Hugo Cabret - Blu-Ray

Film: Martin Scorsese is undoubtedly one of the most important filmmakers of the last thirty years. With films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas or Departed Scorsese has written film history. Scorsese's work has always been first-class and usually very demanding, but his previous oeuvre can't really be described as family-friendly cinema entertainment. But now Scorsese has dared to make a 3D film for the whole family and has created another masterpiece.

The Hugo Cabret, nominated for 11 Oscars, is the imaginative film adaptation of Brian Selznick's wonderful bestseller The Discovery of Hugo Cabret. It tells the story of twelve-year-old Hugo (Asa Butterfield), who moves in with his uncle (Ray Winstone) after the death of his father (Jude Law), a genius inventor. The latter lives within the walls of a Paris train station and is responsible for ensuring that all the clocks there always work perfectly. When his uncle disappears, Hugo is left to fend for himself. Always anxious to avoid the station policeman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Hugo desperately tries to repair the only memento of his father, a mechanical man. He hopes that there is a message for him hidden in the automaton man. He secretly procures spare parts from a grumpy toymaker (Ben Kingsley). When he is caught by the old man on one of his hauls, the boy's scheme threatens to fail for good. But he has no idea then how much his life will be changed by meeting old Georges Méliès and his niece Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz)...

Before I pour out all praise on Hugo Cabret, let me address the only real criticism. The problem is that Hugo Cabret is being sold as a children's movie. That is so not accurate. Even though the book is aimed at slightly older children and teens, the story, like Scorsese's film, is far more than just an adventurous tale about an orphan boy. It is also a great declaration of love to the beginnings of film and to Georges Méliès, one of the great visionaries of the silent era. While the Georges Méliès in the story is a fictional version of the legendary filmmaker, his work plays an enormously important role. And this aspect of the story could be less tangible and almost boring for children, precisely because Scorsese has directed it with complete dedication and great passion. In other moments, however, such as when Hugo is chased through the station by the stationmaster, young viewers again get their money's worth.

So the film eludes a clear target audience. Too complex for children, perhaps too playful for many adults, the film might have a hard time appealing to a broad audience in Germany, as it already has in the US and other countries. And that is really a shame. Because even if the staging sometimes seems a bit unbalanced, Hugo Cabret is in many ways simply a quite wonderful film, which the love of its maker for the cinema and the story can be seen in every moment.

The wonderful set, which adheres very closely to the drawings from the book, takes the viewer from the first second into the magical world of Hugo Cabret. Here it also reveals that Scorsese's first 3D film knows how to exploit the possibilities of this technique to the fullest. This is where three-dimensionality really makes sense. It's true that the whole thing is also quite a wonderful film experience as a 2D Blu-Ray. But unlike many other 3D films, the effect here is not just a gimmick, but part of the story. The fact that Scorsese uses the most modern technology to pay homage to the beginnings of cinema is an absolutely brilliant idea, thanks to the loving realization. For in this way Scorsese succeeds in making it clear even to younger viewers what magic emanated from the first moving pictures.

Fortunately Scorsese does not lose himself too much in his homage to the silent film era and in his technical gimmicks. So then the really very nice story about Hugo, Isabelle and the mystery of the automaton man can unfold. With a lot of emotion, a little humor and suspense, Scorsese has absolutely adequately adapted the novel by Brian Selznick. However, this is also a credit to the fine ensemble of actors. While Borat actor Sacha Baron Cohen is more responsible for the comedic aspects of the film, especially Ben Kingsley, Michael Stuhlbarg and Christopher Lee deliver wonderful performances. All the while, the seasoned actors give their two young counterparts, Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass), enough room to convince viewers of their talent.

Wonderful imagery, an enchanting story, great acting and gorgeous visuals make Hugo Cabret one of the finest declarations of love for cinema to be seen in recent years. Maybe not really a children's film, but definitely a must-see for all film lovers big and small who haven't forgotten how to dream yet and who can still be enchanted by the magic of cinema today. Absolutely worth seeing!!!

Image + Sound: As you would expect, the film shines beautifully on the Blu-ray. The very clean and sharp image has a pleasing depth even in the 2D version, the colors are perfectly mixed and the well-tuned contrasts provide good detail even in the darker scenes. The audio does an excellent job of showcasing the many smaller and larger sound effects. Although only the English 7.1 DTS HD MA track is able to harness the full power of the sound mix, the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix of the German soundtrack is also worth listening to at every moment. Very Good!

Extras: The bonus material could have happily been a bit more extensive. The barely twenty minutes long standard making of only offers a rather superficial look at the filming. More interesting is the short documentary about Georges Méliès (approx. 15 min.), which introduces the cinema visionary in more detail. Other featurettes are devoted to the Mechanical Man (approx. 12 min.) and the visual effects in the dream sequence with the ice rink crash (approx. 6 min.). And finally, there's an amusing interview with Sacha Baron Cohen (approx. 3 min.), in which the comedian calls his director completely talentless and reveals that he always did exactly the opposite of what he was asked to do. Overall, there are a few informative and even amusing moments in the nearly one hour of bonuses. But especially in terms of equipment and cinema magic, one would have liked a little more in-depth extras.

Conclusion: Hugo Cabret is a film to dream, a tribute to cinema and the power of one's imagination. A visually wonderful and substantively adequate take on a very fine book, it may have been shot in 3D but it works very well in 2D too. The Blu-Ray is technically very well realized, the bonus material is worth seeing, but somewhat superficial. Nevertheless, here applies: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp