- Actors: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller
- Directors: Michel Hazanavicius
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Classification: To be announced
- Studio: Entertainment in Video
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B006E04QDM
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Silent sensation,
By
This review is from: The Artist [DVD] (DVD)
As a trainee projectionist at a small-town French cinema, I naturally get to see quite a few films. Occasionally, they are screened before their UK release. And very occasionally, as here, they are brilliant. In short, it's one of my two recommendations of the year. (The other, incidentally, is Intouchables, another superb film which also suggests that the glory days of French cinema are not all in the past.)It is vital not to give too much away. Suffice it to say that the plot revolves around the male lead, a silent movie icon (played by Jean Dujardin) and his efforts to cope with dwindling fame brought about by the Hollywood vogue for 'talkies' at the end of the Twenties. Sound is completely alien to his kind of cinema and, of course, being a silent film itself, The Actor shows the world from his perspective. But The Actor isn't completely mute, as we hear on just a couple of occasions. One instance comes right at the end and explains ... well, something quite important. I'd never heard of the principal actors. Both are utterly captivating. Director Michel Hazanavicius (incidentally, the husband of the female lead, Berenice Bejo) has apparently wanted to make a silent movie for ages. The long gestation period shows in this thoughtful, clever homage to Hollywood's silent era. Implausibly, a modern film without (much) sound or colour maintains viewer interest throughout. It is witty, impossibly romantic, intriguing and, above all, a must-see for anyone who's losing their love of cinema. What should be nothing more than an interesting idea or a bit of a cliché (note the fire, dog and policeman episode), is in fact the absolute opposite: fresh and original. And one of the best films of the year.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Speechless,
By
This review is from: The Artist [DVD] (DVD)
Entirely in black and white, and largely without speech, this modern film made in the style of a silent movie is a clever and entertaining take on the effect of the arrival of the "talkies" on "George Valentin", the over-confident established star of Hollywood silent films of the 1920s. Just as these did, it relies heavily on appropriate musical scores - at one point we see an orchestra playing just below the screen, as a rapt audience watches the wordless drama.It made me realise how much can be conveyed simply by facial expressions and body language, although all movements need to be slightly larger than life. As we watch George disintegrating, forced to observe the mercurial rise of the vivacious, yet kindhearted Peppy Miller, and to realise too late that he has made a fatal mistake in laughing at talking films, we expect a happy ending, at least of a sort. However, there are also many humorous touches, striking visual effects, such as when George watches himself on film from behind the screen, or is sucked down very symbolically into filmic quicksand, and there are even some genuinely moving moments on the way, assisted by the best actor of them all, George's performing dog. As someone quips, if only he could talk!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pure pleasure,
This review is from: The Artist [DVD] (DVD)
Don't listen to the detractors, this is a wonderful film. In a cinema world dominated by car chases, violence, special effects, CGI blah blah blah it's was so refreshing to see something that brings back entertainment from a bygone age. I'm of course not reviewing the DVD, in fact don't wait for the DVD to come out find a cinema where it is showing and go! I've just seen the film at my local volunteer run indie cinema and it was pure pleasure. I had to wait an extra half hour for the film to start so they could cram everyone in and the audience actually applauded at the end of the film, when was last time you did that at a movie?
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