Watch Six Clips from Silent Cannes Sensation ‘The Artist’
Posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 by Angie Han
Silent films died in the late ’20s with the advent of “talkies,” but it seems they’ve now been gone for so long they feel new again. One of the major stories out of this year’s Cannes was the unexpected popularity of The Artist, a silent film by OSS 117 director Michel Hazanavicius. Set in 1920s Hollywood, the tale revolves around a movie star named George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) at the height of his career who falls for aspiring starlet Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) at the start of hers. John Goodman, Missi Pyle, Malcolm McDowell, Penelope Ann Miller, and James Cromwell also star.
I realize that the concept is pretty unusual in this day and age, and may therefore sound off-putting to some. But all the reviews I’ve seen so far indicate that The Artist is a lively crowd-pleaser that makes fantastic use of an old-fashioned medium. I was utterly charmed by the recently released trailer, and I feel the same way about the six clips that have just been unveiled. Watch them after the jump.
[all videos via The Playlist]
The clips cover everything from George and Peppy’s first encounter to the starmaking process, and even include a cute tap-dance number. The Artist has been generating white-hot buzz ever since it debuted at Cannes earlier this year, and is being talked about by pretty much everyone (including us!) as a likely Oscar contender. It’s not tough to see why. Though The Artist is undeniably a throwback, it feels delightfully fresh, and it’s apparent even in these limited scenes that the cast has got charm to spare.
The Artist is scheduled to open November 23, which, come to think of it, happens to be the same day that The Muppets is hitting theaters. I’ll be looking forward to Thanksgiving even more than usual this year.
