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This thread will be a tribute to Charlie Chaplin. THE director. THE comedian. THE writer. THE music scorer. He held creative control his entire life, and it was all worth it.

I'd like to make this a tribute to his films. And the bio pic starring Robert Downey Jr.(before the whole "drug" thing)

So let's start shall we?

Here are a list of some of his films and shorts I like.

The Gold Rush
The Immigrant
The Great Dictator
Modern Times
A Night At the Show
Shangheid
By the Sea
The Bank
The Cure
The Tramp
The Floorwalker
The Vagabond

to much to list....ill get on it later

has anyone here even heard of charlie chaplin?? man, you guys are deprived

We've heard of him. Some of us even admire him. Give it time...this thread may survive yet. But don't hold your breath.

Anyway, "The Gold Rush" is probably my favorite of his. I used to have it on video (and may get it on DVD one of these days), and watched it quite often. Several years ago, I taped a movie from AMC (in the good ol' days before they had commercial interruptions every five freakin' minutes) called "4 Clowns". It featured silent shorts and features from Oliver and Hardy, Buster Keaton and Charley Chase. Funny, funny stuff!

I love Charlie Chaplin. He and Buster Keaton were some of the first great comedians. I actually haven't had a chance to see The Great Dictator yet but I really want to. His only film in sound.

CHAPLIN....funny, or pathetic. Genius or cretin?


The debate starts....well.....uh.....here!!!!!



movie quote:

'I'm a female and i want to be wooed!'
'Oooh, you can be as wooed as you like with me!'


Name the film, folks!

Chaplin had a hard life until he became an actor but it depends. People who are 60-90 probably love him. But its slapstick comedy and people dont really appreciate that kind of comedy anymore.

I love his stuff....modern times and city lights are two favs of mine...not to mention the Great Dictator. The beauty of Chaplin's movies is best summed up in one sentence:

He could, and still can, make people laugh without sound.

I also thought Downey did a good job portraying him (compared to whom?). I would like to see new biopics of Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Fatty Arbuckle as well.

Chaplin is, along with Stanley Kubrick, the OTHER genius of the cinema. Like the bearded wonder, he worked long and hard on a film and when that film was released, it was met with controversy and, in some cases, bitterness. Both artists are now recognised as true visionaries of their time, and although Chaplin was more often than not just a silly man with a tache and a silly walk, his greatest films reflect the social upheavals of the time. In films like Modern Times and The Great Dictator, he moved away from simple slapstick and tackled contemporary, whether it was social depression and communism, or totalitarianism from Nazi Germany. As for images to burn forever, try the single greatest close-up in film history - City Lights, the majestic ballet with the floating globe - The Great Dictator, and the iconic last image of the final shot of the Tramp, heading off - for the first ever time- with a companion, in Modern Times. A true genius and a misunderstood visionary that dared to create art when the cinema form was still being ridiculed.
For the record, here are my favourite Chaplin films in order of preference:

City Lights - simply perfection
Modern Times - Timeless
The Gold Rush - hilarious and exciting
The Great Dictator - apart from a lame ending, a triumph
The Circus - lesser work, but still a classic
The Kid - breaks the heart to this day
A Woman Of Paris - proof that he could handle drama
Monsieur Verdoux - daring
Limelight - his true swansong