À la conquête du pôle

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."

Indeed, I'm currently going through a pile of films (on a 16mm projector no less) that are being discarded. I came across this one today and sat there the entire time riveted to the screen.

It has to be one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen. It seems to be trying very hard to be funny and for the most part it succeeds quite well. The images and the sheer craziness of it all can't help but make a person laugh.

I do have to admit though, that the overly long journey past the zodiac could have been done without. It slowed the frantic pace of the rest of the film, and was out of place in a film which was otherwise trying to be funny.

If you're a film buff, or you have a chance to see it, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, don't go out of your way.

There is one thing I'd like to point out, and I'm not sure if I'm right, but the version of this film that I saw had an English title screen and (not sure what they're called) - English dialog screens. The company that produced this version was "Star Films." I assume it's not the original one because it wasn't in French.

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.

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.

It's been 16 years since director Georges Melies started making his illusionary, "trick" films. Over that time, he was able to fine-tune his craft, involving his special effects techniques, that he originally pioneered back in 1896. As we approach the twilight of his career, he was still using just a stationary camera. With his dazzling set pieces, he took audiences to fantastic worlds. In this film, Melies out-does himself with the spectacle of a Polar Giant, that terrorizes our Arctic explorers during an exciting climax. In what is a repeat of Melies many other films, crafted with a template that dazzled his audiences, explorers gather together to figure out their plans for a trip to the North Pole. Once all the members are happy, the race to the Pole begins.

This film suffers from being a little bit too long. It is Melies longest film he ever did. It also is a little top-heavy, with a dragged out, build-up, in the beginning and middle of the film, which does, eventually, culminate with a great ending. Once they arrive, the men run into all kinds of magical happenings, found in a wondrous world and built with a fantastic design. Melies design. It is 1912 and Melies builds a giant creature with a head bigger than five people. It's the amount of work done by Melies, that really endeared him to movie fans. The Arctic Giant is some of his best work. His pioneering spirit is what made him great. I just wish some of the scenes were a little bit tighter and not dragged out. Still, this film is a sight to see.

7.9 (B- MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.