tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post4077425721993436919..comments2024-03-28T02:30:08.913-04:00Comments on Not Just Movies: The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011)Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-75582026907891700792012-02-07T10:47:11.710-05:002012-02-07T10:47:11.710-05:00I, too, agree wholeheartedly with the points you r...I, too, agree wholeheartedly with the points you raise in your review - including how well done the dance-off and the empty suit caress were done. Those are the sorts of scenes which work best in silent films. Based on my experiences when I travel each summer to Chicago for one of the silent film festival showings (most often selecting a film at which there will be a theater organ accompaniment), I think the movie would have been better served by having a theater organ sound track rather than an orchestral one (except, possibly, at the premier scenes with which <i>The Artist</i> starts).Michael S. Pearlhttp://thekindlyones.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-45276204093551693632012-01-27T23:56:35.057-05:002012-01-27T23:56:35.057-05:00Agreed! I question how many critics who have heape...Agreed! I question how many critics who have heaped praise on this silent movie pastiche have seen Sunrise, The Crowd, Docks of New York, City Lights, The General or any of the great masterpieces from the late-silent period that this stunt movie pretends to be from. There are many little details that made me smile, but what took me out of the moment and caused the whole souffle to deflate was the lifeless pacing and the tedious star-is-born rehash that lacks a strong motivation for the lead character's ruin. It has all the depth of a Carol Burnett sketch and demeans the powerful range of emotions that silent films were capable of. The cast works hard (Jean Dujardin and his dog are the best things in it) but it seems closer to The Dueling Cavalier than it does to a genuine classic of the period. Wait for the next showing of King Vidor's Show People with Marion Davies on Turner Classic Movies and see how it's done. Pedro Almodovar included a faux-silent film in Talk to Her that was astonishing in its authenticity. In fact, it fooled Geraldine Chaplin when she saw it. I also wonder how many people who applaud this novelty will bother to see a real silent film. I think I know the answerbarrywerksnoreply@blogger.com