Except for some masterful, isolated instances of sound (the background music, some sound effects in one particular scene, and then some dialog and other assorted sounds at the very end), 2011's The Artist is what we refer to as a "silent" film.
I didn't see this film until I recently bought a used copy of the DVD. I had no idea that the movie had won five Academy Awards, but after viewing it, I understood why.
The other day, after having watched it for the second time, I noticed on the DVD "menu" that there was a listing for "captions & subtitles." I immediately wondered, "What the hell for?" Most of the dialog in the film appeared on what they call "intertitles" or "title cards."
Here are just some examples of what the closed captioning said:
- [orchestra playing tender, yearnful melody]
- [weary melody ends]
- [foreboding music playing]
- [lively jazz playing]
- [music stops]
- [frenzied, discordant music plays]
And then, of course, there's my absolute favorite:
- [silence]
No, really. I swear.
WTF?!?
Thanks for your time.
