The Artist Soundtrack [2011]

Amongst this flurry of Oscar bait movies, here’s one you shouldn’t discount until you’ve seen it: Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST, a Black & White silent film that evokes Hollywood’s silent film era of the late 1920s.


THE ARTIST was the first film to really generate a ‘Best Picture’ buzz during this year’s Cannes Film Festival. An epic celebration of Hollywood’s silent film era during the late 1920s (think Moulin Rouge sans actual singing since it was the silent era of filmmaking after all), French director Michel Hazanavicius (OSS 117) has a discerning eye for crafting period pieces.



The plot is fairly straightforward, George Valentin (Dujardin) is a big silent film star, but with the advent of sound and talkies, his career begins to wither away, as its a new era and no one wants to see an old star. Early on, he bumps into Peppy Miller (Bejo), a wannabe starlet who starts with small side roles and eventually becomes the new hot thing, breaking out big with the talkies. George even has a Jack Russell Terrier who follows him around is on screen in every scene he is, just like in the old days. There's a bit of a love story, but it's more of a tragedy about the downfall of an actor at the advent of technological progression.




Music composed by Ludovic Bource.

Tracklisting
01. The artist ouverture [01:02]
02. 1927 a russian affair [03:36]
03. George Valentin [05:36]
04. Pretty Peppy [02:32]
05. At the Kinograph Studios [01:37]
06. Fantaisie d'amour [03:09]
07. Waltz for Peppy [03:22]
08. Ginastera, Alberto - Estancia op. 8 [03:41]
09. Imagination (Livingston)[02:56]
10. Silent rumble [01:16]
11. 1929 [01:32]
12. In the stairs [03:15]
13. Jubilee stomp (Ellington, Duke) [02:35]
14. Comme une rosée de larmes [03:24]
15. The sound of tears [04:48]
16. Pennies from heaven (Burke, Johnny) [02:14]
17. 1931 [04:47]
18. Jungle bar [02:07]
19. L'ombre des flammes [05:58]
20. Happy ending... [05:44]
21. Charming blackmail [02:12]
22. Ghosts from the past [02:01]
23. My suicide (dedicated 03.29.1967) [06:25]
24. Peppy and George [02:05]  

Enjoy with FLAC if you like.