A Trip to the Moon, The Story Behind Scorsese's 'Hugo'

 A Trip to the Moon is the great film of Georges Méliès’ career. It is a film that everyone who loves the movies should see. It is for the select few who can appreciate early film. If you can't or don't know, I urge you to try. A Trip to the Moon is a wonderfully imaginative film that is brilliant in its' own way. It has the most primitive special effects and no camera movement or sound. What it does have is a simple but fun story line. It’s about a delusional scientist who goes to the moon, where he and his fellow explorers encounter aliens who run them off the moon back to Earth. It is a great fantasy, that has been remade a thousand times in a thousand different art forms, and when you watch you can see why.


At the time, 1902, it was an international hit on the lines of Avatar today. It was considered a technologically innovative marvel, but for anyone born in the last 110 years that is pretty hard to understand. It is a film of historical importance, one that any serious film buff should know, because without it, or Georges Méliès in particular, the movies would not be what they are today. 

The iconic picture of the moon being shot in the eye is from this film.

Today I saw this fifteen-minute film in full for the first time. Only in the last year have they been able to restore A Trip to the Moon to how it was originally seen, painted color and all. It was wonderful to see the rocket hit the moon scene, but I wont dwell only on that scene. The entire film is so creatively imagined and charming. It was set to the music of AIR (a modern French band. They did the film justice). The film begins with the delusional scientist explaining to his fellow delusional scientists his plan to go to the moon. Their argument and then acceptance of the plan is hilarious. The scene, and each scene after it is amazingly illustrated and detailed. I can’t help but believe that the idea of mise-en-scene began with Méliès. Each new scene is more fantastical and enjoyable to look at then the next. The art and imagery is so out-there and magical, it gives the audience an unmistakable feel for what Georges Méliès has in mind.

I think its safe to say the majority of people today watch movies, and most of those people enjoy them. All these people ought to thank Georges Méliès, because without him we may have never had movies as we have them today. The original movies were nothing more than parlor tricks. They were played at circuses along with the bearded lady. It was Méliès who saw the magic of the camera. He was the first to see the theatrical element of film, and was the first to set up a studio, and use his imagination and adapt it to the screen. To see his films is to witness the beginning of something totally new that no one had ever done before. Imagine in this day and age of finding something so totally undiscovered and being able to explore where no one has ever ventured. This is next to impossible in any art form today.

Totally uninhibited Georges Méliès gave the world five hundred films. However, as film became more popular, competition came and tastes changed. People no longer were interested in the theatrical and fantasy film that Georges loved to make. They wanted film about society, something totally outside Méliès repertoire. Thus, in time, Méliès went into obscurity. Huge debts caused him to close his studio, the first studio ever which he had built out of glass for natural light in an old greenhouse on his property.  A saddened and dejected Méliès burned over three hundred of his films on that day. Most of those films would never be seen again. He then opened up a toyshop in a train station kiosk. And here begins the story of Hugo, Martin Scorsese’s biopic of our great director. His story does not end too bitterly as Méliès is eventually rediscovered and honored in his day. Though he never made a film again.

I wish I could have met Méliès in the days of A Trip to the Moon, when his imagination was in full swing. I wonder how he would react if I took him to modern days to see what we've done with his love and how his simple editing tricks evolved into all the special effects we have. What would he have imagined for us? No doubt it would be something we had never seen or experienced before. 

Dangerfield's: Don't Go!

Its unfortunate that I will start blogging about comedy with Dangerfield's, but this needs to be said before I write about better things.

For a club started by one of comedy's best known, it sure needs some sprucing up. Last Saturday I went to Dangerfield’s Comedy Club; one of the oldest comedy clubs in NYC, started by the one and only Rodney Dangerfield. Inside was like being in an 80's strip club. Wood paneling on the walls and filthy red couches as far as the eye can see. They stuffed as many people as possible into the room. Apparently 300 people can fit in there, but none comfortably.

At first they sat us in the back corner with what had to be the worst view of the stage. A little money exchanged hands and they sat us much closer to the stage with an actual view. Already off to a bad start. Its nice that they have couch-like seats, but they are tiny! Four people are supposed to share and it was very cramped. Knees buckled and smashed up to everyone else sitting, and I am short. I don't know how anyone over 6 feet could possibly sit down.

Now the important part, the comedy, was good. They had a solid line-up of comedians. Ray Ellin hosted and did a wonderful job of getting the audience into it and laughing, though it looks like just before getting on stage he'd was hiding out in burned out basement with the moonlight in his eyes. Then Ryan Reese came up, he did a lot of crowd work but he was mediocre and pretty forgettable. Everyone who came after him were great. Patty Rosborough was next and she had a great set, talking about her divorce and men culminating in a theatrical display of what a man looks like just as he’s about to orgasm. Then Mike Britt took the stage. He did a solid set, though honestly I don't remember it very well. The last comic, JJ Ramirez, did an amazing set. He seamlessly used written material and worked the crowd. He is a comic that’s truly relaxed in front of an audience. He was making fun of someone for being Asian, and after a few minutes asked “what kind of Asian are you?” “I’m Puerto Rican!” He just laughed and said, “Bitch, OPEN YOUR EYES!”

It was a good show. That is until the check came. Now I’ve been to many comedy clubs, most of them have a two-drink minimum, Dangerfield’s too, and normally comedy clubs are all a bit expensive, but this was a robbery. First off, they don’t list how much the drinks are. The show is twenty, which is already expensive and I always try to spend half of what I spent on ticket prices, So I ordered two Coronas. I figure it to be five dollars, maybe six each. It cost 10 dollars for one Corona! Now, I wouldn't have been so damn surprised but they don't list the drink prices. A scummy practice. My dad, who thankfully was buying, got two shots of whisky at a whopping 26 dollars.

It really felt like they were trying to rob us. I left with a very bitter taste in my mouth. I don’t think I will ever go back there because of that. It would be one thing if they listed the prices, so we could get a handle on it but anyone who is on a budget should not go here. Even if you’ve got discount tickets, you’ll pay a hundred dollars for drinks for four people, and I can tell you a dozen places where you can pay less than $25 for tickets and drinks and as good of an experience as I had at Dangerfield’s. Even at Caroline’s, the most recognized comedy club of New York City, located a few blocks from Times Square, where all the headliners A-list comedians go doesn't make you pay $10 for a shitty Corona. Oh, and they LIST the drink and food prices at Caroline's. For a club that’s been around for forty years, they should know what a scummy practice it is to jack up the prices so unreasonably and not even have the courtesy to list them. Also, they need to renovate. I felt dirty just walking around in there. 

Stand-Up. What I will be writing about. A LOT.

For many months I have been interested in writing about comedy. I'm not sure how I would go about it. I could talk about select comedians, or types of comedy, eventually I figured I'd go to a venue, and then write about that show specifically with an overview of the venue itself. However, for me to talk about each venue in New York City that hosts comedy would take me a very long time. I decided to make a list of each of these venues and after 4 hours I found there to be nearly 60 places in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. I have yet to even look into the Bronx or Staten Island. Its a lot of venues and a lot of money but fuck it, I'm going to do it....even if I dont have ANY followers. I have a deep  obsession with comedy that goes back to my childhood, and nowadays I am continually going to new clubs, bars and venues that offer comedy. Some are free and some cost a lot of money, and others have a small fee (usually 5-10 dollars). I have decided that the more I put it off the more I will have seen that I have not written about and will then need to return to. So today, I will begin.

How To Have A Good Day

Today, Sunday Feb 19, 2012 11:26 pm

Today was a particularly good day. Everything kind of went my way and I wasn’t bothered by unknowable or mundane things. Relaxing and enjoying the days I have off is good. If only I can do that more often.

Started out at noon with the family at Madura’s, a Cuban restaurant that has a great brunch. I had a delicious tortilla espanola, which I promptly shat out in two back to back bathroom trips about half an hour apart. Then my family left. It may have had something to do with all the groans and smells coming from the bathroom. I sat on the couch and listening to relaxing music while reading a book interspersed with web searches for a while. Then I discovered through the Lincoln Center Film Society website that they were playing a documentary about Georges Méliès (who the movie Hugo was about) and then showing his film A Trip to the Moon. It started at four, which gave me enough time to finish my chapter and walk to the subway. I got there early and read a little in the theater before hand. The documentary was fantastic, an engaging and inspired doc about Georges Méliès’ career and how against a lot of odds they were able to restore A Trip to the Moon (110 years old) to its original glory. Plus, A Trip to the Moon was surprisingly fun to watch. It has a real charm to it and its very imaginative. I think even with the limitations to films of the day, it still can be enjoyed by a modern audience. When I got back to the condo, I searched for dvd's of Méliès’ movies, though I found some I decided not to buy. I figured impulsive buying isn't a great idea. I made myself dinner, and for the first time in a long time I sat down and wrote. I lost track of time and wrote for over an hour, but then I was running late. I ran to the train to catch a comedy show in Williamsburg. It was at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn for their free weekly comedy night. Even though I had to stand, it was an amazing show. Fantastic comedians and it’s a very cool venue. 

Then I took the train back, and here I am feeling satisfied after a good day. I feel like I waste a lot of days that have the potential of being as easy and enjoyable as today was. I realize something; A good day (like this) is a day without television. I know that makes me sound like a pretentious hipster, but I know that if I turned the TV on instead of my speakers after brunch, I would have zoned out and never seen Georges Méliès’ greatest film, and I would never have felt thought-provoked enough to write for over an hour. Basically, if I turned on the television it would have been another bland regular day where I am just wasting the hours away until I got to sleep. Today was a different day, and I hope for more like it.

The Academy Award's Nominees for Short Live Action Are....

I think I’ve figured out a good way to go about my days off. Eat, go to the gym, shower, see a movie, eat dinner, then comedy clubs. That’s what I’ve been doing, minus the gym (that’s more of a hope than a thing) for the past two days and I like it. It makes for a good day where I am out of the house and doing things and I come home tired. I don’t waste hours in front of the television and eat stupid amounts of food.

So today, instead of eating in from of the TV, I went the IFC Center in Greenwich Village. I’ve past by it a thousand times, and I finally got the chance to go. They are showing all the 'Shorts' for the Academy Awards. Great timing, since the Award ceremony is this Saturday. I saw the five short live action films, I figured that if I was going to see any of the shorts these had the potential of being the most well crafted. The other two categories are for animation and documentary. The films were great and really stuck with me in detail. I will tell you about them in the order I saw them. The first was the shortest film, it was called Pentecost and was only about 10 minutes. It was a very funny Irish film about Damian, a young boy who is forced to be an alter boy. Well acted and charming, but very simple story and plot. The boy has to decide whether he will make sure he is never an alter boy again or to not see the big soccer game that he’s been looking forward to. It ends with Damian making a decision that at once shows his love for soccer and his dislike of his status as alter boy. Very well put together and funny. I think because 10 minutes is too short, even for a 'short,' and how plain the plot is, Pentecost doesn't have a chance of winning the Oscar.

Then they showed us Raju, a 20 minute German film about a young couple who go to India to adopt an Indian child. At a certain point they lose the child and in trying to find him (which they ultimately do) they learn that he was actually not an orphan but has parents. The film does a brilliant job of showing the moral dilemma faced by the couple when confronted with this unfortunate bit of news. There are a few problems with this film; the biggest is that we know nothing of the main characters that we are supposed to emphasize with. I think it would have been good to have an extra scene explaining why they wanted to adopt a child and why they decided not to have one of their own (and why India!) For the first five minutes of the film I had no idea what they were doing in India, and whether they were good guys or bad guys, especially with the menacing music playing behind everything. These are major flaws, but they are countered with great acting by the young couple and the fabulous directing of Max Zaehle. It is worth a watch and it makes sense to me that it was nominated, but I would be surprised if it wins the Academy Award.

Then they showed The Shore. Filmed in Northern Ireland, The Shore is about Jim Mahon, who after 25 years of exile in the United States returns to his homeland with his American daughter Patty to reconcile the things he left undone. He has not seen his best friend and his ex-fiancee or talked to them in all these years. Extremely funny and meaningful, Terry George directs himself to this third nomination; I would be surprised if he doesn’t get it. Beautifully done, the only thing that I found lacking in this short was in the acting department, especially with Kerry Condon who played the American daughter, Patty Mahon. I just was not convinced at all by her performance. The scene when she’s trying to find out what her father is hiding, and she’s saying “what? Come on dad.” (Not exact words, but close enough) it is as bad as if I put on a wig and did the scene myself.

Time Freak was the fourth film in the series. Our only American nominee, and set in Brooklyn! A funny and quirky tale about a neurotic inventor who creates a time machine and his roommate who comes by to find out what he’s up to. Well done, and quick, the short is only 11 minutes and that includes credits. I enjoyed this one a lot, but I don't think its a serious contender.

The last short was called Tuba Atlantic. A beautiful Norwegian film that revolved around the theme of, you guessed it, death! I don’t know what it is with the Nordic countries but 9 out of 10 films I see that come from that region have to do with death. Anyway, Tuba Atlantic is about Oskar, a bitter old man, who just found out he has 6 to live. “6 months?” “6 days.” So he spends the majority of that time killing as many seagulls as he can. If I lived next to the ocean like Oskar, I would probably do the same thing, except he uses a submachine gun and a gigantic tuba. Since he has no family, a young religious girl comes to stay with him til he dies as his “Angel of Death.” It is at once funny and sweet. I am amazed that the film was capable of having such a light quality to it even when focusing on the last days of a man’s life. Very well done and the most memorable of all the shorts.

If I had a say in the Academy Awards, Tuba Atlantic would be the winner, but knowing how the Academy works, I’d put my money on The Shore winning this year. It’s a solid film, it’s in English, and the director has already been nominated twice before without receiving one of these coveted prizes. Three things the Academy has a reputation for looking at, although only one should matter. Anyways, I am curious to see how these do at the Award ceremony. This will be the first time I will see the Short Live Action category and know what they are talking about! Huzzah!