The Artist: Press reviews

'A bona fide classic. You won't get the smile off your face all the way home.'

'Film of the year and a joy forever.'

'A silent celebration of early Hollywood is visually ravishing, heart-warming and utterly beguiling.'

'What a wonderful picture this is: one of those films you yearn to watch again and again, while yet being fearful of spoiling the experience. It is one of the most eloquent movies imaginable.'

At Cannes: 'Endlessly inventive, packed with clever sight-gags and rich in stunningly achieved detail, The Artist is a pastiche and a passionate love letter to the silent age; it takes the silent movie seriously as a specific form, rather than as obsolete technology, and sets out to create a new movie within the genre'

At Cannes: 'Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist, added to the Cannes competition at the last minute, is both a surefire crowdpleaser and a magnificent piece of film-making. Whatever else, this is also surely the most enjoyable contender for the Palme d'Or this year'

'a fabulously enjoyable entertainment that restores faith in cinema's continuing ability to find new surges of energy – even if that does mean going back in time.'

'A truly incredible film that will have you leaving the cinema with a smile on your face.'

At Cannes: 'This made-in-L.A. French feature will charm cinephiles with its affection for one of the movies' golden ages'

At Cannes: 'Possibly one of the most joyously enjoyable films to screen in the Cannes competition - especially for lovers of classic Hollywood cinema - The Artist is a real pleasure'

'Comedy is one thing, but pathos is also plentiful – wry, graceful, understated – and charm, which you can't manufacture.'

'a fully achieved work'

'It's lovingly corny, great fun, good-looking and respectful.'

'This elegantly crafted salute to yesteryear is well worth shouting about.'

At Cannes: 'A love letter to silent cinema sealed with a smirk, "The Artist" reteams director Michel Hazanavicius with dapper "OSS 117" star Jean Dujardin for another high-concept homage, delivering a heartfelt, old-school romance without the aid of spoken dialogue or sound'

'It may be something less than a great movie, but it is an irresistible reminder of nearly everything that makes the movies great.'