Ok I realise now...Yes! I’m biased!! But you have to admit all Chaplin's films...they're pretty damn perfect! 1936's Modern Times is another example of this. This was his last "silent" film...a term I use loosely because for a silent film there is a heck of a lot of talking and sound effects in it! What else was he supposed to do?? The "Talkies" were killing off his medium!
In the film Chaplin turns against modern society, the machine age and man's technological progress. IMDB terms it thus: "Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital... When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out."
What I particularly love about this film is Chaplin's genius use of the vaudeville sight gags. This film is little more than a series of comedy skits strung together on an apparently flimsy clothesline of a plot yet it delivers such a strong, time-transcending message about poverty stricken populations.
My favourite scene in this film would have to be lunchtime in the jail. Whilst contentedly eating his soup the fellow inmate next to Chaplin pours his stash of cocaine into the table's salt shaker to avoid a run in with the ever watchful guards. Chaplin then proceeds to season his soup with the drug and enjoys a rather trippy...slightly aggressive ride!
One reason why this film should be remembered by audiences and be recognised for its historical value is because this was the last major American film to make use of silent film conventions such as title cards for dialogue. The very last dialogue title card of this film (and thus, it can be said, the entire silent era) belongs to The Tramp, who says "Buck up - never say die! We'll get along."
And it ends on Chaplin's well loved open road. Our two main characters walk off into the distance happy and content. Sigh! It's all very moving and metaphoric and...And stuff!
Don't overlook this film! Its story is just as relevant today as it was back in 1936. Of course we wouldn’t watch the film and brand Chaplin a communist today...that's the only difference I can think of!
The English Patient; what can I say folks...it's slow! Slow...like the overly gorgeous girl at school! Anthony Minghella’s OSCAR Award winning film runs for 162 minutes...i only enjoyed the last 20!
At the close of WWII, a young nurse (Juliette Binoche) tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim (Ralph Fiennes). His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair with the exquisite Kristin Scott Thomas.
At first I was excited to watch this film. It blitzed the 1996 Academy Awards; nominated for 12 awards, eventually winning 9! But about half an hour in all I was doing was staring at a mutilated Ralph Fiennes and thinking...so that’s why Lord Voldemort looked like that...
The performances by Fiennes, Binoche, Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe and Colin Firth are exceptional however and made the film just that tad bit tolerant to watch. I’m a sucker for love stories but this one left me high and dry. There are moments...Dafoe’s thumb removal scene and Fiennes’s drunken, fiery rant at the dinner party are ones that are particularly enjoyable...but then it nose dives again into boringness.
I’m sure the older generations would love this movie. I and other members of Gen Y probably would pass on this film every time though.
The film has a slight David Lean feel; an epic love story set against an arid desert landscape. The cinematography, remarkably and sophistically accomplished by John Seale is worth a mention. The desert never looked better...or harsher.
Critics would say that the slow action “simmers” throughout the film...I say it “slithers”! Be patient with The English Patient. If you make it to the last enjoyable 20 minutes...you’ve done well.
It's another Chaplin film this week possums! A film that can be summed up in one word...MASTERPIECE! Trust me when I tell you this is about as close to movie perfection as you're gonna get! The perfect blend of pantomime and pathos. (It is after all a Chaplin film)
A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind girl (Virginia Cherrill). Her family is in financial trouble. The tramp's on-and-off friendship with a wealthy, booze-loving gentleman allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
City Lights was Chaplin's first film made during the sound era: released 1931. He faced extreme pressure to make the film as a talkie, but such was his popularity and power in Hollywood that he was able to complete and release the film as a silent (albeit with recorded music) at a time when the rest of the American motion picture industry had converted to sound.
I find it incredibly funny when I watch this film. As a passionate Chaplin fan i know anything and everything there is to know about his career and life. As i watch the tear-jerking chemistry between the tramp and the blind flower girl i cannot help but inwardly chuckle because I know wat lurking behind the silent faces...Chaplin's relationship with Cherrill was not a friendly one. At one point, Cherrill came back to the set late from an appointment, keeping Chaplin waiting. He fired her on the spot. He intended to reshoot the film. However, Chaplin had already spent far too much time and money on the project to start over. Knowing this, Cherrill offered to come back to work - at double her original salary. Chaplin reluctantly agreed and the film was completed.
The Boxing Scene is the icing on the cake in this film for me. Like a delicate, masterful ballet it simmers with wit and perfectly timed and executed slapstick. It really is remarkable and side-splittingly funny! And then you look behind the laughs and realise why the tramp is doing this...he's putting his life on the line for the girl he loves. The Tramp...a true romantic! In 2008, this film was voted #1 on AFI's list over the ten best romantic comedies of all time.
And for those who may read this and find my opinion as insignificant...I leave you with this thought...Emma Stone's said City Lights was her favorite film alongside Woody Allen's Manhattan. SHE'S HOT...YOU KNOW WE GONNA LISTEN TO HER!
