SilverWook said:

A silent movie just won the Oscar for best picture, so there's still hope this "talking pictures" fad will also die a long overdue death. ;)

it's not totally silent:

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/artist-lighthearted-entertaining-and-mostly-silent

The film has a few oddities and anachronisms. To begin with, it’s a silent movie about the birth of talkies, and that wouldn’t have been a subject for a silent flick.

The film is set between 1927 and 1932 but uses a couple of songs – Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “Pennies From Heaven” – that weren’t written until later.

But be warned that it takes a different kind of concentration to watch a silent film and that “The Artist” is not totally silent. There are a few sound effects, such as a shocker when a glass tinkles, and a few spoken words.

later

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