Blu-ray, DVD Release: The Artist

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 26, 2012
Price: DVD $30.99, Blu-ray $35.99
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment


The Artist2012 Best Picture Academy Award winner The Artist was called “a love letter to the movies” by The Los Angeles Times.

Silent and shot in black and white, the film is set in 1927 Hollywood and tells the story of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin, The Players), a silent movie star. The introduction of the talkies is leading to the end of Valentin’s career, but young extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo, A Knight’s Tale) is poised for major movie stardom. Their stories interlink.

The cast also stars John Goodman (The Big Lebowski), James Cromwell (Secretariat), Penelope Ann Miller (Carlito’s Way), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) and the Jack Russell terrier Uggie that we loved in Water for Elephants.

Rated PG-13, The Artist also won Oscars for Best Actor Oscar (Dujardin), Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius, OSS 117: Lost in Rio), Best Musical Score and Best Costume Design.

Silent movie? Really? Black and white? But don’t discount the film yet. Critics weren’t the only ones who loved The Artist when it was in theaters. The romance movie got a 90% approval rating from moviegoers (98% from critics) on Rotten Tomatoes and earned $43 million in a long-running mainly arthouse theater release.

Although some critics say the story drags, they all agree that the movie is gorgeous, heartfelt and spirited.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray have special features. Here’s the list:

  • blooper reel
  • Q&A with the filmmakers and cast
  • location tour featurette “Hollywood as a Character: The Locations of The Artist
  • behind-the-scenes featurette “The Artist: The Making of a Hollywood Love Story”
  • and four mini featurettes “The Artisans Behins The Artist” on the costume design, cinematography, production design and composer.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray also include UltraViolet, allowing a digital copy of the movie to be downloaded or instantly streamed.

Buy or Rent The Artist
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About S. Clark

Sam Clark is the former Managing Editor/Online Editor of Video Business magazine. With 19 years experience in journalism, 12 in the home entertainment industry, Sam has been hooked on movies on since she saw E.T. then stared into the sky waiting to meet her own friendly alien. Thanks to her husband’s shared love of movies, Sam reviews Blu-ray discs in a true home theater, with a 118-inch screen, projector and cushy recliners with cup holders.