A movie set in Hollywood's silent era that is virtually wordless: a gimmick? No: sustained cinematic inspiration. For our first No. 1 movie since 2007 that's not an animated feature (you could look it up), we choose this delightfully inventive comedy about a swashbuckling star (supreme Gallic charmer Jean Dujardin) and the peppy waif (Bérénice Bejo) he befriends. Historians of antique cinema will tell you to imagine that Douglas Fairbanks had John Gilbert's talkie troubles while Ginger Rogers was on the rise. We'll just say: Think Singin' in the Rain, but silent and in black-and-white, and reveling in the same fondness, acumen and effervescence. French writer-director Michel Hazanavicius transported the two stars of his OSS 117 films to Hollywood, hired American actors (James Cromwell, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller) in supporting roles, had the cast speak their dialogue (shown in intertitles) in English and somehow achieved the impossible balance of comic pastiche and earned emotion. There's also an adorable dog. Skeptical readers are welcome to discount the praise of old movie critics for a movie about old movies, but we see a treat in store for anyone open to sheer joy. Here's a film so seductive it could leave you...speechless.
The Top 10 Everything of 2011
- Top 10 Albums
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- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Business Blunders
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Comebacks
- Top 10 Consumer-Spending Trends
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Campaign-Debate Moments
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- Top 10 Memes
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- Top 10 New Findings in Parenting
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Numbers
- Top 10 Oddball-News Stories
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- Top 10 People Not Running for President
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Protest Signs
- Top 10 Quotes
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- Top 10 Ridiculously Obvious Study Findings
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Smart-Phone Apps
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Space Moments
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- Top 10 U.S.-News Stories
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- Top 10 Video Games
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- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 World-News Stories
- Top 10 Photos of the Year
In 54 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months