Who ever thought a silent movie would win the Oscar in 2012? And the big winner at the Oscars was....”The Artist” the first silent movie to win an Oscar in 83 years.
“The Artist” was the big winner at the 84th annual Academy Awards, taking home Oscars for best picture, best director and its star Jean Dujardin, who won over George Clooney, in the battle of the charmers.
In the best actress race, considered by many to be the biggest tossup of the night, Meryl Streep won over Viola Davis for her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.”
….”I love your country,” Dujardin said, accepting his trophy and doing a little soft shoe as he exited the stage.
The Trailer:
MSNBC:
“Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius claimed the best director award. His wife, Berenice Bejo, stars in the film and was nominated for best supporting actress, but lost to Octavia Spencer in “The Help.”
“I am the happiest director in the world right now. Thank you for that,” Hazanavicius said.
The early awards were handed out mostly as many had predicted, with Dujardin, Spencer and Christopher Plummer claiming acting awards.
But then came the best actress category, one many expected to go to Viola Davis for her role in “The Help.” Instead, Meryl Streep’s name was called for her role as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.”
Here’s a list of all the winners. Here’s the Wikipedia entry.
Bizcommunity.com offers a must-read review that puts the film’s wins in perspective Here’s the beginning.
If there is one film that everyone will be talking about for years to come, and a film that has caused as much sensation as when the first talking picture made its bow, it’s The Artist
Winner of five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, seven BAFTAs, including Best Picture, Best Actor – Jean Dujardin and Director – Michel Hazanavicius. Also winner of three Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Performance By An Actor(Musical or Comedy) and Best Score; and six César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Hazanavicius and Best Actress for Bejo. It was the first largely silent film to win Best Picture since the first Academy Awards.
It is an indisputable masterpiece that gives you everything you ever wanted from film and much more.
From its imaginative concept to its exquisite visualisation, The Artist is a rare gem that is honest in its telling and filled with undeniable and overwhelming passion from director Michael Hazanavicius, his creative team and actors.
French writer-director Hazanavicius beautifully captures the world of the 1920s and the era of silent films; the gritty realism of his narrative and vision is so accurate and authentic that it is difficult to distinguish between the truth of the fictional reality and the real thing.
At times you have to really convince yourself that you aren’t watching an archival classic made in the 20s; there are some glorious moments when Hazanavicius reminds us that we are actually watching a contemporary film and vividly uses sound and image to snap us out of this magical illusion.
One is during the Tap Dancing to the Top scene:
Jean Dujardin accepts the Oscar:
Silent films always had their own way of evoking emotions often evoked not quite in the same way as sound movies. It was a separate art that had a far different feel than sound movies. And this goes for comedy as well as drama. The Artist showed that a black and white silent film made in 2011 could duplicate the silent film art and way it connects differently but lovingly that largely vanished with the advent of sound movies.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.