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. Hugo needs to find the key to unlock the secret he believes it contains. On his adventures, he meets George Melies, a shopkeeper, 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.Written by
napierslogs
The original cut of Georges Méliès' footage was ten minutes long. Martin Scorsese decided to cut it to a shorter length because he felt he would not be able to get away with the footage being so long. See more »
Goofs
A few pen strokes after the automaton begins to write, it stops and brings its elbow back to its side. In the next shot, however, the pen is still out in the middle of the paper, as if the arm were still extended. In the same scene, the automaton finishes its larger drawing, pulls its elbow back to its side, and raises its head upright to signal it is finished (at around 54 mins). In a subsequent shot, the head is still angled downward to the paper (at around 55 mins). See more »
Quotes
Hugo Cabret:
[Angry and disappointed that the automaton hasn't written anything of sense]
What an idiot! Thinking I could fix it!
Isabelle:
Hugo...
[Hugo looses his composure and begins smashing various items in the room]
Hugo Cabret:
It's broken! It's always been broken!
[Sits in chair, covers his face and begins to cry]
Isabelle:
Hugo, it doesn't have to be like this. You can fix it.
Hugo Cabret:
[crying]
You don't... you don't understand. I thought... I thought if I could fix it... then I wouldn't be so alone.
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
There is only one opening credit, the film's title, which does not appear until nearly 15 minutes into the film. See more »
The pic is a magic story with rip-snorting adventures , exciting fantasy , state-of-art FX , sensational scenarios and good feeling . Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan (Butterfield) who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in an intrigue involving his late father (Jude Law) and an automaton , Hugo is tending to the station clocks during his uncle's (Ray Winstone) mysterious absence . Hugo's father was a watchmaker and he has inherited his father's talents for all things mechanical . During the early scene which introduces the interior of the train station , there are appearances by characters representing Django Reinhardt, James Joyce, and Winston Churchill . On his adventures , Hugo meets with a shopkeeper , George Melies (Ben Kingsley based his characterization of 'Georges Mèliès' on Martin Scorsese) who works in the train station , a nasty Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) , a librarian (Christopher Lee) and a beautiful woman (Emily Mortimer) who has a flower shop . Hugo befriends Melies's ward, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) , and together they have a lot of adventures , one that centers around Melies and wife (Helen McCrory) .
One of the most legendary directors of our time , Martin Scorsese's first PG rated film in 18 years , takes you on an extraordinary adventure full of amusement and entertainment . This is an impressive production with awesome scenarios , groundbreaking set design and over-the-top 3D visual effects , being the first movie in this system directed by Martin Scorsese . The opening track shot of the city ending at the train station was the very first shot designed and it took one year to complete , it required 1000 computers to render each frame required for the shot . Brian Selznick book's imagination is brought to life with top-notch computer generator special effects . Marvelous performances by the entire casting as Butterfield as an orphan who lives in a Paris railway station, Grace Moretz as a likable little girl who befriends and helps Hugo and of course the great Ben Kingsley as the magician George Melies . It packs amazing fantasy , breathtaking adventures and overwhelming images that convey us a sense of wonder and surprise . Provides enough amusement to keep the hands on your seat and dazzling eyes until the moving ending . The film displays a colorful and evocative cinematography by Robert Richardson , winning the Oscar's cinematographic category for this film meaning that he and Vittorio Storaro are the only present living cinematographers to win the award 3 times . The picture pays tribute to George Melies , in fact in flashbacks we see Georges Méliès staging his productions with lavishly colored sets and costumes. As the real Méliès only used sets, costumes and make-up in grayscale, since colored elements might turn out the wrong shade of gray on black and white film , many of the prints were then hand tinted in post-production.
Emotive and imaginative musical score by Howard Shore . This enjoyable story is lavishly produced by Johnny Depp , Barbara De Fina and the same Scorsese . This Martin Scorsese movie won the same number of Academy Awards as Scorsese's ¨The Aviator¨ totaling five . Both were nominated for Best Picture and Best Director Oscars but lost out. The film also won the same number of Oscars in the same year as ¨The Artist¨ , both films examined silent cinema . Rating : Very good , better than average . Essential and indispensable watching .
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The pic is a magic story with rip-snorting adventures , exciting fantasy , state-of-art FX , sensational scenarios and good feeling . Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan (Butterfield) who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in an intrigue involving his late father (Jude Law) and an automaton , Hugo is tending to the station clocks during his uncle's (Ray Winstone) mysterious absence . Hugo's father was a watchmaker and he has inherited his father's talents for all things mechanical . During the early scene which introduces the interior of the train station , there are appearances by characters representing Django Reinhardt, James Joyce, and Winston Churchill . On his adventures , Hugo meets with a shopkeeper , George Melies (Ben Kingsley based his characterization of 'Georges Mèliès' on Martin Scorsese) who works in the train station , a nasty Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) , a librarian (Christopher Lee) and a beautiful woman (Emily Mortimer) who has a flower shop . Hugo befriends Melies's ward, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) , and together they have a lot of adventures , one that centers around Melies and wife (Helen McCrory) .
One of the most legendary directors of our time , Martin Scorsese's first PG rated film in 18 years , takes you on an extraordinary adventure full of amusement and entertainment . This is an impressive production with awesome scenarios , groundbreaking set design and over-the-top 3D visual effects , being the first movie in this system directed by Martin Scorsese . The opening track shot of the city ending at the train station was the very first shot designed and it took one year to complete , it required 1000 computers to render each frame required for the shot . Brian Selznick book's imagination is brought to life with top-notch computer generator special effects . Marvelous performances by the entire casting as Butterfield as an orphan who lives in a Paris railway station, Grace Moretz as a likable little girl who befriends and helps Hugo and of course the great Ben Kingsley as the magician George Melies . It packs amazing fantasy , breathtaking adventures and overwhelming images that convey us a sense of wonder and surprise . Provides enough amusement to keep the hands on your seat and dazzling eyes until the moving ending . The film displays a colorful and evocative cinematography by Robert Richardson , winning the Oscar's cinematographic category for this film meaning that he and Vittorio Storaro are the only present living cinematographers to win the award 3 times . The picture pays tribute to George Melies , in fact in flashbacks we see Georges Méliès staging his productions with lavishly colored sets and costumes. As the real Méliès only used sets, costumes and make-up in grayscale, since colored elements might turn out the wrong shade of gray on black and white film , many of the prints were then hand tinted in post-production.
Emotive and imaginative musical score by Howard Shore . This enjoyable story is lavishly produced by Johnny Depp , Barbara De Fina and the same Scorsese . This Martin Scorsese movie won the same number of Academy Awards as Scorsese's ¨The Aviator¨ totaling five . Both were nominated for Best Picture and Best Director Oscars but lost out. The film also won the same number of Oscars in the same year as ¨The Artist¨ , both films examined silent cinema . Rating : Very good , better than average . Essential and indispensable watching .