Martin Scorsese's film "Hugo", based on Brian Selznick's YA novel "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" was a great surprise to me when I saw it. It pressed all my buttons and yet was promoted (in the UK at least) as though it were a children's film and little else. In fact, it is a hymn of praise to cinema and its pioneers, and on that journey it takes in steam trains, old Paris, clockwork toys, Art Deco advertising posters and with a bit of a nod to steampunkery. What's not to like?

This book is rather more than just "the making of...". It looks in some detail at the history and real-life events behind the film (for the story it tells about Georges Méliès is essentially true) and has a lot of material on the people connected with the film - not just the actors but a lot of the production staff down to designers and continuity people. There is also a lot of production photography as well as selected film stills, and some production paperwork, such as Scorsese's own storyboards and designs, in particular for the automaton.

I have one small criticism. The book seems to be written for a specifically American audience, so some of what I at first thought of as dumbing-down - or even possibly talking down to children - might have been adjustments required for the US market. (Or perhaps not. My other half lectures in digital media at a British university, and some of the gaps in her students' knowledge about film, and making things, and cultural and filmic references generally, have me quite amazed.)

But despite that, I can recommend the book wholly to anyone who saw the film, and indeed to anyone interested in cinema as an interest or a career. ( )

A nicely told story of how the book the Invention of Hugo Cabret became a movie. The book has a similar to feel to Brian Selznick's other books. It is full of pictures from the movie and from behind the scenes. ( )

Reading this just made me love the movie all the more. J'adore.

This book is actually very interesting, having interviews with a large number of the cast and crew involved in making the film, from the director to the script supervisor. It's also packed with pictures, from the original book and from the production of the film. This is a must read for fans of Hugo Cabret, the movie or movie-making in general. Well done, again, Mr. Selznick. ( )