It’s hard to find something to dislike about The Artist. The ambitions of director Michel Hazanavicius are admirable in making a silent film in black and white that is both true to its cinematic heritage and accessible to a contemporary audience. This film will hopefully shine a light on films from the actual silent era and the Golden Age of film in the 30’s and 40’s, which Hazanavicius so lovingly drew from.
The French director references several films in The Artist, including Citizen Kane, old Douglas Fairbanks pictures and F.W. Murnau among others. One reference, in particular, drew my attention and the attention of actress Kim Novak. The reference in question was not something from the film’s visual composition but, surprisingly, from its musical score. Although the official composer for The Artist is Ludovic Bource, whose work on the film has garnered him an Academy Award nomination, an even more prominent composer’s work is heavily featured in the film.
Bernard Hermann, the legendary film composer who scored films as wide ranging as Citizen Kane, Psycho, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, also wrote the music for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece, Vertigo. Arguably one of the greatest scores ever written for a film, the music for Vertigo is deeply passionate and saturated with paranoia and despair. It is a score that is so identifiable that once you hear it, you will never forget its haunting melodies.
So you can imagine my surprise when three quarters of the way through The Artist, the Vertigo score begins to play. Kim Novak, the star of Vertigo, was shocked as well, and took out an ad in the New Yorker in protest, going so far as to call the use of the score “a rape.” While that may be hyperbolic, I sympathize with Ms. Novak. Hearing the first notes of the Vertigo score completely took me out of the movie’s narrative. I felt that an attempt was being made to cut and paste the emotions surrounding the Vertigo score into The Artist.
Even more distressing is all of the nominations Mr. Bource’s score has received this award season, with scarcely any mention of Bernard Hermann. It is true that much of The Artist’s score is original, but it shocks me that more of a stink was not made by members of the Academy about this act of thievery.
Luckily, the one scene using Vertigo’s score does not ruin the movie. However, I encourage those filmgoers who wish to see The Artist to perhaps review Vertigo before you visit the theater and remember whose work you are truly appreciating when the scene in question begins.
Related posts:
- Pro The Artist
- Artist in Residence lectures on art and film industry
- Big budget films may be snubbed but not forgotten
- Post-blockbuster Hollywood? The rise of indie cinema
- Strange Journeys in Cult Films
