The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius’ delightful mash note to the silent cinema, is looking like a sure bet for heavy recognition at this year’s Oscars, racking up three SAG Award nominations, five Independent Spirit Award nominations, and six Golden Globe nominations, in addition to awards for best film of the year from the Boston Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Phoenix Film Critics Society, and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association. It’s easy to see why film critics in particular have taken to it: it evocatively tells the story of the end of the silent era as a silent movie, complete with black-and-white photography and period music (even using the traditional 1.33:1 aspect ratio).
But it’s not the first sound-era film to ape the silent style; aside from Chaplin’s final silent pictures, done well after sound had taken over, there’s Mel Brooks’ 1976 slapstick tribute Silent Movie, and Charles Lane’s 1989 indie Sidewalk Stories. What’s more, countless sound directors have used silent storytelling techniques to great effect, eschewing dialogue (and sometimes even sound effects) to work through their narrative beats via purely visual means. After the jump, we’ve assembled ten great “silent” scenes from the sound era; add your own in the comments.
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I’m a fan of subway film criticism. It’s one of the pleasures of being a movie fan in New York, like Film Forum double-features and midnight cult films at the Landmark Sunshine; a wise guy with a Sharpie often articulates our collective reaction to a film more succinctly with a few words on a subway ad than any number of critics can in a thousand-word review. Take, for example, this pointed little barb recently spotted on the L-line. Scrawled across the poster for Jack and Jill, the new Adam Sandler picture in which he plays both a regular Joe and — wait for it — his own twin sister, are the words “not even f*cking trying anymore.” Glancing over at Sandler’s wide-eyed mug, it seems a perfect marriage of word and image.
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Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. This week, we’ve got new films from Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh, and Guy Ritchie — but don’t get too excited, there’s a new Adam Sandler movie too. Check ‘em all out after the jump.
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This week’s news that DirecTV is launching a new, premium video-on-demand service, in which films that have been in theaters for as few as 60 days would be offered for home viewing (with a comparatively hefty $30 price tag) was mostly met with a collective shrug around here — mainly because the first movie on the menu is the tepid Sandler/Aniston effort Just Go With It, and seriously, who the hell would pay $30 to watch that sludge? But the notion of this collapsed “window” (the norm is about four months, though it was six or more in the VHS era) has got some filmmakers and suits all in a huff, and on Thursday, 23 of them signed their names to “AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY ON PROTECTING THE MOVIE-GOING EXPERIENCE.” You can read it here. I’ve taken the liberty of drafting an open response (which I guess you can co-sign, in the comments, if you want?) after the jump.
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For film fans, the must-read article of the week — to hell with that, the year — is Mark Harris’ brilliant think piece for GQ on the state of the current cinema, “The Day The Movies Died.” Harris, whose book Pictures at a Revolution is the single best piece of film writing of the last decade, despairs of a Hollywood that, in the words of a studio executive, “doesn’t tell stories anymore”; instead, it cranks out endless sequels and adaptations and remakes and reboots, more concerned with built-in brands than quality or craftsmanship.
“As you read this,” Harris writes, “the person who gave the go-ahead to Fast Five, the (I hate to prejudge, but…) utterly unnecessary fifth installment in the Vin Diesel–Paul Walker epic The Fast and the Furious, is sleeping soundly right now, possibly even at his desk. On June 10, 2011, he will bestow on several thousand screens a product that people have already purchased four times before. How can it miss?”
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1. In case you missed it before, last night The Daily Show ran a rather timely (and possibly NSFW) clip of Isabella Rossellini as a bedbug from her educational Green Porno series. [via Vulture]
2. Angelina Jolie will make her debut as both a director and screenwriter for an upcoming romantic drama that’s set during the Bosnian war. [via Us]
3. Between books, film, and TV shows, vampires have brought in about $7 billion since the Twilight film franchise launched less than two years ago. [via THR]
4. Definite downgrade: Now that she is done playing Jackie Kennedy, Katie Holmes might sign on for the part of Adam Sandler’s wife in Jack and Jill — a Thanksgiving comedy where he’ll take on the roles of a twin brother and sister. [via MTV]
5. Preliminary research shows that people who buy e-readers — an estimated 11 million Americans by the end of September — tend to spend more time than ever reading. [via WSJ]
Bonus link: Movies That Would Have Been Ruined by Facebook
When we talk about the impending Thanksgiving holiday at Flavorpill HQ, we’re generally not discussing the best way to cook a bird. (That might be partially due to the fact that half of our editorial team is vegetarian.) What we do tend to debate are the best holiday-related films and TV episodes. After the jump we’ve rounded up clips from 10 Turkey Day classics — from Adam Sandler’s performance of “The Thanksgiving Song” to South Park’s Helen Keller! The Musical. Enjoy, and add to our list in the comments.
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1. Check out the the trailer for Grown Ups, a new comedy starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade. [Yahoo! via Pop Candy]
2. Watch Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, and Lily Allen sing “Hey Jude” as part of the Children In Need Rocks gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall. [via NME]
3. Tate Britain welcomes its first female director, Penelope Curtis. [via Telegraph]
4. ABC is this close to ordering a pilot remake of Charlie’s Angels; Josh Friedman, who recently adapted the Terminator franchise for Fox, will write/executive produce. [via Variety]
5. David Lloyd, the sitcom writer responsible for the funniest episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show ever, has died at 75. Watch the clip and say it together with us: “A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down the pants.” [via The Awl]
Bonus link: The 15 Greatest Acts of Rock Rebellion
Who doesn’t envy the pants off Judd Apatow? This prolific writer of funny stories gets to hang out with some of the coolest comedians of our time, make successful big budget movies and even cast his wife and daughters. It’s like he has got the world in the palm of his hand. But at 2 hours and 20 minutes, his latest film Funny People also has some people shifting in their seats. Sure it’s funny, we could smell our neighbor’s breath he was cackling so hard. But it’s also a little too long and a little too light on the tragedy ingredient. Read More »
Perhaps the whole Christmas dinner with the family isn’t your thing, or maybe your religion requests that you stay as far away from the jolly fat man as possible (if that’s the case, we’re jealous) — but either way, there’s a reason why so many hotly-anticipated films open in theaters on Christmas Day … and it’s not so Santa’s elves would have something to do once their long shift finally ended.
Believe it or not, but a lot of people choose to spend their Christmas (which, in some circles, is just another day off from work) at the movies. And if you’re one of those people, then feel free to use the handy cheat sheet after the jump to help you decide what to see.
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