Hugo (2011)

Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

John Logan (screenplay), Brian Selznick (book)

Stars:

Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz

Won 5 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 101 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Kingsley	...	Georges Méliès
Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Station Inspector
Asa Butterfield	...	Hugo Cabret
Chloë Grace Moretz	...	Isabelle
Ray Winstone	...	Uncle Claude
Emily Mortimer	...	Lisette
Christopher Lee	...	Monsieur Labisse
Helen McCrory	...	Mama Jeanne
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Rene Tabard
Frances de la Tour	...	Madame Emilie
Richard Griffiths	...	Monsieur Frick
Jude Law	...	Hugo's Father
Kevin Eldon	...	Policeman
Gulliver McGrath	...	Young Tabard
Shaun Aylward	...	Street Kid

Storyline

Hugo is an orphan boy living in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. He learned to fix clocks and other gadgets from his father and uncle which he puts to use keeping the train station clocks running. The only thing that he has left that connects him to his dead father is an automaton (mechanical man) that doesn't work without a special key which Hugo needs to find to unlock the secret he believes it contains. On his adventures, he meets with a shopkeeper, George Melies, who works in the train station and his adventure-seeking god-daughter. Hugo finds that they have a surprising connection to his father and the automaton, and he discovers it unlocks some memories the old man has buried inside regarding his past.

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Plot Keywords:

train station | train | clock | automaton | orphan | 

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Taglines:

One of the most legendary directors of our time takes you on an extraordinary adventure.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Filming Locations:

La Sorbonne, Paris 5, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$170,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,364,505 (USA) (18 November 2011)

Gross:

$73,820,094 (USA) (6 April 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, GK Films, Infinitum Nihil

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The guitarist, who appears early in the film and also at the Georges Méliès party near the end, is modeled after famed Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt. The filmmakers even went so far as to have the actor's left hand match Django's: that is, he doesn't use his fourth and fifth fingers (they were burned in a fire).

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Goofs

The station inspector pulls his pocket watch out of his pocket, opens it and looks up at the clock in order to check the time is correct, but as he does this his sleeve slightly rides up revealing he is wearing a modern wrist watch with a dark strap.

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Quotes

Lisette: Don't forget to smile.
Station Inspector: Which one? I've mastered three!

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Crazy Credits

There is only one opening credit, the film's title, which does not appear until nearly 15 minutes into the film.

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Connections

Features The India Rubber Head (1901)

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Soundtracks

"The Thief"
(uncredited)
Written by Howard Shore
Performed by Simon Chamberlain, Eddie Hessian, Chris Laurence, John Parricelli, Cynthia Millar, and Paul Clarvis

User Reviews

The D in 3D stands for dimensions

What Martin Scorcese has managed to do is add story dimensionality to a family film that has 3D technology. Some of the dimensions he's included which don't always make into Hollywood blockbusters are an imaginative and original concept, thematic unity and resonance and deft homage to film itself, in the story of Georges Méliès, French film pioneer.

Saw the film in an advance screening and we were among the many there who were obviously not standard family film consumers. This being a Scorcese film is likely to bring lots of adults to Hugo and I would think many of them, like me, will feel the film stands up as entertainment for all age groups.

I especially enjoyed the resonance and intricacy of the theme of clocks, clockworks, animatronics and "the ghost in the machine"--our fear, in the post industrial age that perhaps we are just a rather complex machine, rather than a divine creation. This is all beautifully rendered cinematically. I doubt the little ones will be bewildered while older viewers can pick out levels and layers in the film.

Good fun and visually interesting throughout. The 3D is used in service of the story. I hope Hollywood is watching and notices that special effects are only special when they get the heart of the machine working, like Hugo's little man.