Hollywood 1927. George Valentin 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, it seems the sky’s the limit major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.
Reviews
The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“Everything about The Artist comes as close to perfection as I have ever seen.”
22/12/2011
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The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
“Visually, the film is a masterpiece of art deco design. It doesn't need colour: it would only detract from its astonishing beauty. The ‘silent’ soundtrack has more than enough sound on it to keep anyone entertained ... There’s clever use of sound effects, especially during an hilarious nightmare sequence in which a silent-movie star finds himself trapped in a world where everything emits sound except him.”
03/11/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
Robbie Collin
“Rather than being a celebration of colour and sound, it’s a eulogy for monochrome and silence; less a showcase of what film can do than a reminder of what it can be. ”
29/12/2011
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Time Magazine
Mary Corliss
“Beyond its craftiness and impeccable craft, the film sparks a warm connection with the viewer. Like a smiling cavalier swinging into view to rescue an imperiled maiden, The Artist brings salvation to melancholy movie lovers. For here is that rare film indeed that offers pleasure beyond words.”
22/11/2011
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The Times
Kate Muir
“Sometimes cinema should just be pure, unadulterated joy, and The Artist is precisely that, in every wordless frame. The black-and-white silent movie ... is fresher, funnier and more daring than any newfangled 3-D extravaganza around. ”
29/12/2011
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Total Film
Neil Smith
“It’s essentially Singin’ In The Rain meets A Star Is Born with some Citizen Kane thrown in. Most of all, however, it’s a great big hug of a movie guaranteed to send you out into the cold with a smile on your face. ”
16/12/2011
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Time Out
Dave Calhoun
“Its nostalgia is instructive: a scene of Miller and Valentin tap-dancing either side of a screen reminds us how visually inventive early sound films could be, and a scene of Valentin talking to a policeman that doesn’t have title cards reminds us that good silent films also demanded imagination from the viewer. It’s a gentle call to arms aimed at modern cinema.”
22/12/2011
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Screen
Mark Adams
“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. The films of silent Murnau, Chaplin and Borzage are obvious visual influences.”
15/05/2011
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The Evening Standard
David Sexton
“It took French genius to make this film, so much more original and endearing than Martin Scorsese's overworked tribute to early cinema, Hugo ... The film leaves you completely uplifted. It relies on its charm but that confidence is justified. ”
23/12/2011
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“Is the film more than a novelty plaything? Perhaps not. But within its confines it multi-achieves. Comedy is one thing, but pathos is also plentiful – wry, graceful, understated – and charm, which you can’t manufacture. Like a beneficent disease it is either there or not. In The Artist it is present, inoperably, in every frame. ”
22/12/2011
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The Scotsman
Alistair Harkness
“The excitement over the faux sense of nostalgia it creates – nostalgia for something few filmgoers can possibly have experienced first time around – is in danger of blowing its surface charms out of all proportion.”
28/12/2011
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Sight & Sound
Tony Rayns
“At core, though, The Artist is at best a novelty hit, right up there with Benny Hill’s single ‘Ernie, the Fastest Milkman in the West’.”
29/12/2011
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