Silent films... the Artist(s) !

Fine ! France won 5 Oscars© on february 26th with film « The Artist ». Indeed, this film is quite good. I liked it when it released back in 2011. I thought that the idea of making a silent film was an excellent one. A very few people know about silent movies, apart from the basic : Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, etc. A very few people really watched silent films for the fun of it. I did and still do. I like that cinema.

So, watching at “The Artist” triumph is a bit exciting. Nevertheless, I don’t like this hysteria around the main actor. He is rather brilliant in Hazanavicius’ film but, in France, he is well-known for his “second  humor degree” films and was in a daily tv soap about a couple. It was a hit too but I never liked it. So, each time I went to the cinema and saw a film with Jean Dujardin (whom I am speaking of), I never thought that he could have been a serious actor and an Oscars© winner ! The fact that he won a prize in Cannes Festival made me think that an American producer would be smart enough to promote it to the States. That’s what Weinstein Company did. Lucky them ! Of course, winning an award for a performance in A film can be appreciated but I am quite disappointed because suddenly everyone is “Dujardin” fan. I appreciate his acting in “The Artist” but I still don’t fancy the actor.

Anyhow, congratulations to the entire crew of “The Artist” to make people recognize that dialogues are not the only purpose in a film !

Silent movies have many interests for me. I still don’t know when I have watched my first one, but it was probably with my grandfather on my father’s side. He & I were used to watch at movies a lot when I was a kid. Silent films almost always featured music (sometimes live, with a pianist). The first public projection of the Lumière Brothers in 1895 featured a pianist playing live music indeed.

I truly liked some silent films such as The Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915), Ben Hur (1925), Way Down East (1920), The Gold Rush (1925), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), The Circus (1928), Sherlock Jr (1924), and Seven Chances (1925). They are basic and the most popular furthermore they are still remarkable.

Georges Méliès used the early “trick” (such as hand-tinted)  for fantasy films in Europe and in “Annabelle Serpentine Dance” (1894), the young dancer Annabelle Whitford was wearing white veils that change colors as she dances. It was quite revolutionary and amazing.

The utilization of Sepia-tinted was also a main trick. For instance, in “Broken Blossoms” (1919), featuring the stars Lilian Gish & (handsome) Richard Barthelmess, is an exemple of sepia-tinted print and gave the images a so lovely reflection. I truly like Sepia in photography.

Apart from colors, music was also important in silent films. Not only had the pianist sitting in the theatre to entertain the audience, but the music added within the film. I guess that we are not used to that anymore. Sounds are too noisy nowadays in cinema. Sometimes, music hides the dialogues, and ruins the scene.

I truly think that somehow silent scenes (or with few words involved) are the most magnificent ! A look, a sign or whisper is sufficient to share a feeling or an emotion. The silent actors were outrageous in their acting, no doubt about that, but their feelings in pantomime were all stunning.  

Just have a look at “Way Down East” and “Broken Blossoms” (especially final scene) to comprehend how silent films are major into cinema, and not only because in the story of Cinema.

Cinema & I

I can’t remember a single evening without watching a movie when I was a kid. Here again, my grandparents were the teachers. Western films were popular and my granddads loved them. War, Thrillers or suspense films too. They let me watch 20’s films like “Le Cuirassé Potemkine” which was fascinating. I saw French, American, British, German films from 20’s to 70’s. From 7 to 14, I was just influenced by my family tastes, my friends’ and classmates’ or the teenage magazines’ choices. One of my first love was Western (Ford, Hathaway, Fonda) and some musicals.

Two films changed my point of view on movies : Outsiders by Francis Ford Coppola (1983) & Salvador by Oliver Stone (1986).

“Outsiders” were a shock because I had never heard about that novel before and never been interested into American 60’s culture (I was 13 then). But the context, the story and the characters were extremely attractive. The way Coppola filmed it too. I remember going to the bookstore to get a copy of the novel and read it straight after. I think that I saw this movie about 4 times within the month ! So far, whenever I watch to it, the feelings pop up and I am still moved to tears immediately. And believe me, I am not an emotive person at movies !

The second shock was directed by American director Oliver Stone ; His film popped up in my cinema life and everything changed. His film : Salvador. I was not supposed to go and see this movie at the theater but my classmates I went to movies with, weren’t that keen on this film and I refused to go and see this “stupid teenage” film they wanted to. So, I went on my own and it was an astound. I’d heard about the Salvador political situation as I am into History but I was not prepared to such violence and images. Oliver Stone became my true favorite director and so far, even though some films weren’t that good, he’s still the most significant filmmaker for me.

I love a lot of movies and I am a good audience when it comes to films. The only category I don’t really like is romcom as American called it : Romantic Comedies. I am not that romantic and a very few romantic films fancy me. The last one I truly liked was “Bright Star” directed by Jane Campion, based upon John Keats’ life… you know, back to Literature and poetry !

In opposite, I like thrillers, Sci-Fi, Historic drama or social films. Apart from Oliver Stone, my favorite directors are Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam, David Fincher, and Kenneth Branagh. Of course, many others directed films I really loved and that I can watch many times, but those directors influenced the creative part of me.

For instance, I guess that Ken Loach still does a great job and “ae fond kiss “ and “The Wind that skakes the Barley” are two must-see.

I am used to go twice a week at movies, but sometimes I don’t have enough time to do so. TV is good alternative solution because you can watch at movies you missed and judge by yourself. I don’t like popular films because this effect of “you must like this film” irritates me. I’ve noticed that the most popular films the fewer enthusiasm I get. I have to be surprised, thrilled and speechless whatever the category of the film is. For Instance, among the latest films I adored, Fincher’s “Seven” is probably on the top of the list. Fincher is a genius ! Literally ! The audience was fascinated with Seven and Fincher made us realized that reality is probably worse than imaginary.

I could go on and on about movies I liked. I should do a list of my “true favorite films”, but it would be too ostentatious and too long to be done in this paper.

Just a few more words about movies ; I can’t talk about movies without mentioning actors. Here again, a few really got me. Some are dead now, some aren’t. But they will keep on mesmerizing me. I would just pay a tribute to one of those : River Phoenix.