À la conquête du pôle

I really enjoyed this movie. Some of the other users have complained that there are scenes that don't advance the plot. I can't say this really bothers me in a movie that's less than ten minutes long.

I was most impressed by the production design. The sets and backdrops were lovely, and the whole film has a coherent look. The makers of this film obviously put a lot of effort into creating their fantasy world. Even if the journey through the zodiac didn't move the story forward, it held my attention because it was so imaginative and so beautiful.

While the effects are primitive by today's standards, they work because they're consistent with the design as a whole. Modern special effects are much more sophisticated, but that means nothing if they aren't smoothly integrated into the rest of the film. Melies and his collaborators created a world that I wanted to believe in.

Despite producing over 500 movies by 1912, Georges Melies, the early film pioneer credited as being the father of cinematic special effects, was under the dominance of Paris' Pathe Studios because of a contract he signed earlier. In what turned out to be his last movie he had total control over, May 1912's "The Conquest of the Pole" is ironically been labeled as his career masterpiece. The 30-minute film, Melies longest movie ever, describes the race to be the first to reach the North Pole.

Many cite "Conquest" as a remake of his 1902 classic "Trip to the Moon." Melies never quite departed from his stationary camera capturing his elaborate stage presentations. Because cinema had advanced greatly from his cutting-edge 1902 production, "Conquest" became a financial failure upon release. Audiences by that time were growing more accustomed to the Italian epics and outdoor dramas.

Melies' three remaining movies after "Conquest" under Pathe supervision were heavily edited. Soon after the contract expired, he was in debt and faced World War One, which proved disastrous for him. His family's beloved theater was taken away, bunches of his original films were confiscated by the French Army to be used for its silver content, and his wife died.

Bitter at his poverty years later, he burned crates of his films. He ended up working at a small toy and candy story in a Paris train station. In the late 1920's, Melies' films were rediscovered and his rightful position as a preeminent pioneer in early film was established. Martin Scorsese's 2011 "Hugo" placed Melies in today's spotlight for a younger generation to enjoy his films.

His legacy survives despite all the destruction of his films because of piracy, which had caused him so much distress at the lack of strict copyright laws overseas and had cost him so many unrealized francs. Two hundred of his films, out of over 560 that he produced, exist today and can be viewed. The amount is huge in silent movie cinema since so many early films have been destroyed and considered "lost."

In many, many ways, this film is like Georges Méliès' triumph from almost a decade earlier--"Voyage Dans le Lune". In fact, if you didn't know they were made 9 year apart, you would have sworn that they were made at the same time. While I enjoyed the film a lot, the similarity in style is an indicator why this wonderful filmmaker soon fell out of favor--he was using techniques that had just become passé. Crowds were looking for something new. But the only really new aspect of "The Conquest of the Pole" is that it is very, very lengthy for a Méliès product--at 33 minutes (which was pretty long for 1912).

The movie begins with a bizarre scientific meeting. The leading minds from all over the world are meeting to discuss how to go to the pole. Some want to take cars, some want balloons and others want flying contraptions. It's funny because they folks mostly just argue (like they did in "Voyage Dans le Lune"), some of the folks there seem way out of place (such as the Mexican banditos) and it only gets worse when the comic relief arrives in the form of obnoxious suffragettes. The director was obviously making a statement about women's rights here and portrays their leader as a total jerk.

Soon the various expeditions begin and soon most of them result in killing these people. However, although they'd only talked about building the one flying machine, the sky is filled with hundreds or more! Now you'd think this would be a pretty straight-forward flight but it looks like his moon movie once again--and the flying machine is whizzing past stars, planets and comets--all being held in the air by beautiful women.

The arrival gets weird, as they soon see a giant--and the giant is a very funny piece of equipment. You really have to see it and the ending to believe them.

The bottom line is that this film, quality-wise, is little improvement over Méliès' early films BUT it does have a certain quaint charm. You can't help laugh at many of the situations (especially when the giant eats a member of the expedition) and it's a cute window into a bygone era. Amazing to look at and a bit silly as well. This is among the filmmaker's last films--and is a nice window into what he was doing before he stopped making films entirely the following year.

Méliès made some pretty weird features, and this is one of the strangest. It's certainly entertaining to watch, and at times it reminds you of "Trip to the Moon", although it is not as good. The main difference is that "Conquest of the Pole" has more padding, material that doesn't go anywhere other than to set up some camera tricks. Yet it's still worth seeing, and it is filled with interesting visual effects.

The story itself, based on another Jules Verne story, starts off in a fashion similar to some other Méliès adaptations of Verne, this time with a scientist detailing his plans to go to the North Pole. It gets bizarre pretty fast, and many of the conceptions seem unnecessarily wacky. Yet there is always plenty to see on the screen, and Méliès's imagination is displayed in numerous ways. It's an interesting feature that is worth seeing for anyone who finds the great visual effects pioneer's movies interesting or enjoyable.

Conquest of the North Pole (1912)

aka Conquete du pole, La

*** (out of 4)

Georges Melies film that tries to rival his legendary A Trip to the Moon but doesn't come that close. A group of scientists try to determine a way to reach the North Pole. Once there they must do battle with a large ice monster. The stuff dealing with the ice monster was terrific and this creature is one of the best of Melies career.

In early 2008 there will be a box set released and will feature over 170 Melies' shorts.