Over the last couple of days, the romance The Artist has been getting a lot of attention at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Likewise, the film’s music composed by French composer Ludovic Bource has been receiving a lot of praise from critics and might be an early contender for the upcoming Awards season. The black-and-white silent film takes place in 1927 Hollywood and focuses on a silent movie star whose career seems about to be ended because of the arrival of the talkies. At the same time, a pretty young extra sees the new format as an opportunity to launch her star. The movie stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Missi Pyle and Penelope Ann Miller. The film is directed by Michel Hazanavicius. Bource has scored the director’s previous three features Mes amis, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117 – Lost in Rio. The Weinstein Company is expected to pick up domestic rights for The Artist and will be releasing the movie towards the end of the year.
The only previous scores composed by Bource that are currently available in the US are the soundtrack albums for the French spy comedy movie series OSS 117. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, which the composer co-scored with Kamel Ech-Cheik is available as a digital a release on Amazon and Bource’s sequel score for OSS 117 – Lost in Rio can be downloaded here.
Has anyone heard any other details pertaining to the score for the Artist and when it might be released?
dear Shelley – Ludovic bource’s score for “The Artist” is a fraud! It contains stolen sections from Bernard Hermann’s score for the Alfred Hitchcock film “Marnie”!! Im not talking about a few bars. Its the whole section featuring the descending augmented 4th motif in the strings. stephen goldstein
As I was watching the film, I was sure the music was lifted from VERTIGO, another Hermann score, and just now watched the Hitchcock film. Bource used the VERTIGO theme pretty much note for note. We can’t be the only two, Stephen, to notice that.
Well… actually, it is not a steal but the actual piece from Vertigo (Scène d’Amour) for which Bernard Herrmann is rightfully acknowlegded in the end credits….
Ludovic Bource quotes other composers in his score. I heard a clear quote from Holst’s Saturn for example. Of course, his use of Herrmann’s score is no mere quote. But then again this is the sort of thing that was going on during the silent movie era — especially when it was just an organ that was played as live accompaniment. Lots of stuff was routinely imported.
Watching the film yesterday, I kept hearing the start of a Kurt Weill tune but was unable to place it. Speak Low?