THE ARTIST [2011 / 2012] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
The Most Entertaining Film Of The Year!
Hollywood 1927. George Valentin [Jean Dujardin] is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller [Bérénice Bejo], it seems the sky’s the limit and major movie stardom awaits. ‘THE ARTIST’ tells the story of their interlinked destinies.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 2011 Cannes Film Festival: Won: Best Actor for Jean Dujardin. Won: Palm Dog Award for Uggie. Nominated: Palme d'Or for Michel Hazanavicius. 2012 Academy Awards®: Won: Best Picture for Thomas Langmann. Won: Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius. Won: Best Actor in a Leading Role for Jean Dujardin. Won: Best Original Score for Ludovic Bource. Won: Best Costume Design for Mark Bridges. Nominated: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Bérénice Bejo. Nominated: Best Original Screenplay for Michel Hazanavicius. Nominated: Best Art Direction for Laurence Bennett and Robert Gould. Nominated: Best Cinematography for Guillaume Schiffman. 2012 Art Directors Guild: Nominated: Period Film for Laurence Bennett, Greg Hooper, Joshua Lusby, Adam Mull, Jamie Rama, Martin Charles and Robert Gould. 2012 BAFTA® Awards: Won: Best Film for Thomas Langmann. Won: Best Direction for Michel Hazanavicius. Won: Best Actor for Jean Dujardin Won: Best Original Screenplay for Michel Hazanavicius. Won: Best Music for Ludovic Bource. Won: Best Cinematography for Guillaume Schiffman. Won: Costume Design for Mark Bridges. Nominated: Best Actress for Bérénice Bejo. Nominated: Best Editing for Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius. Nominated: Production Design for Laurence Bennett and Robert Gould. Nominated: Best Sound for Michael Krikorian, Gérard Lamps, and Nadine Muse. Nominated: Best Make-up and Hair for Cydney Cornell and Julie Hewett. 2013 Grammy Awards: Nominated: Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media for Ludovic Bource.
FILM FACT No.2: On the 9th January 2012, actress Kim Novak stated that "rape" had been committed in regard to the musical score by Ludovic Bource, which incorporates a portion of Bernard Herrmann's score from Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film ‘Vertigo’ in which actress Kim Novak had starred. In the article published, by Variety, she stated that "I feel as if my body or at least my body of work has been violated by the movie." "This film should've been able to stand on its own without depending on Bernard Herrmann's score from Alfred Hitchcock's ‘Vertigo’ to provide more drama" and that "It is morally wrong for the artistry of our industry to use and abuse famous pieces of work to gain attention and applause for other than what they were intended," ending her comments with "Shame on them!" In response, director Hazanavicius released a statement: 'THE ARTIST' was made as a love letter to cinema, and grew out of my and all of my cast and crew's, admiration and respect for movies throughout history. It was inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, John Ford, Ernst Lubitsch, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and Billy Wilder. I love Bernard Herrmann and his music has been used in many different films and I'm very pleased to have it in mine. I respect Kim Novak greatly and I'm sorry to hear she disagrees."
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Joel Murray, Bitsie Tulloch, Bitsie Tulloch, Ken Davitian, Malcolm McDowell, Basil Hoffman, Bill Fagerbakke, Nina Siemaszko, Stephen Mendillo, Dash Pomerantz, Beau Nelson, Alex Holliday, Wiley M. Pickett, Ben Kurland, Katie Nisa, Katie Wallack, Hal Landon Jr., Cleto Augusto, Sarah Karges, Sarah Scott, Maize Olinger, Ezra Buzzington, Fred Bishop, Stuart Pankin, Andy Milder, Bob Glouberman, David Allen Cluck, Kristian Francis Falkenstein, Matt Skollar, Annie O'Donnell, Patrick Mapel, Matthew Albrecht, Harvey J. Alperin, Lily Knight, Clement Blake, Tasso Feldman, Christopher Ashe, Adria Tennor, Cletus Young, J. Mark Donaldson, Brian J. Williams, Andrew Ross Wynn, Jen Lilley, Brian Chenoweth, Tim DeZam, Uggie [Jack the dog], David Bantly (uncredited), Bill Blair (uncredited), Amanda Chism (uncredited), Brendan Connolly (uncredited), Joseph Falsetti (uncredited), Kevin Ketcham (uncredited), Patrick Krull (uncredited), Jillana Laufer (uncredited), Josh Margulies (uncredited), Julie Minasian (uncredited), Rose Murphy (archive sound) (uncredited), Rene Napoli (uncredited), Niko Novick (uncredited), Geoff Pilkington (uncredited), Randee Reicher (uncredited), Andrew Schlessinger (uncredited), Jewel Shepard (uncredited), John H. Tobin (uncredited), Josh Woodle (uncredited) and Brad Everett Young (uncredited)
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Producers: Antoine de Cazotte, Adrian Politowski, Daniel Delume, Emmanuel Montamat, Gilles Waterkeyn, Jean Dujardin, Jeremy Burdek, Nadia Khamlichi, Richard Middleton and Thomas Langmann
Screenplay: Michel Hazanavicius
Composer: Ludovic Bource
Cinematography: Guillaume Schiffman (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 100 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures France / Entertainment in Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘THE ARTIST’ [2012] was both directed and written by Michel Hazanavicius. It's set in Hollywood during 1927 during the silent film era and the main character is a silent film movie star by the name of George Valentine [Jean Dejardin]. As the film starts out us the audience are treated to some footage from one of his films and the reaction by an audience in a theatre during the premier. Backstage the star, George Valentine, is watching and listening along with the head of the studio Al Zimmer [John Goodman] to the reaction from the audience. It's a hit and the audience loves it. After the film ends George Valentine comes out, along with his canine co-star Uggie [Jack the dog], to take a bow and thank the audience. George Valentime’s other co-star Constance [Missi Pyle] is absolutely furious that he chose to bring the dog out with him instead of her. Eventually the head of the studio sends her out onstage to join George Valentine. Constance gives some very unkind words to the star and takes her bow and thanks the audience; only to be sent offstage. George Valentine remains onstage with his canine co-star and eventually takes an exit stage left only to come back out as the audience is giving him a standing ovation of sorts. It's obvious from what we see here that this guy is perhaps the most popular silent film star at this point in Hollywood. George Valentine's is at the peak of his career and loving it. George Valentine has such wonderful charisma and a great smile that it seems the world is his and sure to stay his for a good while to come.
After the premier of the film George Valentine exits the theatre and poses for photos from the members of the press while beautiful young ladies with their autograph books are giddy at the sight of the star and are being held back by police officers. One young lady, Peppy Miller [Berenice Bejo] is in that crowd and ends up dropping what appears to be her autograph booklet and bends down to pick it up yet manages to end up making it through the police officer holding her and the other ladies back. Peppy Miller bumps right into the silent film sensation that is George Valentine. At first it's very awkward not only between George Valentine and her but also to the members of the press whose jaws almost drop. Eventually George Valentine plays it off and his blank stare turns to a very encouraging smile. The young lady is relieved and she smiles and tries to play along with the moment. The members of the press ask for the two to pose for some photographs, which they do. Peppy Miller decides to plant a kiss on the side of George Valentine's cheek and that photo ends up on the front page of the trade magazine Variety the very next day with the headline "Who's That Girl" the thought on everyone's mind; especially the audience at this point. We see the very next day George Valentine wakes up and come to breakfast with his wife Doris [Penelope Ann Miller] who happens to be reading that trade magazine and doesn't seem too pleased by the photo. It's obvious these two have some marital issues but George Valentine just tries to play it off with his charisma and wonderful sense of physical humour by dipping his nose into his breakfast and sitting there with an innocent look on his face.
The young lady Peppy Miller who ended up breaking out of the crowd the night before and posed for the pictures is named Peppy Miller and is absolutely excited that she's on the front page of Variety with that headline aimed at her. She decides this is the best time if any to try her hand at becoming an actress so she shows up the very next day to Kinograph Studios, the studio where George Valentine does his films. Peppy Miller sits down to wait for the chance to be an extra. She sits down next to a man who is The Butler [Malcolm McDowell] and show's him the trade paper with her picture on the front page. The Butler flips the trade paper over and runs his hand across the headline questioning who she is, if to emphasize she's going to have to do a lot more than that to make it in Hollywood. Peppy Miller takes his gesture in stride and eventually gets the chance to go up in front of a casting guy who's looking for three girls who can dance. The first two girls standing beside her immediately begin to dance and he tells them they have the parts as extras. Peppy is next up and he asks her if she can dance to which she replies physically with one very energetic dance and irresistible facial gestures. The guy casting the parts of extras is simply blown away and all smiles. Even though there's no dialogue shown in text we can tell Peppy gets the part as she begins to physically celebrate. She turns back to the man she had shown the trade paper to earlier and tells him her name; as if to tell him he should remember it as he's going to be hearing a lot of it in the future. The girl has spunk; you can tell that much and she is destined for great things. Her first film she's featured in as an extra involves her dancing alongside her hero George Valentine. The two have chemistry both onscreen and off-screen but the fact he's married causes some real complications as you'd imagine. Yet the two become friends and he even gives her some tips on how to become a famous actress.
As I mentioned earlier silent film star George Valentine seems to be at the peak of his career but something happens one day in 1929, which is two years after the beginning of the film that changes things majorly in his life. After George Valentine's finished shooting a scene for his latest film the head of the studio asks George Valentine to come see something and is taken into a dark screening room with other studio members where he shows him footage of what will later become known as the "talkies" film that feature actual audio dialogue recordings. George Valentine watches but after the screening is over he gets up and laughs and attempts to leave the room. Before George Valentine can leave the screening room the head of the studio tells him not to laugh because it's the future, to which George Valentine replies along the lines of saying that if that's the future he can have it. This seems to be the beginning of the end for George's career as he refuses to do "talkies" and when the studio decides to halt production on all silent films. He's absolutely heartbroken but he doesn't give up. He has encouragement and support from his chauffeur and friend Clifton [James Cromwell] who refuses to leave his side. Meanwhile, Peppy Miller has been working her way up from being just an extra in various films all the way to co-starring and starring roles in silent films. She's eventually picked to be one of the new faces of Kinograph Studios in their transition to "talkies" and soon becomes a star of the silver screen. It seems that a complete reversal here has happened with George Valentine being let go from the studio and her rising to fame. What happens here after this point you'll have to watch the film to see. As I won't spoil that as it's a very amazing film with lots of emotion, rough history regarding silent films demise, Hollywood's transition to "talkies" and a very nice bit of both comedy and romance thrown in as well.
As was often the case in those days, the cast of ‘THE ARTIST’ includes actors with many different native tongues, because what difference did it make? John Goodman makes a bombastic studio head, and such familiar faces as James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle and Ed Lauter turn up.
Jean Dujardin is very well-known in France, especially as I have seen him in a successful series of spoof comedy films entitled OSS 117, which you will see I have done a Blu-ray Review on both films released on Blu-ray and are fantastic, where you will see a Jean Dujardin as a Gallic secret agent who mixes elements of 007 and Inspector Clouseau. Jean Dujardin would indeed have made a great silent star. His face is almost too open and expressive for sound, except comedy. As Norma Desmond, the proud silent star in ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ hisses: "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!" Jean Dujardin's face serves perfectly for the purposes here. More than some silent actors, Jean Dujardin can play subtle as well as broad, and that allows him to negotiate the hazards of some unbridled melodrama at the end. I felt a great affection for him.
I've seen ‘THE ARTIST’ about three times so far, and each time it was applauded, perhaps because the audience was surprised at itself for liking it so much. It's good for holiday time, speaking to all ages in a universal language. Silent films can weave a unique enchantment. During a good one, I fall into a reverie, an encompassing absorption that drops me out of time. While it's an impressive achievement, and clearly a labour of love on behalf of the writer and director Michel Hazavanicius, as well as being love letter to Hollywood.
I love black and white films, which some people assume they will not like at all, but should give them a chance. For me, it's more stylised and less realistic than colour, more dreamlike, more concerned with essences than details. That said, creating a silent movie for a modern audience is a bold move, and the film has been executed with aplomb. ‘THE ARTIST’ represents moviemaking as it once was without most of today's tools, and while it looks, sounds and feels different, its proof positive that a film is still a film by and large through any fad, trend or technology. It's the story of two people moving artistically apart but in other ways together and changes for the better or for the worse. It's a tale of acceptance, moving forward, and honouring the past rather than unrealistically and stubbornly championing and clinging to it.
* * * * *
THE ARTIST MUSIC TRACK LIST
Estancia OP.8 (Written by Alberto Ginastera) (Conducted by Ernst van Tiel) [Performed by Brussels Philharmonic – The Orchestra of Flanders]
JUBILEE STOMP (1928) (Written by Duke Ellington) [Performed by Duke Ellington]
IMAGINATION (1927) (Written by Fud Livingston) [Performed by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies]
PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1936) (Written by Johnny Burke) (Music by Arthur Johnston)
LOVE SCENE (1958) (Music by Bernard Herrmann) (Conducted by Elmer Bernstein) [Performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] [Composed for the film ‘Vertigo’ and was originally entitled "Love Music"]
DIRTY TAP DANCING (Written by Ludovic Bource)
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – With this English Blu-ray release it has a very standard 1080p Black-and-White image and is the poor relation to the outstanding and awesome French Blu-ray release and as usual has a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. According to the technical specifications, this was shot on Super 35mm film using the PanArri 435 ES and Panavision Super Speed MKII cameras. In fact, here is a very interesting article with the Director of Photography Guillaume Schiffman discussing his cinematography work and those cameras he used. An interesting fact here is the film was actually shot at 22 frames per second and then turned to the traditional 24 frames per second to give the effect of movement from the old silent film era. Another few interesting facts here for you regarding how the film was shot, because it was actually shot on traditional Kodak colour film and then was turned to Black & White in post-production. Also, the DP mentions that he went to Panavision and asked for some older lenses to use to give the film the older visual style. This turns out really beautiful and is a total "throwback" to the days of silent films. The only difference here in comparison to original silent films from the era the film takes place in is that you get one hell of a lot more clarity here because they used Super 35mm film. This has good detail throughout the film, especially in those close-ups of the two main characters. It's no wonder it was nominated for an Academy Awards® for Best Achievement in Cinematography. But I can confirm the French Prestige Special Édition Blu-ray will have you speechless when you view the awesome 1080p Black-and-White stunning image. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – This English Blu-ray release again has a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. You might first ask yourself why a silent film would need a 5.1 mix and the answer to that has a whole lot to do with the film's original music score done by Ludovic Bource. Also, sure it's a throwback to the way old silent films were presented but this is a lot more unique than any of those classic silent films. The reason for that is that this film was mixed with a 5.1 Surround mix in mind, unlike the films back then that were a Mono mix with a single speaker in mind. You get a musical presentation here that almost entirely carries the film throughout with a few exceptions. There's an excellent amount of rear channel presence and bass as well at times. The music here ranges from upbeat to subtle mellow, to downright intense. The musical instruments here are what really make the most emphasis on bass via the subwoofer; namely the percussion instruments. The intense musical parts are the main moments when the amount of sound is at its peak and is sure to get your attention and set the mood perfectly for what's happening in the film. The fact there's no pauses for dialogue here means that there's almost constantly music playing to accompany the visuals and text that displays key dialogue. There are some exceptions where for instance there will be short pauses in between musical numbers where you'll get a few seconds of silence. There's also a point around 30 minutes in the film where it turns first to total silence for a short bit and is then followed by nothing but sound effects. Here you'll hear strong emphasis on every single noise happening around the main character. This is a very intense sequence and like the intense musical moments grabs your attention and sets the mood of the film perfectly. Shortly after this sound effects sequence there's roughly a good 30 seconds or so of silence before the music starts back. The sequence itself lasts roughly around 3 minute's total. That's one of the few exceptions that I mentioned earlier where the original music doesn't entirely carry the film. All and all the sound mix is downright impressive, even though roughly 98% of the original score is heard. It sounds absolutely beautiful and is mixed wonderfully in a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio configuration as well as makes definite use of the audio format to great effect. This may upset some of you, but I totally stand behind this decision. I give this a very impressive "5 Star Rating" for overall audio quality. Gripe all you like about it only being a silent film, but the sound, namely the composed music, plays a very, very important role for a silent film. Ludovic Bource`s original film music score gives it a complete and utter justice and is a downright pleasure to hear it in the 5.1 audio sound mix.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Blooper Reel [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:00] Here we get to view a brief reel of silent bloopers is included that shows a few blown takes and silly interactions between the actors.
Special Feature: The Artist: The Making of an American Romance [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [21:56] This is an interesting behind-the-scenes featurette that details the movie's themes, characters, locations and plot with lots of cast and crew interviews and on set footage. We get a look at some of the rehearsal process and also learn a bit about film history and silent era cinema. While some of the interviews can veer too much toward standard mutual complimenting, most of the material covered here is worthwhile.
Special Feature: Q&A with the Filmmaker and Cast [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [44:57] Here we are treated to an in-depth Q&A session with the director, producer, and the majority of the cast. Conducted after a screening of the film, the participants offer lots of information about the shoot, the script, and the overall experience of working on this unique silent film. Contributors include: Matt Holzman [Hosts], Missi Pyle, James Cromwell, Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Director Michel Hazanavicius and Producer Thomas Langmann.
Special Feature: Hollywood As A Character: The Locations Of ‘THE ARTIST’ [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:10] This is a quick featurette focused on the films numerous L.A. locations. This was also a nice and interesting little piece although if you watched the making of featurette you can skip this one.
Special Feature: The Artisans Behind ‘THE ARTIST’ Featurettes [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [11:28] Here we get to view Four featurettes detailing the film's production design, cinematography, costumes, and composer are viewable separately or together. Included are The Production Design [2:27]; The Cinematography [1:22; The Costumes [3:44] and The Composer [3:55]. It also features the cast and crew discussing the story, the characters, learning the dance moves, the history of Hollywood in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the influx of talkies and the challenges posed to silent films, and ‘THE ARTIST’ is a throwback and authentic style, of what it was like shooting silent films in Hollywood, and the work of the performers. There are unfortunately some repeated bits of information from earlier special features, but each category offers a decent look at their respective topics.
Finally, ‘THE ARTIST’ is a truly moving and beautiful film that celebrates and recreates the magic of the silent cinema era and the performances, cinematography, and dramatic is very enjoyable and entertaining. Still, though it may be familiar, like an old favourite song, it is well worth viewing and listening. The picture yields exceptional performances and a totally faultless throwback appearance, plus the image and audio are both equally good from this English Blu-ray release and giving a respectful and authentic experience of the silent cinema era. Supplements offer an informative and entertaining peek into the film's production. ‘THE ARTIST’ is a very good film, and in every way a film about the films in transition to sound, and ‘THE ARTIST’ is one of the year's finest pictures. I bought this Entertainment in Video release, because it is all in English, but sadly the black-and-white image presentation is not as good as the French Blu-ray release, but despite this, I am still pleased I have this in my Blu-ray collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
