''The Artist'' is a 2011 French
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film in the style of a
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
or
part-talkie
A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...
.
The film was written and directed by
Michel Hazanavicius
Michel Hazanavicius ( lt, Hazanavičius; born 29 March 1967) is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, '' The Artist'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Aw ...
, produced by
Thomas Langmann
Thomas Langmann (born 24 May 1971) is a French film producer and actor, known for producing '' The Artist'' (2011), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Picture as producer in 2012.
Career
Langmann began his career as an actor in his ...
and stars
Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...
and
Bérénice Bejo
Bérénice Bejo (; born 7 July 1976) is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001) and Peppy Miller in '' The Artist'' (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
. The story takes place in
Hollywood, between 1927 and 1932, and focuses on the relationship between a rising young actress and an older silent film star as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by the "
talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
".
''The Artist'' received widespread critical acclaim and won many accolades. Dujardin won
Best Actor at the
2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...
, where the film premiered. The film was nominated for six
Golden Globes
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, the most of any 2011 film, and won three:
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy,
Best Original Score, and
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Dujardin. In January 2012, the film was nominated for twelve
BAFTAs, the most of any film from 2011,
and won seven, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Actor for Dujardin, and
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
for Hazanavicius.
It was nominated for ten
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and won five,
including
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
for Hazanavicius, and
Best Actor for Dujardin, making him the first French actor ever to win in this category. It was also the first French-produced film to win Best Picture, and the first mainly silent film to win since 1927's ''
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
'' won at the
1st Academy Awards
The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 1 ...
in 1929. It was also the first film presented in the
4:3 aspect ratio to win since 1953's ''
From Here to Eternity
''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Arm ...
''. Additionally, it was the first
black-and-white film
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a grayscale, range of shades of gray, shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology imp ...
to win since 1993's ''
Schindler's List
''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...
'', though the latter contained limited colour sequences; it was the first 100% black-and-white film to win since 1960's ''
The Apartment
''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Dav ...
''.
In France it was nominated for ten
César Awards
The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...
,
winning six, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
for Hazanavicius, and
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
for Bejo. ''The Artist'' has received more awards than any other French film.
Plot
In 1927,
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
star George Valentin is posing for pictures outside the
premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
of his latest hit film when a young woman, Peppy Miller, accidentally bumps into him. Valentin reacts with humor to the accident and shows off with Peppy for the cameras. The next day, Peppy finds herself on the front page of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' with the headline "Who's That Girl?" Later, Peppy capitalizes on the headline by auditioning as a dancer and is spotted by Valentin, who insists that she have a part in Kinograph Studios' next production, despite objections from studio boss Al Zimmer. While performing a scene in which they dance together, Valentin and Peppy show great chemistry. With a little guidance from Valentin, who draws a
beauty spot
''Beauty Spot'' (French: ''Grains de beauté'') is a 1932 French musical comedy film directed by Pierre Caron and Léonce Perret and starring Simone Cerdan, Marfa d'Hervilly and Doris Morrey.Crisp p.391 It is a remake of the 1931 German film ...
on her after finding her in his dressing room, Peppy slowly rises through the industry, earning more prominent starring roles.
Two years later, Zimmer announces the end of production of silent films at Kinograph Studios, but Valentin is dismissive, insisting that sound is just a fad. In a dream, Valentin begins hearing sounds from his environment (as does the audience), but cannot speak himself, then wakes up in a sweat. He decides to produce and direct his own silent film, ''Tears of Love'', financing it himself. The film opens on the same day as Peppy's new sound film ''Beauty Spot'' and the
1929 Stock Market Crash. Valentin's only chance of avoiding bankruptcy is for his film to be a hit. Unfortunately, audiences flock to Peppy's film instead, while only a few people (including Peppy herself) attend Valentin's. With Valentin ruined, his wife, Doris, kicks him out, and he moves into an apartment with his valet/chauffeur, Clifton, and his dog. Peppy goes on to become a major Hollywood star.
Later, the bankrupt Valentin is forced to auction off all of his personal effects, and after realizing he has not paid loyal Clifton in over a year, gives him the car and fires him, telling him to get another job. Depressed and drunk, Valentin angrily sets a match to his private collection of his earlier films. As the
nitrate film
Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
quickly blazes out of control, he is overwhelmed by the smoke and passes out inside the burning house, still clutching a single film canister. However, Valentin's dog attracts the help of a nearby policeman, and after being rescued, Valentin is hospitalized for injuries suffered in the fire. Peppy visits the hospital and discovers that the film he rescued is the one with them dancing together. She asks for him to be moved to her house to recuperate. Valentin awakens in a bed at her house to find that Clifton is now working for Peppy. Valentin seems to remain dismissive of Peppy having taken him in, prompting Clifton to remind Valentin of his changing luck.
Peppy insists to Zimmer that Valentin co-star in her next film, threatening to quit Kinograph if Zimmer does not agree to her terms. After Valentin learns to his dismay that Peppy had purchased all his auctioned effects, he returns in despair to his burnt-out apartment. Peppy arrives, panicked, and finds that Valentin is about to attempt suicide with a handgun. Peppy tells him she only wanted to help him. They embrace and Valentin tells her it's no use; no one wants to hear him speak. Remembering Valentin's superb dancing ability, Peppy persuades Zimmer to let them make a
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
together.
Now the audience hears sound for the second time, as the film starts rolling for a dance scene with Peppy and Valentin and their tap-dancing can be heard. Once the choreography is complete, the two dancers are heard panting. The director of the musical calls out audibly, "Cut!" to which Zimmer adds: "Perfect. Beautiful. Could you give me just one more?" Valentin, in his only audible line, replies "With pleasure," revealing a
French accent.
The camera then pulls back to the sounds of the film crew as they prepare to shoot another take.
Cast
*
Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...
as George Valentin
*
Bérénice Bejo
Bérénice Bejo (; born 7 July 1976) is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001) and Peppy Miller in '' The Artist'' (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
as Peppy Miller
*
Uggie
Uggie (February 14, 2002 – August 7, 2015) was a trained Parson Russell Terrier famous for his roles in ''Water for Elephants (film), Water for Elephants'' and ''The Artist (film), The Artist''. His memoir ''Uggie, My Story'' was published in ...
as the dog, Jack
*
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...
as Al Zimmer
*
James Cromwell as Clifton
*
Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), '' Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog ...
as Constance
*
Penelope Ann Miller
Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress.
She began her career on Broadway in the 1985 original production of ''Biloxi Blues'' and received a Tony Award no ...
as Doris Valentin
*
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised i ...
as The Butler
*
Bitsie Tulloch
Elizabeth Tulloch (born January 19, 1981) known as Bitsie Tulloch, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Juliette Silverton / Eve in the NBC television series '' Grimm'' and as Lois Lane in The CW superhero television series '' ...
as Norma
*
Beth Grant
Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy '' The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her role as Gracie ...
as Peppy's maid
*
Ed Lauter
Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ;
October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years.
Early life
Lauter was born and ...
as Peppy's first chauffeur
*
Jen Lilley as Onlooker
*
Nina Siemaszko
Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko (born July 14, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her film roles in '' Little Noises'' (1992), ''The Saint of Fort Washington'' (1993), and for her role as Eleanor Bartlet in ''The West Wing'' (2001–2006).
...
as Admiring woman
*
Jewel Shepard
Jewel Shepard (born January 3, 1958) is an American writer, photographer, and actress, best known for her roles in movies such as '' Party Camp'' (1987) and ''Return of the Living Dead'' (1985).
Life and career
Shepard arrived in California in ...
as Flapper starlet
*
Basil Hoffman
Basil Harry Hoffman (January 18, 1938 – September 17, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career spanning five decades, mostly in supporting roles. He starred in films with many award-winning directors, including Alan Paku ...
as Auctioneer
*
Ben Kurland
Benjamin David Kurland (born May 1, 1984) is an American actor, known for his role in the Academy Award winning film '' The Artist''. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents Jim and Robyne Kurland. He and his older brother Zack Kurland ...
as Casting assistant
*
Ken Davitian
Kenneth Davitian ( hy, Քենեթ Դավիթյան; born June 19, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his role as Borat's producer Azamat Bagatov in the 2006 comedy film ''Borat''.
Early life and education
Kenneth Davitian was born in ...
as Pawnbroker
*
Bill Fagerbakke
William Fagerbakke ( ; born October 4, 1957) is an American actor. He voices Patrick Star in the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and played Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom ''Coach (TV series), Coach''. He also appeared in 12 ep ...
as Policeman
*
Adria Tennor
Adria Tennor is an American actress, writer, and director. She is best known for her work in the film '' The Artist'' (2011), as well as the television series ''Greek'', ''Mad Men'', and '' Mad Dogs''.
Life and career
Adria was born in Royal Oak ...
as Zimmer's Assistant
Production
![Équipe The Artist Cannes 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/%C3%89quipe_The_Artist_Cannes_2011.jpg)
Director
Michel Hazanavicius
Michel Hazanavicius ( lt, Hazanavičius; born 29 March 1967) is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, '' The Artist'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Aw ...
had been fantasizing about making a
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
for many years, both because many filmmakers he admires emerged in the silent era, and because of the image-driven nature of the form. According to Hazanavicius, his wish to make a silent film was at first not taken seriously, but after the financial success of his spy-film pastiches ''
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'' and ''
OSS 117: Lost in Rio'', producers started to express interest. The forming of the film's narrative started with Hazanavicius' desire to work again with actors
Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...
and
Bérénice Bejo
Bérénice Bejo (; born 7 July 1976) is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001) and Peppy Miller in '' The Artist'' (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
, who had both starred in ''OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies''. Hazanavicius chose the form of a
melodrama, mostly because he thought many of the films from the silent era that have aged best are of that genre. He did extensive research about 1920s Hollywood, and studied silent films to find the right techniques to make the story comprehensible without having to use too many
intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
s. The screenplay took four months to write and was principally inspired by the 1928 silent comedy, ''
Show People
''Show People'' is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by King Vidor. The film was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the d ...
''.
Chief among the influences shaping the screenplay's protagonist was
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...
. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ recent book ''Douglas Fairbanks'', by
Jeffrey Vance
Jeffrey Vance (born May 21, 1970) is an American film historian and author who has published books on movie stars including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
Career
While working as an archivist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists he met El ...
, as well as the Academy's Douglas Fairbanks exhibition and screening events both in Los Angeles and New York City, afforded Hollywood's first swashbuckling hero and the Academy's first president some significant media attention.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
on ''The Artist'' began in November 2010, taking place over the course of thirty-five days,
made in the 1.33:1 screen ratio commonly used in the silent film era. Though presented in black-and-white, it was shot in color by
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Guillaume Schiffman
Guillaume Schiffman is a French cinematographer who is known for the films he has made with director Michel Hazanavicius, including '' OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'' in 2006 and '' OSS 117: Lost in Rio'' in 2009. Schiffman is particularly know ...
.
All the technical details, including lenses, lighting and camera moves, were calibrated to aesthetically match silent films of the period. To recreate the slightly sped-up look of 1920s silent films, the film was shot at a slightly lower
frame rate of 22 fps as opposed to the standard 24 fps. Most of the film is silent, except for two brief scenes with sound as well as the
non-diegetic
Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which:
# Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narr ...
soundtrack. Throughout the shoot, Hazanavicius played music from classic Hollywood films while the actors performed.
The film was produced by La Petite Reine and ARP Sélection for 13.47 million euro, including co-production support from Studio 37 and
France 3 Cinéma
France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info.
It is made up of a network of regional television services providin ...
, and pre-sales investment from
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
and CinéCinéma.
The cast and the crew included both French and American members.
All the scenes were shot in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, primarily in
Hollywood, but also in downtown theaters, restaurants and houses, including the one in which
Mary Pickford
Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
lived. Soundstage work was done at
Red Studios, and the studio lot itself doubled for part of the fictional Kinograph Studios lot, with Red's Lillian Way entrance doubling as the Kinograph entrance in several sequences. The iconic
Bradbury Building
The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, an ...
in downtown L.A. provided the location for the film's distinctive staircase sequence. The dance sequence that closes the film took seventeen takes, and required Dujardin and Bejo to spend five months studying tap dancing, with Dujardin claiming that "in the first week it's fun, the fifth week it's a little boring, at the end it's thrilling".
American
costume design
Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...
er
Mark Bridges created the wardrobe for the film's cast.
Music
The
film's music was largely composed by
Ludovic Bource
Ludovic Bource (; born 19 August 1970 in Pontivy) is a French composer best known for his work in film scoring. He rose to international critical acclaim in 2011 for composing the Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning score for '' The Artist' ...
, but includes works by other composers such as
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas.
Biography
Ginastera was born in Buen ...
's "Estancia". The soundtrack was recorded in Belgium by the
Brussels Philharmonic
The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian radio orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public ...
and was conducted by Ernst Van Tiel; the Brussels Jazz Orchestra also cooperated. The recording took place during six days in April 2011 at
Flagey's Studio 4 in Brussels.
The film's climactic scene is set to
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
's "Scène d'amour" from
his score to
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's film ''
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
''. In ''Vertigo'', that composition similarly accompanies an extended scene without dialogue. Only one song (sung, with lyrics) is used in the soundtrack, "
Pennies from Heaven", sung by
Rose "Chi-Chi" Murphy (uncredited). This song was written in 1936 although the film is set between 1927 and 1932. The soundtrack was released on 10 October in France, and 21 October in the U.K. and U.S. through
Sony Classical Records
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
.
Release
The film premiered on 15 May 2011 in competition at the
2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...
.
It was initially announced as an out of competition entry, but was moved to the competition a week before the festival opened. The French regular release was on 12 October 2011 through
Warner Bros. France.
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...
bought the distribution rights for the United States and Australia and
Entertainment Film Distributors
Entertainment Film Distributors, Ltd. is a British distributor of independent films in the UK and Ireland for various production companies, founded by Michael L. Green and currently run by his son Nigel Green.
Michael L. Green was a veteran pro ...
bought the UK distribution. The film was initially given a
limited release
__FORCETOC__
Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
in the United States on 23 November 2011.
Following its wins at the
69th Golden Globe Awards
The 69th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2011, were broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 15, 2012, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais, for the third consecutive year ...
, it was announced Warner Bros. would re-release the film in France in 362 theaters on 25 January 2012. It was also re-released in Belgium on 22 February 2012.
Box office
''The Artist'' grossed $44,671,682 in North America, along with $88,761,174 in other territories for a worldwide total of $133,432,856.
After its success at the Academy Awards, the film saw a moderate boost the following week on the box office in North America. It appeared on the week's top 10 chart and got an increase of 34% while expanding its release from 966 theaters to 1,756.
Critical response
On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus states, "A crowd-pleasing tribute to the magic of silent cinema, ''The Artist'' is a clever, joyous film with delightful performances and visual style to spare."
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating to reviews, the film received an average score of 89 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Mark Adams of ''
Screen Daily'' called the film "a real pleasure"; "propelled elegantly forward by delightful performances from Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo it is the most unlikely of feel-good movies." He added however: "The film does feel a little sluggish towards the end of the first third as the music is a little repetitive and the intertitles are infrequent, but Hazanavicius manages to give the film a real sense of charm and warmth, and film fans will be competing to spot visual and musical references." Peter Bradshaw of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described how the film "had me on my feet cheering throughout the final credits" and stated "I can't wait to see it again".
Geoffrey McNab at ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' called the film "both a surefire crowdpleaser and a magnificent piece of film-making" in his 5 star review from the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. Rick Groen of ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' assessed ''The Artist'' highly, noting the film "uses old technology to dazzling effect to illustrate the insistent conquest of a new technology." Sukanya Verma for
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
feels ''The Artist'' is an extremely well-researched film and is an instant classic.
David Thomson of ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' called ''The Artist'' an "accomplished and witty entertainment" and went on to write, "Whether Hazanavicius can do more things as elegant and touching, without the gimmick of silence, remains to be seen (and heard). Meanwhile, he is to be congratulated on the grounds of pleasure alone. He may be due for much more in the way of rewards." ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
''
film critic
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film four out of four stars, praising the performances, and calling the film "one of the most entertaining films in many a moon, a film that charms because of its story, its performances and because of the sly way it plays with being silent and black and white."
Writing for ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'', Jaime N. Christley gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, explaining Michel Hazanavicius ignores "everything that's fascinating and memorable about the era, focusing instead on a patchwork of general knowledge, so eroded of inconvenient facts that it doesn't even qualify as a ''roman à clef''." ''
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
'' argued that while Jean Dujardin carried the film, Bejo's performance was disappointing.
Kim Novak controversy
On 9 January 2012, actress
Kim Novak
Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter.
Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...
stated that "rape" had been metaphorically committed in the film's licensed use of a portion of
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
's score from
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's 1958 film ''
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
'' (in which Novak starred). The final portion of ''The Artist'' is accompanied not by original music, but by a 1992 recording of the Herrmann composition ''Scene d'Amour'', conducted by
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...
. In the article published, by ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', 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 Hitchcock, Lang
Lang may refer to:
*Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin
Places
* Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica
* Lang Nunatak, Antarctica
* Lang Sound, Antarctica
* Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia
* Lang, ...
, Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, Lubitsch, Murnau and 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.
Hazanavicius also told
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
"I used music from another movie, but it’s not illegal. We paid for that, we asked for that and we had the permission to do it. For me there is no real controversy.... I feel sorry for her, but there’s a lot of movies with music from other movies, directors do that all the time and I’m not sure it’s a big deal."
In May 2011, when the film was first shown at the Cannes Festival,
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
from ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' mentioned the use of Herrmann's music, "Hazanavicius and Bource daringly choose to explicitly employ Bernard Herrmann’s love theme from ''Vertigo'', which is dramatically effective in its own right but is so well known that it yanks you out of one film and places you in the mind-set of another. Surely some sort of reworked equivalent would have been a better idea."
Top ten lists
The film has appeared on the following critics' top ten lists for the best films of 2011:
Accolades
At the
65th British Academy Film Awards
The 65th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 12 February 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2011. The nominations were announced on 17 January 2012 by ...
, the film won seven awards, including Best Film, Best Actor for Dujardin, Best Original Screenplay for Hazanavicius, Cinematography for Schiffman, Costume Design for Bridges and Original Score for
Ludovic Bource
Ludovic Bource (; born 19 August 1970 in Pontivy) is a French composer best known for his work in film scoring. He rose to international critical acclaim in 2011 for composing the Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning score for '' The Artist' ...
.
At the
69th Golden Globe Awards
The 69th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2011, were broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 15, 2012, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais, for the third consecutive year ...
, the film was nominated for six
Golden Globes
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
to win three of them;
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy,
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Dujardin and
Best Musical Score for Bource.
At the
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011 in the United States and took place on February 26, 2012, at the Hollywood and Highland Center Theatre in H ...
, ''The Artist'' received ten nominations, winning five awards, including
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
for Hazanavicius,
Best Actor in a Leading Role for
Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...
,
Best Costume Design, and
Best Original Score.
Home media
''The Artist'' was released on
region 1 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on 26 June 2012.
It was released in the UK by
Entertainment in Video on 28 May 2012.
See also
*
List of black-and-white films produced since 1970
American film and television studios terminated production of black-and-white output in 1966 and, during the following two years, the rest of the world followed suit. At the start of the 1960s, transition to color proceeded slowly, with major studi ...
*
List of films featuring fictional films
A body of films feature fictional films as part of their narrative. These are also called films within films.
List of films
See also
*Story within a story
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*{{cite news , last=Rapold , firs ...
Notes
References
External links
Orange Studio (Studio 37) official site
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artist
Album chart usages for Flanders
Album chart usages for Wallonia
Album chart usages for France
Album chart usages for Spain
2011 films
2011 romantic comedy-drama films
French romantic comedy-drama films
French silent feature films
French black-and-white films
Studio 37 films
France 3 Cinéma films
Wild Bunch films
Canal+ films
Films directed by Michel Hazanavicius
Films about actors
Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles
Films set in 1927
Films set in 1928
Films set in 1929
Films set in 1930
Films set in 1931
Films set in 1932
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Best Picture Academy Award winners
Best Film BAFTA Award winners
Best Film Lumières Award winners
Best Film César Award winners
Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners
Independent Spirit Award for Best Film winners
Films whose director won the Best Director César Award
Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance
Films featuring a Best Actress César Award-winning performance
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films featuring a Best Actress Lumières Award-winning performance
Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award
Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award
Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award
Films set in studio lots
Films whose director won the Best Direction BAFTA Award
Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award
Films produced by Thomas Langmann
Films scored by Ludovic Bource
Golden Eagle Award (Russia) for Best Foreign Language Film winners
Silent romantic comedy films
Silent romantic drama films
2010s French films
Foreign films set in the United States