would see it. After several decades of filmmaking, Scorsese is still pushing new boundaries by never giving you something that you’ve seen before. This is a tale full of heart, warmth, magic and love. “Hugo” is the type of movie that will inspire a whole new generation to be storytellers because of how genuine it is in every frame. It's easily one of the top five best Scorsese films.
The bonus feature are also quite good. The behind-the-scenes footage is fantastic because of how excited the cast and crew seemed during production. When you hear Spielberg talk about his movies, he has a smile, but he’s still very posed and composed with his hands pressed together. Scorsese is just giddy! He can’t sit still because he’s excited about what he’s doing, and then everyone is excited. All of the featurettes are great to watch, and the movie looks gorgeous in Blu-ray. It’s too bad they didn’t have the rights to put some of the short films referenced in "Hugo" on the disc.
Film: 4.5 Yaps Extras: 4 Yaps