When I first started hearing about The Artist, I couldn't really imagine what it would be like. A Frenchman making a silent film (in black and white) about Hollywood in the late 20s? But the more I heard about it, the more I wanted to see it. Unfortunately, I never got to see it on the big screen. Life conspired against me and I just never made it to my local multiplex to see it. So I made sure I had my name on the list to get the DVD as soon as it was available through the library. The film did not disappoint.
The Artist (available on DVD or Blu-Ray) is an homage to Hollywood of the Silent Era. The story opens, in 1927, with George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) at the height of his stardom and the height of the silent film industry. While posing for photographers on the red carpet, he meets a fan, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). Peppy takes full advantage of the encounter and ends up on the front page of Variety with George. The next thing we know, Peppy is cast as an extra in George's next film. There is some flirting between the two, but since George is married, albeit unhappily, they go their separate ways. Years pass and we see Peppy becoming a bigger and bigger movie star, while George's star is fading due to the introduction of talking pictures.
There are so many things going for this film, it's hard to know where to start. What got me right away was the look of the film. If I wouldn't have known better, I would have thought I was watching a film made in the 20s. The attention to detail is amazing. The five Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Actor in a Leading Role, Costume Design, and Original Score) that the film won were well deserved.
Director Michel Hazanavicius has created a beautiful and touching story about love and friendship showcased in this tribute to Silent Films. Although there are many familiar American actors in this film (John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller), it's the French trio of Hazanavicius, Dujardin, and Bejo that make this film come alive. Unless you are a fan of French films, you most likely have never heard of them. I know I hadn't. But I don't know if there could have been two more charming leading actors to play these parts than Dujardin and Bejo.
While you are waiting your turn to see The Artist, you might want to check out some of the all-time great Silent Films:
The General (1926)
When Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive, he pursues it single handedly and straight through enemy lines. (107 mins.)
Metropolis (1927)
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. (153 mins.)
City Lights (1931)
The Tramp struggles to help a blind flower girl he has fallen in love with. (87 mins.)
Nosferatu (1922)
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence - and real estate agent Hutter's wife. Silent classic based on the story "Dracula." (94 mins.)
Birth of a Nation (1915)
The Civil War divides friends and destroys families, but that's nothing compared to the anarchy in the black-ruled South after the war. (165 mins.)
-- Post by Tracy
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