CONQUEST OF THE POLE (1912)
(a.k.a. LA CONQUETE DU POLE)
Article #348 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 2-28-2002
Posting date: 7-15-2002

A journey to the polar regions is depicted, in which adventurers encounter a fierce snow giant.

This is perhaps the second most famous film by Melies, and ironically, it’s a landmark in almost exactly the opposite way as A TRIP TO THE MOON; it was a flop rather than a hit, and marked Melies’ farewell to moviemaking and descent into obscurity where the earlier film marked his rise to fame. It’s easy to see why; though the movie is quite fun in its own right, it doesn’t show any real advance over the earlier film; it’s full of tricks, but by this time, they were no longer fresh. Still, it holds up quite well, and is quite entertaining, and his sense of humor is very much intact throughout. It’s definitely one of Melies’ most entertaining films.