Whoa I didn't mean to write this muchtilly_stratfordJune 26 2010, 11:14:12 UTC
Yay mention of Chaplinhair!
I remember watching The Great Dictator when I was fourteen or so with my father at a cinema in Oslo and I thought it was completely magical - also I fell a little bit in love with Chaplin, like you. It was my first introduction to silent movies, and I loved it all.
But then a couple of years ago I saw my first Buster Keaton movie and I realized the things that bothered me about Chaplin movies - not only how they're usually drenched in pathos, but mostly how much the Tramp is like a conventional clown, slightly insufferable in his cuteness and innocence. When the Tramp encounters a person who doesn't like him he usually tries to endear himself by becoming even more childlike, and in the company of a girl he might at most dare to hold her hand. Keaton characters are far more dynamic to me, he'll try to beat the villains and glomp the girls. The Tramp is a child in a grown man's body, and things like that always makes me slightly uncomfortable.
But then again I think Chaplin made the better movies (with the exception of The General, nothing can beat that) from a plot and execution perspective, even if they're less funny to me. The music is always outstanding, I almost prefer Chaplin as a composer to the film maker.
Speaking of Chaplin's talkies, you should see Limelight! It's sentimental as all hell and a real tearjerker, but the plot is so deliciously meta. And Buster Keaton makes an appearance!
Re: Whoa I didn't mean to write this muchmy_darogaJune 30 2010, 14:24:05 UTC
Yes, it's interesting. Keaton appeals to me more as a screen persona, while I think when I'm watching the Tramp I am specifically watching Chaplin play the Tramp, the layers of which I find more interesting and while allow me a handle by which to enjoy it. Because if the Tramp is a child in a grown man's body, it is desperately interesting to me to wonder what was behind that. (Plus I do sort of have a thing... I would hesitate to actually call it sexual, but Chaplin is so wee and endearing.)
But I do find Chaplin's films less funny. Though, yes, his talent is prodigious and the music writing and everything else just shows a mutli-facted genius. We were watching a bit of Unknown Chaplin the other day that had a scene cut from City Lights where he basically plays with a stick in a grate for seven minutes. It was fantastic, and I was totally entertained.
I remember watching The Great Dictator when I was fourteen or so with my father at a cinema in Oslo and I thought it was completely magical - also I fell a little bit in love with Chaplin, like you. It was my first introduction to silent movies, and I loved it all.
But then a couple of years ago I saw my first Buster Keaton movie and I realized the things that bothered me about Chaplin movies - not only how they're usually drenched in pathos, but mostly how much the Tramp is like a conventional clown, slightly insufferable in his cuteness and innocence. When the Tramp encounters a person who doesn't like him he usually tries to endear himself by becoming even more childlike, and in the company of a girl he might at most dare to hold her hand. Keaton characters are far more dynamic to me, he'll try to beat the villains and glomp the girls. The Tramp is a child in a grown man's body, and things like that always makes me slightly uncomfortable.
But then again I think Chaplin made the better movies (with the exception of The General, nothing can beat that) from a plot and execution perspective, even if they're less funny to me. The music is always outstanding, I almost prefer Chaplin as a composer to the film maker.
Speaking of Chaplin's talkies, you should see Limelight! It's sentimental as all hell and a real tearjerker, but the plot is so deliciously meta. And Buster Keaton makes an appearance!
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But I do find Chaplin's films less funny. Though, yes, his talent is prodigious and the music writing and everything else just shows a mutli-facted genius. We were watching a bit of Unknown Chaplin the other day that had a scene cut from City Lights where he basically plays with a stick in a grate for seven minutes. It was fantastic, and I was totally entertained.
I will totally see Limelight. It looks very meta!
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