H
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MPAA Rating is the rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America. Please note this is a voluntary rating, so some films (many times older films or obscure foreign films) are not rated.
G - General Audiences
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
PG13 - Parental Guidance Suggested for those under 13 years of age
R - Restricted (those under 18 not admitted without parent or guardian)
NC-17 (X) - No one under 18 admitted.
USCCB Rating is the rating given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Please note that some films are not rated simply because the Bishop’s Conference has not reviewed them.
A-I: General Patronage
A-II: Adults and Adolescents
A-III: Adults
L: Limited Adult Audience, problematic content
O: Morally Offensive
Fr. John’s Ratings
★★★★★ - Masterpiece. This film has to show aspects of cinematic excellence that are above and beyond the ordinary and even beyond the “excellent” classification. Because a true masterpiece can be determined only through its ability to endure through the passage of time, no film is even considered for this rating until at least ten years have passed from the date of its initial release.
★★★★ - Excellent
★★★ - Very Good
★★ - Fair
★ - Poor
Hugo (2011) ★★★★
Length: 126 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG. USCCB Rating: A-II. Director: Martin Scorsese. Some scenes might be a little scary for very young children.
Georges Méliès was an actor, magician, and filmmaker. Working during the early silent era, Méliès made short, charming fantasy films boasting clever (and still endearing) special effects. His most famous film, Journey to the Moon (1902) featured the iconic image of the moon, aglow with a smiling face, suddenly getting hit in the eye by a rocket ship. After World War I, people were no longer interested in Méliès’ films. Sadly he closed his studio and, in a fit of madness, burned all of his sets and props. He sold his films – the footage was melted down and used to make the heels of women’s dress shoes.
That’s not the end of the story…but we are getting ahead of ourselves.
So what does all this have to do with Scorsese’s Hugo, a charming film about a young orphan boy who lives in the clock tower of a train station? Actually, quite a bit. But that might be telling too much.
Hugo is largely a work of fiction, but everything that happened to filmmaker Méliès, including his eventual rehabilitation, is all true. The young (fictional) boy Hugo is fascinated by a mechanical man left behind by his deceased father. When Hugo and his young friend finally get the mechanical man to work, it draws a picture from Méliès’ Journey to the Moon. They find a strange but fascinating connection to the taciturn old man who spends many sad hours at his little toy store inside the train station. And then the adventure truly begins.
Martin Scorsese is famous for his violent films such as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), and Casino (1995). This opus is very different. It is one his best films – a heart-felt and often moving love letter to the world of cinema.
Scorsese filmed this in 3-D (back in the day when 3-D was all the rage – does anyone remember 3-D Blu ray players?). It is a shame that more people cannot see this film in the now-defunct format. Scorsese uses 3-D brilliantly. But not to worry. The film works beautifully in good, old-fashioned 2-D. Especially notable are very strong performances by Christopher Lee as a mysterious bookseller, Asa Butterfield as the young Hugo, Ben Kingsley as the old man at the toy store, and Helen McCrory as his wife.
For a perfect night at the movies, look up one of the short films of Georges Méliès on YouTube, and watch that first – then immediately watch Hugo. It will be an enchanting evening of entertainment that will not disappoint.
Image from Paramount Pictures.