The Artist

pennylane106

I saw the midnight showing of 'The Artist' at a theater by my house on Thursday night; my sister and I were the only ones in the theater but it was just incredible! I went in to it having no expectations and the film just blew me away; the actors, story, cinematography- just everything about it! Definitely the most unique experience I've had a the theater! Who's seen it?!

stargirl69

I want to see this but haven't got around to it yet.

chiquimonkey

I finally saw this last night, I LOVED it! I'm a huge silent comedy film fan, so it was right up my alley. Saw it in an old 30's theater too so that added another level of awesome to it

musicismylife78

i really liked it, especially the idea of finding ones voice. i found it so surreal to watch a silent, black and white film in a multiplex. it was quite bizaare. I can see how others might not like it, as when was the last time you knew anyone of our generation who were blown away by a silent black and white film. but i love that time period and that music so i was enthralled.

i was very impressed.

musicismylife78

youve got to hand it to the filmmakers and actors involved for clearly tackling a film and subject that was done for sheer love of the art and film, and not expecting anything else. There are reports of theaters giving patrons refunds, those who were surprised it was a silent film, if they come to the box office within 10 minutes of the films start. the main lead, said something along the lines of "yes, i encourage people to demand refunds. everyone should demand refunds of movies that are strange or not common".

chiquimonkey

It's amazing people would ask for their money back! I hope a happy side effect of this movie will be that it will get people interested in checking out some of the movies of that era. There are so many gems that folks should discover.

I loved the lead actor's work, his face and body language was *so* expressive. He would have fit in perfectly in the 20's.

It was really brave of everyone involved to make such a movie. When I heard there would be a silent movie coming out in 2011, I was like :shock: and then just thought how freaking AWESOME.

Just goes to show you don't need 3D and tons of special effects and crap to make a great movie. Have a good story, shoot it beautifully and some sublime performances.

I just really adored this movie

stargirl69

chiquimonkey wrote:

I finally saw this last night, I LOVED it! I'm a huge silent comedy film fan, so it was right up my alley. Saw it in an old 30's theater too so that added another level of awesome to it

That is so cool,it is only showing at the 1920's build Art Nouveau cinema in town here,it's not at any of the multiplexs,which does add to its awesomeness

I can hardly believe people are being encouraged to only give the film a 10 minute chance before asking for their money back

pennylane106

chiquimonkey wrote:

It's amazing people would ask for their money back! I hope a happy side effect of this movie will be that it will get people interested in checking out some of the movies of that era. There are so many gems that folks should discover.

I loved the lead actor's work, his face and body language was *so* expressive. He would have fit in perfectly in the 20's.

It was really brave of everyone involved to make such a movie. When I heard there would be a silent movie coming out in 2011, I was like :shock: and then just thought how freaking AWESOME.

Just goes to show you don't need 3D and tons of special effects and crap to make a great movie. Have a good story, shoot it beautifully and some sublime performances.

I just really adored this movie

Totally! One of the things I loved about it so much was the 'simplicity' of it--it was such wonderful acting, even without any words, and the overall beauty of the cinematography surpassed ANYTHING special effects can do! It was emotional, romantic, and thought provoking...a total gem!

I genuinely hope more people don't let the fact that its a silent film keep them from seeing this movie...I think its an important reminder of what experiencing a movie should be like.

musicismylife78

i thought the lead male actor had the same charisma and looks of someone like a clark gable or cary grant or someone like that.

musicismylife78

i havent watched many silent films, nosferatu, charlie chaplin and the like. but it seemed like alot of the silent films i had seen, used the title cards alot more or moving to a black screen and then writing what the actor was saying. with this film, i think alot of people are going to be trying to read the actors lips. title cards are few and far between. many scenes involve people talking and we arent completely sure whats being said. so i think its also very interesting in that aspect. like that scene with the cop outside the clothing store. the filmmaker focused very clearly on the cops lips.

i think this is also a very clear example of whats so important in art. an essential skill of all artists is the ability to listen. and i think thats what modern viewers must do. take in the cinematography, and acting and the music as has been suggested but also watch body language, and atmosphere, and listen, which sounds odd considering its silent.

but thats what surprised me. i knew going in it was silent. but i didnt realize the viewer wouldnt have those cue/title cards every single interaction. i pictured a silent film, but with subtitles essentially. but it wasnt like that obviously.

but whats brilliant is, the lack of cue/title cards didnt matter. the story, directing and acting and writing of it is so brilliant it conveys it all, without words being said, or the viewer knowing exactly what the actor was saying. thats impressive.

chiquimonkey

stargirl69 wrote:

That is so cool,it is only showing at the 1920's build Art Nouveau cinema in town here,it's not at any of the multiplexs,which does add to its awesomeness

I can hardly believe people are being encouraged to only give the film a 10 minute chance before asking for their money back

People are freaking STUPID.

It's like what the hell are they expecting, a car chase scene? lol hello, it's pretty easy to see what it is! Seeing how well it's doing though, it's nice to see folks giving it a chance.

pennylane106 wrote:

Totally! One of the things I loved about it so much was the 'simplicity' of it--it was such wonderful acting, even without any words, and the overall beauty of the cinematography surpassed ANYTHING special effects can do! It was emotional, romantic, and thought provoking...a total gem!

I genuinely hope more people don't let the fact that its a silent film keep them from seeing this movie...I think its an important reminder of what experiencing a movie should be like.

Precisely! And it's interesting, with how everything nowadays has to seem hyperrealistic, movies like this, shot in B&W, with just music as the sound, it takes you OUT of reality. When that happens, then you have a chance to connect with real emotions at their core. Strip it down to the base.

For people who think silent movies are all about huge pantomiming, the moments that really shined for me in this movie were the quiet, small ones. That's why for me my favorite Chaplin movie is "City Lights" and it's all about the ending. It's subtle, sweet and pure, and I bawl like a little bitch every time I see it.

Music, yeah he had the John Gilbert thing going for sure, swoony

It was just like a 2hour love letter to silent movies, attention to detail was superb

chiquimonkey

musicismylife78 wrote:

but whats brilliant is, the lack of cue/title cards didnt matter. the story, directing and acting and writing of it is so brilliant it conveys it all, without words being said, or the viewer knowing exactly what the actor was saying. thats impressive.

Absolutely. My sis and I took our dad, and while he understands some English, Spanish is his main language. The beauty of this movie....even though he couldn't really read the cards, he felt the whole thing. There's a universal quality of these movies that's just plain beautiful.

eeriepadave

I saw it a few weeks ago and here was my brief review in the movie thread

eeriepadave wrote:

Caught The Artist earlier tonight. I enjoyed it very much. The director did an outstanding job. Nothing groundbreaking or anything and the story was simple but the way it was told.... Also The dog kinda stole most of the scenes though

glad it won a few golden globes :thumbup:

chiquimonkey

eeriepadave wrote:

Also The dog kinda stole most of the scenes though

I agree, he was really good! Better than most human actors nowadays

I'm glad it won some awards too. Was so good

pennylane106

chiquimonkey wrote:

eeriepadave wrote:

Also The dog kinda stole most of the scenes though

I agree, he was really good! Better than most human actors nowadays

I'm glad it won some awards too. Was so good

my sister and I were just saying the other day, he should be nominated for best actor! haha!

chiquimonkey

pennylane106 wrote:

chiquimonkey wrote:

eeriepadave wrote:

Also The dog kinda stole most of the scenes though

I agree, he was really good! Better than most human actors nowadays

I'm glad it won some awards too. Was so good

my sister and I were just saying the other day, he should be nominated for best actor! haha!

He should win just to see what his acceptance speech would be

stargirl69

Went to see it tonight

An absolute charm of a film,very funny,touching,though provoking,sheer entertainment.Loved all the excessive "mugging" and every time George smiled I smiled too,the over expressive hand on forehead drama was fantastic.
But why was there only four people in the cinema? We are so accustomed to excessive noise in films I wonder if for the general cinema goer does the silent part not appeal?
Great film that I would go see again