À la conquête du pôle

The great French innovator finally seems to be running out of imagination here. Having invented cinema as we understand it today, he eventually had to exhaust his fount of inspiration.

This film could best be described as a remake of his "Voyage to the Moon" from 1902. Unfortunately much of the old vim is missing. Sequences run on for too long. At times the film seems more primitive than many of his earlier films.

Still, there was life in the old boy yet. The « géant des neiges » (giant of the snows) episode is quite good with a monster who swallows intrepid Arctic explorers whole. The ice giant is about as good an effect as Fafner the dragon in Fritz Lang's "Siegfried", and that film was made in 1924. There is a funny moment when the explorers reach the Earth's Magnetic Pole. They are attracted right onto the needle they find and get stuck there.

The long (too long) scene where the explorers in their airship fly past the signs of the zodiac reminded me strangely of what Dorothy sees from her window as she is caught in the tornado in "The Wizard of Oz". That would make Méliès nearly 30 years ahead of his time.

Nevertheless, I got the same impression I get with a lot of modern special effects films. Méliès was spending more money without necessarily expending more ingenuity. Perhaps he was only trying to imitate the lesser but more successful mortals who came after him.

Welcome to one of the most incredible and fascinating trips in the history of cinema!... Come on board the Aero-bus made by the engineer Maboul and, with the permission of its multinational crew, you will join an extraordinary expedition to the North Pole where many threats will be facing us.

Forget other rudimentary expeditions in the conquest of the North Pole!... in "A La Conquête Du Pôle" (1912) you will enjoy travelling on an exclusive flying machine with the most advanced technical equipment of the time!. But beware!!... Herr Maboul is not alone in his particular trip to the North Pole!... There are also rival expeditionary groups who want to reach that cold land by other means of transport such as balloon or automobile. And if that isn't challenging enough, there is also the threat of a group of suffragettes who want to compete on equal terms with men ( Can you believe that?! ) but of course they fail.

During the trip Herr Maboul's Aero-bus will fly through comets, beautiful woman stars ( now you finally know the meaning of being a cinema star thanks to Herr Méliès… ) and tricky constellations until finally it will land- or better said, crash -in the North Pole where more perils await, particularly the Giant of the Ice!!.

In this silent delicatessen, one of the last works by the pioneer French director, Herr Georges Méliès, the director displays in its full grandeur his wonderful artifacts, special effects ( including his daring explosions ), décors and fascinating imagination. The gap of 100 years since engineer Maboul's trip matter not at all when such incredible sets and cinematic mastery are on display to make a unique, enjoyable and unrepeatable experience.

A masterpiece, a wonderful dream.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must join Herr Maboul's crew.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com

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.

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.

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.