I had two different experiences watching The Artist today and I highly enjoyed them both!

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2013)

I just watched this movie twice today. The first time was on Netflix as it was originally presented with Ludovic Bource's score. The second time was at the Baton Rouge Gallery in the first of this year's Music & Movies on the Lawn series with live musical accompaniment by a band called Captain Green. I liked Bource's vintage late-'20s-early-'30s tribute score but I also was entertained by Captain Green's more late-'60s-early-'70s accompaniment especially when they used a couple of Beatles' songs-"Eleanor Rigby" and "All You Need is Love"-for the climatic scenes. I do have to admit, however, that the sound effects dream sequence and the dialogue scene at the end was more convincing in the original version (since there weren't enough FX and no speaking in the live version). Either way, the performances of Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo are convincing enough that you root for them all the way and, oh, that dog is such a scene stealer, isn't he? So on that note, The Artist was a great experience for me both times.