On Chaplin - a love declaration

[selenak]

Firstly, a poetry-related link. Seamus Heaney on his collaboration with Ted Hughes, and on collecting poems, here.

Secondly, as mentioned some entries earlier, I love silent movies. I love one actor/director/producer in particular. So watch me going on at length about him.

Comments

[twistingflame]

I love reading your posts about things that I haven't been much exposed to. The only silent film stuff I've seen has either been, like your earlier experiences, all sped up with the psycho piano music, or as clips of something another character is watching in a movie/tv show. I really don't have much productive to say other than how much I enjoyed your post, but I was curious about something. Have you had a chance to see The Cat's Meow? Eddie Izzard plays Chaplin, and it's a movie I really enjoyed. After this, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on it.

The Cat's Meow

[selenak]

Saw it, liked it very much. Peter Bogdanovich is great with ensemble movies. As for Eddie Izzard as Chaplin, despite lack of physical similarity I thought he was better than Robert Downey Jr. in the biopic. Or maybe The Cat's Meow was just a better film.

(Chaplin the movie suffered from the "worthiness" I mentioned in my earlier entry. You just wish Attenborough would have cut loose more aften like he does in the sequence where Chaplin "discovers" the little Tramp costume.)

[kernezelda]

Wonderful essay. I've never see any of Chaplin's films, either, other than the televised version you mentioned. Now I want to go out watch, not only Chaplin, but also his films.

Thank you!

[selenak]

That was the purpose of the exercise.

They just put all the feature-length ones on DVD - maybe you can rent them?