While sitting bored at my job perusing Hulu, I came across Chaplin. I'd heard of the film of course but have just never gotten around to watching it. Perhaps subconsciously part of the reason was because I didn't want to hate it. I'm a huge Chaplin fan...he's one of the reasons I love film so much. Though we all know this, I don't think it can be stressed enough how instrumental he was during such a critical time in motion picture history, and thus in world history. Obviously the entertainment industry is incredibly successfull and influential and Mr. Chaplin was a leading force in where we are today. (However I do believe that he would have been pretty disgusted with many of the antics played by Hollywood business men today and the lack of creativity compared to film's origins.)
But I digress...
As far as the actual film goes, I really did like it. I think it's a huge and very difficult undertaking to portray the life of such an important man in the movie industry in a tasteful, accurate manner. I'd say that Robert Downey, Jr. did a really great job. Personally, I'm not always a fan but he did a great job mastering Chaplin's mannerisms, especially as The Tramp. I can't believe he didn't win the Oscar ...he was nominated for the role in 1993 but Al Pacino took home the statue for The Scent of a Woman. I haven't personally seen that film but it must have been really awesome...or it could have been a political win. You'd think that the man who played Charlie Chaplin himself would have been an easy go. Again, I digress...
As far as what the film actually "looked like" I thought the sets and cinematography were really well done. For the most part I really felt like I was in the era they were portraying throughout the movie. Obviously since the film spans about 8 decades they had their work cut out for them...it was like 8 period pieces all in one and very believable as such. The difference in lighting, not just costumes or set pieces was very noticeable. I think this really helped the overall feel of the film.
Personally I was quite surprised that they didn't chronicle Chaplin's competition or the way that he handled it. Unless I missed it, Buster Keaton was not once mentioned. I mean, Keaton was one of the other huge influences during that time and it would have seemed only natural to note his existance at some point. They had a very interesting personal friendship; when Keaton's career tanked Chaplin helped him out both profesionally and personally. Chaplin also aided many other former coworkers and friends financially until they passed away. I think we missed out on that aspect of his character...
With all that said it was a very long and detailed film so I won't get into everything. I do have to say that for being nearly two and a half hours long, the pacing was spot on; I didn't get bored once. Definitely no easy feat... I really did enjoy myself watching it, it was really well done. With pieces like this though, you can't help but wonder what Chaplin himself would have thought. As an audience member who didn't know him personally I cannot attest to whether or not it was historically accurate and a good depiction. From what research I have done on his life, however I think they did a great job. I hope it's something of which he could be proud!
I want to close this post with a some of his quotes I found on imdb.com that I thought were funny and/or thought provoking. Hope you enjoy!
-The minute you bought your ticket you were in another world.
-The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.
-Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is "elephant".
-I don't believe that the public knows what it wants; this is the conclusion that I have drawn from my career.
-Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.
-Movies are a fad. Audiences really want to see live actors on a stage.
-It isn't the ups and downs that make life difficult; it's the jerks.
-Figuring out what the audience expects, and then doing something different, is great fun to me.
-I think a very great deal of myself. Everything is perfect or imperfect, according to myself. I am the perfect standard
But I digress...
As far as the actual film goes, I really did like it. I think it's a huge and very difficult undertaking to portray the life of such an important man in the movie industry in a tasteful, accurate manner. I'd say that Robert Downey, Jr. did a really great job. Personally, I'm not always a fan but he did a great job mastering Chaplin's mannerisms, especially as The Tramp. I can't believe he didn't win the Oscar ...he was nominated for the role in 1993 but Al Pacino took home the statue for The Scent of a Woman. I haven't personally seen that film but it must have been really awesome...or it could have been a political win. You'd think that the man who played Charlie Chaplin himself would have been an easy go. Again, I digress...
As far as what the film actually "looked like" I thought the sets and cinematography were really well done. For the most part I really felt like I was in the era they were portraying throughout the movie. Obviously since the film spans about 8 decades they had their work cut out for them...it was like 8 period pieces all in one and very believable as such. The difference in lighting, not just costumes or set pieces was very noticeable. I think this really helped the overall feel of the film.
Personally I was quite surprised that they didn't chronicle Chaplin's competition or the way that he handled it. Unless I missed it, Buster Keaton was not once mentioned. I mean, Keaton was one of the other huge influences during that time and it would have seemed only natural to note his existance at some point. They had a very interesting personal friendship; when Keaton's career tanked Chaplin helped him out both profesionally and personally. Chaplin also aided many other former coworkers and friends financially until they passed away. I think we missed out on that aspect of his character...
With all that said it was a very long and detailed film so I won't get into everything. I do have to say that for being nearly two and a half hours long, the pacing was spot on; I didn't get bored once. Definitely no easy feat... I really did enjoy myself watching it, it was really well done. With pieces like this though, you can't help but wonder what Chaplin himself would have thought. As an audience member who didn't know him personally I cannot attest to whether or not it was historically accurate and a good depiction. From what research I have done on his life, however I think they did a great job. I hope it's something of which he could be proud!
I want to close this post with a some of his quotes I found on imdb.com that I thought were funny and/or thought provoking. Hope you enjoy!
-The minute you bought your ticket you were in another world.
-The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.
-Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is "elephant".
-I don't believe that the public knows what it wants; this is the conclusion that I have drawn from my career.
-Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.
-Movies are a fad. Audiences really want to see live actors on a stage.
-It isn't the ups and downs that make life difficult; it's the jerks.
-Figuring out what the audience expects, and then doing something different, is great fun to me.
-I think a very great deal of myself. Everything is perfect or imperfect, according to myself. I am the perfect standard
