The Artist (2011, Michel Hazanavicius)

[Mysterious Dude]

Two things to say:

1. I was surprised how many people were in the theater on a Wednesday afternoon. I've seen silent movies in theaters before, but never a new silent film. The last was Metropolis, and I suspect most people in the theater had seen versions of that film before. But The Artist is new and offered genuine surprises. It was a great pleasure to hear someone gasp at a title card.

2. I've heard people say that the main actor, Jean Dujardin, resembles either Sean Connery or Gene Kelley, while I've been saying (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?p=19549280#post 19549280) he's clearly meant to look like Douglas Fairbanks. After seeing the movie, I feel some vindication, because there is a scene where George Valentin is sitting in his apartment watching the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro, and I'm pretty sure we're meant to see Douglas Fairbanks as George Valenin.

[Pop Trash]

I haven't seen this, and it might be just as good as people say, but I'm surprised there aren't more Guy Maddin fans mentioning Brand Upon the Brain! and Cowards Bend the Knees (among others?) as modern silent fair.

[Spinal]

I enjoyed this a lot. It's a really well done love story, potent in its simplicity, but also specific enough to not feel tired and familiar. While it is nostalgic, it does not feel maudlin because it brings new life and energy to an old mode of storytelling. It doesn't feel like an essay (Midnight in Paris) or a museum lecture (Hugo). It feels like a vibrant new film. It demonstrates what we've lost from the silent era not through words, but through its form. We experience the visual creativity and the focus on basic, powerful human emotions, which is the best argument anyone could make.

[elixir]

I got to ask. Was anyone else irked by the use of the Vertigo score at the film's emotional climax? It really bothered me.

[Spinal]

I got to ask. Was anyone else irked by the use of the Vertigo score at the film's emotional climax? It really bothered me.

Didn't recognize it.

[Ezee E]

Didn't recognize it either.

[Watashi]

I got to ask. Was anyone else irked by the use of the Vertigo score at the film's emotional climax? It really bothered me.
I recognized it immediately. Then again, I listen to the Vertigo score constantly.

I was kinda irked by it.

[Watashi]

How do you not recognize one of the most famous pieces of film music? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN6xyG82c90)

[Ezee E]

Guess I don't find it very recognizable to begin with.

[EyesWideOpen]

I didn't recognize it either although Vertigo is one of my least favorite Hitchcock's.

[eternity]

My mom told me that she's seen a few dozen silent films in her life, and this was easily one of the lesser ones. I was happy to hear her say that, because I thought this was a shamelessly derivative meta gimmick that amounts to nothing more than a few really lazy jokes and a dog doing cute shit.

The two groups that seem to appreciate this, film critics and Academy voters, are the two groups I would have thought would be offended. Guess not.

[Watashi]

What's offensive about this film?

[Derek]

Vertigo is one of my least favorite Hitchcock's.

:crazy:

[Watashi]

This movie isn't a silent film. The director wasn't trying to replicate 20's silent cinema where this movie would be indistinguishable from films of that era. It's a simply a modern example of how sound changed the industry. The gimmick is just a homage. I find it interesting that the two leads are both foreign actors while the rest of the cast were American.

I don't love the movie, but I respect it enough to get people out there watching a movie like this. Certainly better than The King's Speech or Slumdog Millionaire whose films are only trying to be "crowd-pleasers".

[Ezee E]

I said it somewhere, but I basically think of this as something on par as to what Kill Bill is to kung fu movies or Death Proof to Grindhouse movies.

[eternity]

What's offensive about this film?

The meta in-jokes are so obvious and cloying that the tribute it is paying almost seems mocking.

[Watashi]

The meta in-jokes are so obvious and cloying that the tribute it is paying almost seems mocking.
How is that offensive? I have no idea what "meta in-jokes" you are referring to.

[Spinal]

The meta in-jokes are so obvious and cloying that the tribute it is paying almost seems mocking.

This was not my experience at all. I don't think this is a film about gimmicks. I think this is a film about two very specific and very rich characters, first of all. And then the director has selected appropriate and engaging conventions through which to tell this story. Far from mocking, I think the film successfully captures the elements that make silent film an enjoyable experience. I think it also addresses a difficult reality of life: that we can find someone or something both beautiful and obsolete. Simultaneously. This is true of silent film, but it's true of so many other things.

[Morris Schæffer]

Just got back from it and the first thing I did was google actor Jean Dujardin because I wanted to know what he looks like in casual photographs. I was a little stunned to be honest. I mean, crap, he really looks a star from yesteryear, absolutely remarkable and it's a fine performance. I also want to echo what Isaac touched upon and that is that I never though that a single word could convey so much horror and drama, but that is exactly what happened at the end.

I have to say this transcended its slightly gimmicky conceit effortlessly and once I surrendered to its charms & poignant, timeless story, time flew by remarkably fast. The greatest compliment I can give it is that at the end, when the actors finally start talking, it felt a little jarring to me, disrupting the old skool "magic" The Artist had shot forth from its imaginary wand.

All right, so the dog lives, but for once that is entirely acceptable for this is no ordinary pooch.

[Watashi]

http://blog.moviefone.com/2012/01/09/kim-novak-artist-vertigo-score-violated/


She says that hearing Bernard Herrmann's score for "Vertigo," as used in "The Artist," has left her in a "state of shock" that she compared to being raped.

LOL wut?

[Spinal]

That's not an appropriate use of the word 'rape'.

[number8]

I can't believe she actually took out a full page ad on Variety to say that.

[Ivan Drago]

As a lover of silent film, I am excited for it, especially after seeing the fantastic trailer. But I really hope it being a silent film isn't all it has going for it.

[Adam]

When I was home for Christmas, I more or less dragged my family kicking and screaming to see this "stupid, obscure silent movie" instead of We Bought A Zoo. And then they all wound up loving and I though it was just okay. I did at least get to see it at the Paris Theater in Manhattan, which is probably the best kind of setting to see this film

And I have three words for you Berenice Bejo - Ooh, La, and La

[ledfloyd]

i pretty much agree with wats here. i didn't love the film, but it's a lot better than your typical oscar frontrunner. there isn't a whole lot to it, but it's competently made and if it gets people talking about silent movies, more power to them. it's a bit hammy, and the dawn of the talkies story has been done before and better, but so what?

the one thing that is kind of a sticking point for me it's the score. it's pretty much a shoe-in for the oscar, but aside from the infectious piece that closes out the film i didn't think it was all that good. there were several times when the emotion conveyed by the music was just not matching the feeling i was getting from the images on the screen.

[Fezzik]

I really, REALLY liked this. It was just a joy to watch. Both Dujardin and Bejo were wonderful (as was the dog, natch).

I agree that its silence wasn't a gimmick, but can see why people would think that.

The dream sequence, where everything has sound but he can't speak is one such scene I could see people pointing to, but I loved it.

This film also had some of the best lighting work I've ever seen, and the only time I wasn't completely lost in it was when John Goodman showed up, because I was reminded that it was a modern film at that point.

Still, just glorious and exquisite. It might be my new favorite of 2011.

[ledfloyd]

The dream sequence, where everything has sound but he can't speak is one such scene I could see people pointing to, but I loved it.
yet this was the one time in the film i thought 'ooh, an original idea!' and got excited. but then it turned out to be nothing.

[Ezee E]

The cinematography was definitely influenced by Citizen Kane.

[Pop Trash]

yet this was the one time in the film i thought 'ooh, an original idea!' and got excited. but then it turned out to be nothing.

Right. I really liked that scene too, but wondered why it couldn't just be "for real." I'm mean, we're obviously in a movie-movie world, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

[Ivan Drago]

There are a lot of words that describe this film, and pretentious is not one of them, much to my relief. I loved every second of it.

[Grouchy]

In a world with the likes of Singing in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard, this film is really pointless to begin with. I understand that is unfair to expect any new movie to step up to those masterpieces, but it's just my way of saying that I found this very derivative, predictable and frankly boring.

It's well made, and the actors are perfect for their roles - the girl is a stunner, and she's Argentinian - but it offered no surprises and it took way too long to get to its point while all the time I knew exactly what was going to happen.

By the way, I agree with Kim Novak. Of course I recognized the music instantly since Vertigo is my favorite movie, and I was very annoyed that Bernard Herrman's name wasn't on the credits. You can pay for and use any famous film music you want, like Tarantino does with Morricone, but give credit where credit's due.

[MadMan]

Its probably because I have never seen Singing In The Rain, or because I don't care that there have been far better silent movies than this one (I know because I have seen them) that I loved this movie a lot. Nah, that's not it: I liked it because I thought The Artist was well directed and acted, and I really enjoyed it. The Artist is similar to The Hurt Locker in that yes it cracks my Top 10 for a certain year and yet despite it not being my #1 I have no problem with it winning Best Picture even though more deserving movies have been nominated. Still I don't think that The Artist is as much a lock as people think.

[Pop Trash]

Annoyingly, this just won the Indie Spirit BP award, which, unless there is some huge upset tomorrow, it will be the first time since Platoon that has happened.

[Morris Schæffer]

I've seen very little silent movies (well, just one really) nor have I seen truckloads of black and white movies (more than one tho) so that for me The Artist felt unique, original, a staggering breath of fresh air in an era when none such movies are offered. I don't think it was pointless. I was swept away by the power of its timeless message. And the music is beautiful as well, and it's all Belgian!!! Well, the orchestra is.

[lovejuice]

As a tap dancer I have this huge bias towards it. What might be the movie's biggest flaw -- that tap dancing can cure even life's biggest problem like immortality -- clicks me the right way.

[Ezee E]

As a tap dancer I have this huge bias towards it. What might be the movie's biggest flaw -- that tap dancing can cure even life's biggest problem like immortality -- clicks me the right way.
It tapped you the right way.

[lovejuice]

It tapped you the right way.
:lol:

[Pop Trash]

As a tap dancer I have this huge bias towards it. What might be the movie's biggest flaw -- that tap dancing can cure even life's biggest problem like immortality -- clicks me the right way.

People can poop on this all they want, but that dance scene was great. I love dance scenes that aren't all chopped to sushi like fuckin' Moulin Rouge.

[StanleyK]

I'm glad I ended up giving this a shot in the big screen. It was much better than I expected. It's a film more concerned with creating a strong emotional center with its charismatic leads than with being a homage to the silent period. It's admittedly pretty lacking in that regard, but as a light-hearted love story it's immensely satisfying. There's so much that's instantly memorable about it- George's (and the dog's) adorable mugging, the nightmare scene, a particularly clever use of an intertitle towards the end- and as pure filmmaking it's a treat, too. I would compare this with Casablanca as a work where all its individual elements are great and when put together, they form a movie that may not be particularly ground-breaking or ambitious, but is remarkably effective and moving.

[Yxklyx]

Finally got around to this. I really really liked the first third when it was in light-hearted mode. That section was an uncanny reproduction of similar films from the silent era. When the downward spiral hits though I thought the movie dragged - not enough pathos and it all went on for too long. A similar film from the 20s would have been much darker and tighter. It also irked me a great deal that music from Vertigo was swiped for this - that left a bad taste.

[Qrazy]

'I want to make A Star is Born meets Sunset Boulevard meets Singing in the Rain except more cloying and with a dog... and maybe even throw in a dash of Pleasantville for good measure."

Yeah, this was absolutely astoundingly terrible.

[MadMan]

'I want to make A Star is Born meets Sunset Boulevard meets Singing in the Rain except more cloying and with a dog... and maybe even throw in a dash of Pleasantville for good measure."

Yeah, this was absolutely astoundingly terrible.You know I haven't seen any of those movies? Maybe that's why I liked The Artist so much. I'll let you know if I still like it after I watch all of those too.

[EyesWideOpen]

You know I haven't seen any of those movies? Maybe that's why I liked The Artist so much. I'll let you know if I still like it after I watch all of those too.

I have seen all of those and I still loved The Artist.

[baby doll]

It's hard for me to imagine someone who hasn't seen those films even bothering to check this out, since the whole thing coasts on nostalgia. Once you get past the fact that it's mostly silent, in black and white, and plunders from every AFI chestnut in sight, there's no story and an absolute dearth of fresh ideas. When the dog comes to the rescue at the end, we're supposed to be reminded of Lassie and think wistfully and condescendingly of a simpler time when popular entertainment (and people in general) were less sophisticated than they are today. Hazanavicius is a no-talent hack director, period.

[baby doll]

I've seen very little silent movies (well, just one really) nor have I seen truckloads of black and white movies (more than one tho) so that for me The Artist felt unique, original, a staggering breath of fresh air in an era when none such movies are offered.You know, they have this wonderful new invention called a DVD player that allows you to see lots of silent movies. A few of my own favorites are Louis Feuillade's Les Vampires, D.W. Griffith's Intolerance, Victor Sjöström's The Phantom Carriage, Erich von Stroheim's Foolish Wives (is there a DVD of Greed available anywhere?), Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr., Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York, Carl Theodor Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, Dziga Vertov's The Man With the Movie Camera, and Yasujiro Ozu's I Was Born, But... Incidentally, the fact that they're silent movies and in black and white is probably the least interesting thing about them.

[MadMan]

I have seen all of those and I still loved The Artist.I was just making that post so when I finally saw those movies and still liked The Artist I would have something to point to later on.

[MadMan]

Also I've seen a small amount of silent movies. I fail to see how their existence renders The Artist pointless. Shit man all the movies have already been made-guess we don't need any new ones.

[baby doll]

Also I've seen a small amount of silent movies. I fail to see how their existence renders The Artist pointless.It doesn't, but as I said earlier, the best silent movies have a lot more going for them than being silent and in black and white.


Shit man all the movies have already been made-guess we don't need any new ones.Well, now that you mention it, there are more than enough old movies to keep me occupied for the rest of my life.

[MadMan]

:| :lol:

[Morris Schæffer]

You know, they have this wonderful new invention called a DVD player that allows you to see lots of silent movies. A few of my own favorites are Louis Feuillade's Les Vampires, D.W. Griffith's Intolerance, Victor Sjöström's The Phantom Carriage, Erich von Stroheim's Foolish Wives (is there a DVD of Greed available anywhere?), Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr., Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York, Carl Theodor Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, Dziga Vertov's The Man With the Movie Camera, and Yasujiro Ozu's I Was Born, But... Incidentally, the fact that they're silent movies and in black and white is probably the least interesting thing about them.

:). Hardly have the time nor the inclination to do so even if I'm sure there are bound to be some that I would like/love. Saw the general in the meantime. I liked it, a tour de force, especially back in the day. Sme of the shots are really quite something.