The Genius of Charlie Chaplin
Believe it...or not:
A few months ago I had never seen a Chaplin film.
I of course knew OF him - his Little Tramp character is, arguably, one of the most instantly recognisable characters of all time (hell, even Hitler aped a part of Chaplin's look), with his bowler hat, funny little moustache, baggy pants, floppy shoes, and of course, his cane. But, aside from some clips here and there over the years, I had never actually sat down at watched any of his films.
That's all changed now.
I decided, in order to pass film 101, that I needed to rectify my Chaplin-less existence, so I splurged and bought this box set:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0000AISJG/202-9818036-3598246?v=glance&n=283926
And I'm so glad I did - it was one of best purchases I've ever made.
A little while ago I wrote a small piece about Ray Garton (www.bitingdogpress.com/Bitingdogpub/garton/home.htm), which was included in a tribute book that was presented to the great writer at this years World Horror Convention. My piece was titled 'Ray Garton, You Know?" and was basically about how some writers you instantly know you're gonna love when you first read their work - as was the case with Ray Garton.
And was the case when I watched my first Chaplin film.
Now, my wife was almost as eager as I was to watch Chaplin's films, and so together, we sat down and started watching his feature films chronologically, starting with The Kid. I instantly knew I was going to love Chaplin. I knew I was in the hands of a master. I loved The Kid - it was as funny as it was moving (I dare anyone not to shed a tear at the sight of young Jackie Coogan crying, pleading for the Little Tramp to come and rescue him from being taken to the orphanage). But the incredible thing was, each film we watched was as good as, and sometimes better, than Chaplin's first feature.
Each film was in turns funny, poignant, even satirical.
And I learned something else - Chaplin's genius didn't just extend to his acting; he also wrote, directed and composed the music for every single one of his feature films (and a great deal of his shorts).
Just brilliant.
It's hard to pick a favourite - The Kid (1921) is wonderful, and contains, in my opinion, the best child performance in history; The Circus (1928) is arguably most out-and-out funniest; City Lights (1931) is incredibly moving, with possibly the best opening and closing scenes to any film I know of; The Great Dictator (1940) is a classic lampooning of the 3rd Reich.
But my two absolute favourites (I can't narrow it down to just one) have to be:
The Gold Rush (1925) & Modern Times (1936).
The first is a comedic masterpiece (and contains such classic scenes as the shoe eating, the dance of the bread rolls and the Tramp as a chicken), which also contains one of the most devastatingly sad scenes of any Chaplin film - when the Little Tramp is stood up on NYE.
The second is one of the best satires of our soul-destroying modern culture ever made. Containing such memorable moments as: the Tramp rolling through a cog-machine; being mistaken for a communist leader; and edging closer and closer to a dangerous fall in a department store. The film also contains the haunting song 'Smile' composed by Chaplin himself.
Chaplin's comedy is timeless - still as funny and even relevant as the day they were made. His films and comedic brilliance have influenced countless actors and directors (there was even a biopic made of Chaplin's life - called, strangley enough, Chaplin, which contained a masterful performance by Robert Downey Jr in the title role; even Johnny Depp chanelled the ghost of the great comedian [as well as Buster Keaton] in the quirky drama Benny & Joon).
If I had my way, all his films (including his many shorts; one - his WWI comedy Shoulder Arms (1918) - is among my favourite Chaplin films) would be mandatory viewing in every home (just like the entire Beatles catalogue should be mandatory listening).
I highly recommend you check out the films of Charles Chaplin.
Because genius never dies.
A few months ago I had never seen a Chaplin film.
I of course knew OF him - his Little Tramp character is, arguably, one of the most instantly recognisable characters of all time (hell, even Hitler aped a part of Chaplin's look), with his bowler hat, funny little moustache, baggy pants, floppy shoes, and of course, his cane. But, aside from some clips here and there over the years, I had never actually sat down at watched any of his films.
That's all changed now.
I decided, in order to pass film 101, that I needed to rectify my Chaplin-less existence, so I splurged and bought this box set:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0000AISJG/202-9818036-3598246?v=glance&n=283926
And I'm so glad I did - it was one of best purchases I've ever made.
A little while ago I wrote a small piece about Ray Garton (www.bitingdogpress.com/Bitingdogpub/garton/home.htm), which was included in a tribute book that was presented to the great writer at this years World Horror Convention. My piece was titled 'Ray Garton, You Know?" and was basically about how some writers you instantly know you're gonna love when you first read their work - as was the case with Ray Garton.
And was the case when I watched my first Chaplin film.
Now, my wife was almost as eager as I was to watch Chaplin's films, and so together, we sat down and started watching his feature films chronologically, starting with The Kid. I instantly knew I was going to love Chaplin. I knew I was in the hands of a master. I loved The Kid - it was as funny as it was moving (I dare anyone not to shed a tear at the sight of young Jackie Coogan crying, pleading for the Little Tramp to come and rescue him from being taken to the orphanage). But the incredible thing was, each film we watched was as good as, and sometimes better, than Chaplin's first feature.
Each film was in turns funny, poignant, even satirical.
And I learned something else - Chaplin's genius didn't just extend to his acting; he also wrote, directed and composed the music for every single one of his feature films (and a great deal of his shorts).
Just brilliant.
It's hard to pick a favourite - The Kid (1921) is wonderful, and contains, in my opinion, the best child performance in history; The Circus (1928) is arguably most out-and-out funniest; City Lights (1931) is incredibly moving, with possibly the best opening and closing scenes to any film I know of; The Great Dictator (1940) is a classic lampooning of the 3rd Reich.
But my two absolute favourites (I can't narrow it down to just one) have to be:
The Gold Rush (1925) & Modern Times (1936).
The first is a comedic masterpiece (and contains such classic scenes as the shoe eating, the dance of the bread rolls and the Tramp as a chicken), which also contains one of the most devastatingly sad scenes of any Chaplin film - when the Little Tramp is stood up on NYE.
The second is one of the best satires of our soul-destroying modern culture ever made. Containing such memorable moments as: the Tramp rolling through a cog-machine; being mistaken for a communist leader; and edging closer and closer to a dangerous fall in a department store. The film also contains the haunting song 'Smile' composed by Chaplin himself.
Chaplin's comedy is timeless - still as funny and even relevant as the day they were made. His films and comedic brilliance have influenced countless actors and directors (there was even a biopic made of Chaplin's life - called, strangley enough, Chaplin, which contained a masterful performance by Robert Downey Jr in the title role; even Johnny Depp chanelled the ghost of the great comedian [as well as Buster Keaton] in the quirky drama Benny & Joon).
If I had my way, all his films (including his many shorts; one - his WWI comedy Shoulder Arms (1918) - is among my favourite Chaplin films) would be mandatory viewing in every home (just like the entire Beatles catalogue should be mandatory listening).
I highly recommend you check out the films of Charles Chaplin.
Because genius never dies.
posted by BrettMcBean at 5:35 AM
3 Comments:
I know we talked about this last night, but what you have written here has definitely convinced me even more to check out some of his movies! Thanks for the recommendation :)
Well i'm glad. That was my intention ;-) I can lend you some if you'd like next time we catch up.
Just to let you know that I finally got around to watching my first Chaplin movie last night -- I hired Modern times on DVD. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to watching more of his movies :-)
Thanks for the recommendation!
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