The Artist

Black and white; silent; Oscar winner. This is enough to introduce this week's subject: the french movie The Artist.

The artist, direct by Michael Hazanavicius, was released just a few years ago, in 2011, but at a first look you may think you are watching a film from the 20's. The movie tells George Valentin's story, a silent movie star, who sees his career goes down the hill when the talkies break into the public tastes. Meanwhile Peppy Miller an aspiring actress have her career bump up by the talkies arrival. What tricks you to think this is an oldie? Well, besides being black and white, and silent, the picture was shot in the old 4:3 ratio.

The movie starts with the screening of the movie A Russian Affair, one of George Valentin's movies, and his character "says"‘I won’t talk, I won’t say a word!,’  ironically this is the reason for Valentin's fallen when the movies became talkies.


Even though the movie is a tribute for the oldies, director Hazanavicius made conscious choices when it came to cinematography and other aspects in the movie, such as music, sound effects, acting, etc.

If we compare The Artist with real old movies we can find some very visible differences. During the movie within the movie the camera work resembles a lot the silent era, but as soon the movie is out of the screen the camera work is very modern with lots of close-ups - way more than used in the movies back there, more camera movement, and also more sense of depth.

The editing aspect follows the same idea as the camera work, when the movie gets out of the screen the editing is very modern, it is more agile than it was back in the days. The acting is way more expressive, and the actors don't have the big theatrical gestures like in the old movies.

When talking about silent movies and its score we think about classic music. Normally annoying classic music - at least for me. But in The Artist the score is original and very exciting - it won the Oscar for Best achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score. Besides the original score, the movie has some unexpected sound effects, like in the dream scene, when Valentin - and the audience - can hear every day-to-day sound (foot steeps, dog barking, laughs) but he still "silent." Or in the final scene when the actors finally break the silence barrier and talk.

"The Artist’s achievement bows because of our era, the 21st century, and because of the method of delivery – from black and white, to silent, and from the performance to the story’s presentation. Had The Artist been released in the late 20s or early 30s, it may have very likely had a completely different story. But because of its uniqueness in today’s world of film production, it will stand out among films as a glowing light as we progress into the future."- David, The Artist - a comparing analysis.


References:

David. The Artist - A Comparing Analysis. Film Classics. http://www.film-classics.com/archives/8254

Hazanavicius, Michael. The Artist. 2011