Artist

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 11 23 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396400276

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:null

Summary: Michel Hazanavicius' stylistically daring, dialogue-free comedy-drama The Artist stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a matinee idol in Hollywood before the dawn of talkies. His marriage is far from perfect, and one day he meets ambitious chorus girl Peppy Miller (B?r?nice Bejo) and is smitten. Very quickly thereafter, sound comes to movies, and George sinks all his money into one last epic silent film, while Peppy becomes a star in the new era. John Goodman co-stars as the head of the film studio working with Valentin. The Artist played at both the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Cinematography – Independent Spirit Awards Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival Film Presented – London Film Festival Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Picture – New York Film Critics Online Best Picture – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Director – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Screenplay – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actress – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Picture – Boston Society of Film Critics Best Use of Music – Boston Society of Film Critics Best Director – New York Film Critics Online Best Original Screenplay – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Art Direction – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Acting Ensemble – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Art Direction – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Costume Design – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Editing – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Score – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Editing – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Ensemble – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble – Screen Actors Guild Best Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Original Music – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Ensemble – Screen Actors Guild Best Original Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Ensemble – Screen Actors Guild Best Director – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Editing – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Actor – National Society of Film Critics Best Picture – Producers Guild of America Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Art Direction in a Period Film – Art Directors Guild Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Edited Feature - Comedy or Musical – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Edited Feature - Comedy or Musical – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Comedy or Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Editing – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Male Lead – Independent Spirit Awards Best Sound – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Sound – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Sound – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Feature – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Outstanding Directorial Achievement – Directors Guild of America

Features: Blooper reel
The Artist: the making of an American romance
Q&A with the filmmakers and cast
Hollywood as a character: the locations of the Artist
The artisans behind the Artist featurettes

Artist

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 06/26/2012

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DHMA null

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: Spanish

Perry Seibert

Writer/director Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist manages the trick of being both fearlessly loyal to an era of cinema that's long since passed and one of the few original motion pictures of its own time. The movie stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, one of Hollywood's biggest stars of the silent era. Although he's stuck in a less-than-passionate marriage, he's lucky enough to be surrounded by adoring fans, a loyal assistant (James Cromwell), and his devoted pet dog. George soon makes the acquaintance of aspiring actress Peppy Miller (B?r?nice Bejo), and eventually they shoot a short scene together for his new movie. But then Al Jolson makes The Jazz Singer, and seemingly overnight George can't land a role, while Peppy Miller becomes the toast of Tinseltown. In desperation, George sinks his personal savings into a grand adventure story that he believes will win back the audiences who have abandoned him. What sets The Artist apart from other showbiz rise-and-fall stories is that Hazanavicius, in honor of his main character, chose to shoot the film in black-and-white and without dialogue. Those idiosyncrasies will keep a great many moviegoers from thinking they'll want to see it, but it would be their loss, because for its first 45 minutes The Artist is a giddy, deliriously enjoyable cinematic experience. The jokes are fashioned to play to a modern audience, even if the techniques employed are as old-school as can be. Even the revelation early on that this will be a genuinely silent film comes in the form of a first-rate gag about performers waiting for an audience to erupt with applause. If there was ever a movie without a single line of spoken dialogue that could get nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, The Artist is it. The writing isn't the only award-worthy aspect of the movie. Dujardin won the Best Actor award at Cannes for his work here, and it's a rich, star-making turn. Flamboyant yet grounded, funny yet moving, charming yet vulnerable, Dujardin turns George into a good man befuddled by how quickly his comfortable existence slips away from him. The second half of the movie, when George struggles professionally and romantically, doesn't have the same comedic rush of the first half, but even as the film grows slightly repetitive, Dujardin carries things along with his boundless charm -- nobody's worn a Clark Gable moustache with this much panache since, well, Clark Gable. Tonally, the movie is just about flawless: Everybody is on the same comedic page, and one of the great joys of watching the film is seeing Hazanavicius' distinctive vision come to life with the help of inventive actors who all seem to know exactly how to modulate their performances. John Goodman plays the head of the movie studio, and his ample bulk is used to brilliant comedic effect (especially when he gets upset). The movie does bog down slightly when it grows more dramatic, a fact that might have as much to do with how amazingly perfect the beginning of the movie is as it does with any particular faults about the more serious passages. It might be that movie lovers still return to the great silent comedians -- Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd -- because there's something about their dialogue-free tomfoolery that transcends time and cultural changes. The same can't be said for the vast majority of dramas from that period. Sure, Sunrise and Intolerance are landmarks in the medium's development, but they don't hold the same kind of power over seasoned cinephiles as The Tramp and The Great Stone Face still do. But the second half of the movie also contains a brilliant comedic set piece involving George's pooch performing an act of bravery - it's a tremendous piece of "acting" from the little four-legged scene stealer. And the final scene delivers a payoff that makes you appreciate how well-thought-out the entire film has been from the very first frame. The Artist is great because it's funny, not because it requires any knowledge of film history to understand or because it breathes new life into a seemingly stale style. It's just a movie that's in love with movies, and if it doesn't put a smile on your face, then maybe you don't love them as much as you think you do. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Thomas Langmann  Producer 
Michel Hazanavicius  Director 
Michel Hazanavicius  Screenwriter 
Daniel Delume  Executive Producer 
Richard Middleton  Executive Producer 
Ludovic Bource  Composer (Music Score) 
Antoine De Cazotte  Executive Producer 
Jean Dujardin  Actor 
Bérénice Bejo  Actor 
John Goodman  Actor 
James Cromwell  Actor 
Penelope Ann Miller  Actor 
Missi Pyle  Actor 
Beth Grant  Actor 
Ed Lauter  Actor 
Joel Murray  Actor 
Bitsie Tulloch  Actor 
Ken Davitian  Actor 
Malcolm McDowell  Actor 
Basil Hoffman  Actor 
Bill Fagerbakke  Actor 
Nina Siemazko  Actor 
Stephen Mendillo  Actor 
Dash Pomerantz  Actor 
Beau Nelson  Actor 
Alex Holliday  Actor 
Wiley M. Pickett  Actor 
Ben Kurland  Actor 
Katie Nisa  Actor 
Katie Wallick  Actor 
Hal Landon, Jr.  Actor 
Cleto Augusto  Actor 
Sarah Karges  Actor 
Sarah Scott  Actor 
Maize Olinger  Actor 
Ezra Buzzington  Actor 
Fred Bishop  Actor 
Stuart Pankin  Actor 
Andy Milder  Actor 
Bob Glouberman  Actor 
David Cluck  Actor 
Kristian Falkenstein  Actor 
Matt Skoller  Actor 
Annie O'Donnell  Actor 
Patrick Mapel  Actor 
Matthew Albrecht  Actor 
Harvey Alperin  Actor 
Lily Knight  Actor 
Clement Blake  Actor 
Tasso Feldman  Actor 
Chris Ashe  Actor 
Adria Tennor  Actor 
Cletus Young  Actor 
Mark Donaldson  Actor 
Brian Williams  Actor 
Andrew Ross Wynn  Actor 
Jen Lilley  Actor 
Brian Chenoweth  Actor 
Uggy  Actor 
Tim de Zarn  Actor 

Country: France