Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Mathster The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Hitchcoc Why one has to go into outer space to get to the North Pole is a question to ponder. Apparently, there were numerous expeditions going and the airship appears to be the one that succeeds. After forming diverse crew from several countries and throwing out the women, the air bus embarks on its journey. It goes past several constellations, including Scorpio and Pisces as well as Gemini. When the explorers finally get to the North Pole, there is really nothing to do. They run around and meet up with a monster and one of them gets eaten. Since they were from all countries, the monster got to choose between German, French, Chinese, Spanish, etc. This could have been played for laughs but wasn't. Anyway, it is all visual and the whole process of exploring is wasted. These guys really don't have a clue. As for Melies, he is still doing the same stuff.

CitizenCaine Georges Melies' film The Conquest Of The Pole is similar to several of his earlier adventure films except this film is much longer than most. As a result, many viewers claim this film is not quite as good as the others due to the padding of some scenes, especially the flying to the North Pole sequence when the aircraft passes constellation after constellation. The aircraft, though crude and ridiculously unrealistic, is synonymous with the backdrop/sets and other effects in the film. Remember, The Wright Brothers had only paved the way for air travel a few years before. Once at the pole, terrific action sequences occur with an ice monster of some sort followed by a rescue. By now Melies had fallen behind the times with developing film techniques, such as crosscutting, meaning Melies' development as a filmmaker was related more to his being a magician and an effects wizard and not necessarily his being a storyteller. The only issue in the film is there are only five explorers visible at the pole when several more were selected to go to begin with. *** of 4 stars.

Snow Leopard 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.

lawzam 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.