The Artist- A Hollywood Remake or Revolution?

The Artist is a new film phenomenon which looks at the transition from the silent film to the talkies. But this is not the first film to feature this theme.   When Arthur Freed's Singin' in the Rain came out in 1952 it took a jovial and comical look at the release of the first talkie.  When "The Duelling Cavalier" premieres, it is an unmitigated disaster as midway through the sound goes out of sync with the action.  The main star, Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood faces ritual humiliation.   The decision made?  To turn the film into a musical!   The only problem is that Lockwood's co-star Lena Lamont, played by Jean Hagen, is the antithesis of the triple threat.  She can't sing, she can't dance and she can't act.  Debbie Reynold's Kathy Selden is instead chosen to dub her and the renamed "The Dancing Cavalier" is a success.

Don Lockwood and his talkies star Kathy Selden

Singin' in the Rain has gained popularity throughout the years, but has not been without its share of notoriety.    Rather ironically, Debbie Reynold's Kathy Selden is picked to dub Jean Hagen's tone-deaf Lena Lamont.  But before starting Singing in the Rain, Reynolds said she didn't regard herself as much of a singer and certainly not a dancer.   Gene Kelly was a ferocious task master, working Reynolds right through until she burst a blood vessel in her foot and after filming was found to have an abnormally low heart rate.  Donald O Connor, who is rumoured to have smoked up to four packets of cigarettes a day during filming, was hospitalised after filming the Make Em' Laugh sequence.   Gene Kelly performed the title sequence with the flu.  When the film did come out, it was not the success hoped for but has since been recognised as one of the best musicals of all time, awarded for its cultural importance to American history.   The title song, itself written before the film,  has been remade numerous times and was recently remixed by Mint Royale.  It even featured in Britain's Got Talent with a dance routine by winner George Samson.   The song's ever endurance is testament to the success of the film.



The Artist- influenced by Singin In The Rain?

 Now, its 2012 and we see the release of the film, The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius.  Much like Singin' in the Rain's protagonist Don Lockwood, the film starts with George Valentin attending the premiere of his film, A Russian Affair.  Outside the premiere Peppy Miller is waiting to see her favourite film star and is acidentally knocked into him.  When she auditions as a dancer at a "Hollywoodland" studio, she is  made into a big star before making the notoriously difficult step into the talkies.  While "The Beauty Spot" is a hit, Valentin refuses to move into the new era of filmmaking and his silent film "Tears of Love" is a flop.  In the end, Miller saves Valentin literally from career suicide and persuades him to make a musical with her.

So why has the move from silent films to talkies gained such enduring popularity?  It was the most dramatic era in the history of film making.  Nobody had ever heard sound in film before.  The talkies "proved to be disastrous for vaudeville", the stage phenomenon of the day with many stars meeting their demise.  From the actual silent films, few actors survived.  Lillian Gish has had the longest career span in American history since first starring in silent films.  She is rivalled only by baby-faced Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney.  Technically, there were various sound problems encountered with sound.  This is made fun of during the Duelling Cavalier sequence in Singin In The Rain .  Furthermore,  many actors’ voices had never been heard in film before.  How would they translate to the big screen?  This was particularly problematic for actors "whose accents were thought to disrupt the American idiom", again poked fun of through Lamont's horrendous speaking voice.  Bring forward George Valentin in The Artist, whose strong French accent is only revealed at the end.  It is hinted throughout the film, to be one of several reasons why he does not move into the talkies.

The Artist- The New Golden Age of Hollywood?

The Artist is predominantly a silent film, using music and some spoken words throughout.  While it is not Singing In The Rain, there are certainly throwbacks to the film including a comical cavalier sequence and a rather annoying blonde co-star, played by Missi Pyle, towards the beginning.  The film is influenced by other films of Hollwood's "golden age." George Valentin even comes to resemble Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard as in one scene he watches his silent fims alone, reminiscing about the good old days.  But while the film has been influenced by thematic elements from Hollywood's golden age, it is revolutionary for modern day cinema.   We are used to many films so laden with special effects and Hollywood names that the plots and film making itself become shallow  (New Year's Eve anyone?)  Here we have a film stripped right down so  the art behind it can be appreciated.  Big names like John Goodman are used, but do not sell the film.  It is also interesting to note that the film does use spoken words and sounds whereas silent films relied entirely on moving pictures and text to tell the story.    When Singin in the Rain came out it struggled to get the popularity it merited.  So would the Artist, a film which depicts the struggles of the same era but with virtually no speech, fare any better? 

So far, The Artist has made the transition from modern "talkies" back to the silent film well.  It was filmed in the same .33:1 "Academy ratio" as silent films, as director Michel Hazanivicius believed it would give the actors presence and strength. Hazanivicius’s ambitions have led to success as the film picked up three trophies at the Golden Globes.   It is now hotly tipped for Oscar buzz but filmgoers know that Oscar success is not guaranteed just because a film does well at the Golden Globes.  Havanicicius's main stars have literally followed in the footsteps of  Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, rehearsing many of the film's dance scenes in the same studio as their predecessors.  But While Singin' in The Rain did not fare so well initially, its increasing popularity and success has been seen throughout the years.  Only the years to come will judge if Hazanivicius's film, too, will be regarded as a piece of film history.