Chaplin Revue

'...the classic scene of him walking off into the distance, swinging his walking stick is an iconic moment in movie history.'

poignant and comical. these two words describe Sir Charles Chaplin's brilliant masterpieces (even if i haven't seen them all yet). in 'The Kid', 'The Gold Rush', 'The Circus', 'Modern Times', and 'City Lights', his subtle interpretation of sadness and laughter could not be bettered by his contemporaries. truly, no one on earth could make audience laugh and cry at the same time but Chaplin himself. these films, i believe, could be his greatest (my views could change because i haven't seen all his works yet). all featured 'The Little Tramp': poor, lonely, seeking for romance, and trying with all his might to get away from trouble and please his love interest. he has no friends, a loner, living in a world only he can understand, but tries to act like everybody else when forced by the situation. some say that The Tramp was once a rich and respected man, but had became penniless not forgetting a sophisticated and gentlemanly disposition, possibly reliving his past.

The Kid (1921)

'The Kid' would be one of his most artistic film with comedy and drama perfectly combined. the story begins with a woman 'whose only sin was motherhood' walking out of a charity hospital with a baby in her arms. she left him inside a car with a note ('Please care for and love this orphan child'). thieves steal the car and dump the baby. a strolling tramp finds him, mistakes a woman pasing by with another child for his mother, and hesitantly takes him home after reading the note. as he grows into a five-year-old boy, he establishes a heart-warming relationship with The Tramp. he becomes his partner-in-crime, breaking windows while his adopter earns honest living through these breakages. the drama reaches the point of pathos when the social workers tries to take the kid away to the orphanage. The Tramp's struggle and fight to keep him is definitely a stab in one's heart, making the audience an emphatic observer. this is just the penultimate. such feeling reaches its ultimate during their reunion where they share an ardent embrace.

Chaplin made this film while on a personal crises: the recent death of his first child and issues with his first wife. however, his artistic genius still prevailed, undoubtedly drawing inspiration from his childhood days, which were reflected on this film. 'The Kid' intensified his fame, and Jackie Coogan found his break. after its theatrical release, praises from critics and powerful personalities swarmed the two protagonists.

viewing 'The Kid' is a privilege and an emotional trigger. two contrasting emotions were felt and kept me glued to this work of art. never had I encounter a complete timeless classic experience, until Chaplin introduced me to it. (Keaton's classics were great and provided the pieces, but Chaplin put them all together). for those who haven't seen this, your film experience will be incomplete. better make this a part of your list. for those who consider silent classic films one-note, i don't know what kind of art perfection you are looking for if you are not moved by what this film could offer and make you.

The Gold Rush (1925)

i first read about the Klondike Gold Rush through Jack London's 'The Call of the Wild' and 'To Build A Fire.' truly, prospectors, as portrayed by London, could have suffered unimaginable cold and hunger. it was during the panic of the late 19th century due to recessions that abundance of gold were discovered. people from different walks of life rushed to the mountains of Alaska. apparently, Chaplin was inspired to make a comedy out of the dire straits in the history of survival.The Tramp is a gold prospector who joins the rush. while prospecting through a snow storm, he finds his way to a cabin with another prospector and an escapee. suffering extreme hunger, The Little Tramp eats a salted candle, cooks his boot and eats it in a gastronomic fashion, and turns into a chicken in the eyes of Big Jim, his desperate prospector companion. after the desperation, they parted ways. Big Jim meets the escapee and is knocked down. the escapee unfortunately falls from a cliff. The Tramp gives up prospecting and falls in love with a girl in a pub. he thinks she was also in love with him. he invites her to a New Year dinner with her friends and dreams of entertaining them with a dance using rolls stabbed with forks. this is the most loved scene in this film and definitely the best. he puts a charming flair to this act that makes it so appealing to the audience. however, the joy is cut short when he wakes up finding no such thing. film viewers would wish it real for The Tramp. here we empathise with his feelings and feel at one with his disappointment.

comic genius was at its height in the scenes inside the cabin, especially the cabin see-sawing on the edge of a cliff. The Tramp and his prospector friend go back to the mountains to find the latter's hidden gold. after scrambling out of the forlorn cabin, they find it and become instant millionaires. The Tramp, in the end, reunites with the girl.

the version i saw was the 1943 re-release version. here Chaplin narrated the events with his neutral English accent. some scenes were cut, but i still enjoyed the whole film. the 1925 original version would have been a great one, unfortunately, i can't find it.

'The Gold Rush' would be remembered for its light-hearted treatment of ups and downs. truly, the marriage of tragedy and comedy is not impossible for Chaplin. they are a perfect and winning combination to picture real life.

The Circus (1928)

'Funny without even trying.' this describes acts of Sir Charles Chaplin's The Tramp. indeed, he's acting, but what i meant about this is that he never needed to overexert himself to be funny. the little fellow was born out of him; a natural 'the other side.' 'The Circus' mirrors the same concept when the Tramp finds himself in a tight chase with a police officer and a thief in the circus and turns out funny and a hit through his mishaps. he meets a girl, of course, falls in love with her, and defends her from an abusive father. however, a rival cuts his advances: she falls for another man, but he never gives up without a fight. in one of the most skilful scenes, The Tramp walks on a tight rope while being attacked by monkeys. what's more, the scene with the lion in a cage would take one's breath away.

the end justifies Chaplin's artistic play with pathos. one of the most memorable poignant scenes would be when the Tramp gives the engagement ring he bought to his rival, whom the girl truly loves. the couple, now married, insist the Tramp to stay with the circus. he agrees, but he stays behind, sits while watching the troupe leave, and eventually walks off the other way.
this could be one of his most poignant films, probably underrated. again, we see the coexistence of drama and comedy cleverly and effectively combined. alongside the storyline, the film brought up Chaplin's skilled comic effects and poignancy. indeed, he truly deserved the Academy Award he received in 1929.

the making of this film was Chaplin's most stressful experience. problems both personal and technical in nature delayed its completion. he never even mentioned this in his autobiography. despite that, the ingenuity of the comic performances assumed the upper hand and all the difficulties paved the way for Chaplin's brilliant art.

if i were to choose what were Chaplin's greatest works, i would probably include this. truly, he amazes me with his comedy and artistic brilliance. the most memorable that caught me and kept me in awe and attached were The Tramp's most humblest display of deep emotion. the 'walking off the distance' at the end left me in the highest level of ecstasy. think of me as overdrawing or what, but that's what it all is. i feel like drugged . of all the delight, there is one thing i regret so much about all this Chaplin frenzy: the fact that i cannot go back in time to meet and thank one of the prime movers of effective film ingenuity.

City Lights (1931)

'You?'
'You can see now?'
'Yes, I can see now...'

the scene accompanied by these intertitles is the most moving ending in film history: a great perfect ending for a romantic comedy.

the story centres around The Tramp, as always most of the time, poor, but light-hearted and jaunty. wandering he meets a drunk rich man and stops him from commiting suicide. they became 'best friends for life' only when the man is drunk. he takes him to clubs, parties, and his home, and gives him his clothes and car. when he's not drunk, he throws him out. The Tramp also meets a blind girl who sells flowers. he falls in love with her. when the girl mistakes him for a rich man, he carries on with the impersonation.
memorable and the most entertaining scenes happen when the Tramp gets jobs to help the poor girl and her grandmother pay their rent. He becomes a street cleaner, but eventually loses it. losing hope, he was invited to a boxing bout, where Chaplin displays a cunning show of footwork. unsuccessful, he again bumps into the rich man after returning from a trip. again, they are best friends, and the man gives him a lump sum of $1000 to pay for the girl's rent and eye operation. unfortunately, things go familiarly wrong as The Tramp is accused of stealing. nevertheless, he manages to meet the girl to give the money and tells her he'll be going away for a while, when in truth, he'll be arrested.

months later, he is released, broke, and looking for the girl. then, he goes further the city where the girl, now can see, has built a flower shop. he is picking up a flower on the side street when two boys kicked him sending the girl laughing. when the tramp turns around, he sees her through the glass window. surprised and joyed, he smiles at her while the flower crumbles off his hand. now the question of whether she'll accepts him or not after finally seeing his true identity excites us all. when she offers him a flower and a coin, he hesitates at first but slowly reaches for the flower. finally, she takes his hand to give the coin, but when she feels it, she realises the truth:

'You?' she says. The tramp nods and asks,
'You can see now?' She clutches his hand to her chest and says,
'Yes, I can see now.'

holding both their feelings and emotions, the girl definitely accepts him after squeezing his hand to her chest and smiles, and the tramp, as the scene fades, smiles back lovingly.

this film moved me to unexplainable heights, which i do like. that last scene still magnetises me. bewitched am I. this could be an overall revelation of what The Tramp is capable of and who he is; what Chaplin can offer. a star, director, producer, composer, and writer, Chaplin extends his capabilities to his alter ego on screen. in 'City Lights,' he is a gentleman, romantic, comic, cunning, bum, loner, unfortunate, dancer, athlete, carefree but occasionally determined. he was born out of a socially, artistically, and emotionally inclined mind. he was beyond the cane, the hat, the toothbrush moustache, the baggy pants, and the big shoes. he IS us. though we plan ahead, we tend to be wanderers in life; we tend to be rejected or accepted.

this idea was perfectly portrayed by The Tramp and the flower girl. throughout the film, it became a moving subject, cleverly mixed with delightful comic plays. i want to tell them all here, but i will only spoil the surprise.

Chaplin made this during the emergence of sound films; the 'talkies.' before it opens, some say it would be a mistiming to release it. however, he made a gamble, and the result was beyond expectation: it was a success. different personalities listed it as one of their favourite films, film institutes recognised its importance to culture and life, and film-goers loved it without a doubt. i cannot seem to imagine someone not liking and loving this film.

viewing 'City Lights' is not only a delight, but also a complete art to experience that stirs up emotions. this would be my most favourite Chaplin film of all time along with his other feature films. silent films, silent films. they reach broader audience, they are universal and welcomes no boundaries, their stories flows smoothly without being delayed by sound; the movements of characters and transition of events speak for themselves, and they leave you with an awe-inspiring remembrance. as what Ebert said: 'They stay with you. They are not just a work, but a place.'

Modern Times (1936)

Industrialisation. Innovation. Changes. In 'Modern Times,' these were highlighted. It became a socially significant film with a perfect reference to the hardships people experienced during the Great Depression: unemployment and financial problems. Technically, this was Chaplin's last silent film before moving to 'talkies' ('The Great Dictator' being his first talkie).

The story tells about the Tramp struggling to survive in a highly industrialised world. Chaplin inserted a serious subject underlined through humour. If 'City Lights' brought out all his sentimental capabilities, 'Modern Times' highlighted his ability to tackle social issues. It started with a commentary on machines enslaving humans. That such inclination to mechanical development may lead to absurd dependency (bordering on madness, at least in a comic manner by the Tramp in one of the most memorable scenes in the film where he continuously twitches and tightens everything in sight like bolts and when he becomes a subject for a mechanical demonstration). Here Chaplin aired his own interpretation of what industrialisation had brought about during his times.

The sequence moved on to the Tramp desperately wanting to find occupation after being released from a ward because of mental breakdown. As usual, he meets trouble, goes to jail, and after making a heroic move, is set free, but ironically wishes to stay to avoid getting in trouble again. Nevertheless, he is released and bumps into a gamine. His scenes with her shows a mixture of struggle and hope. Both of them represent a typical desperate creatures of the time of depression. They hope and dream of a better life; they promise to free themselves from poverty. Inspired, the Tramp gets a job as a night watchman in a department store where he and the gamine enjoy themselves. However, their effort was of no avail. In one of the touching scenes, the gamine surprises the Tramp into a home: a forlorn house beside a lake. Here Chaplin displayed amusing humour. He once said that humour is the subtle discrepancy we discern in what appears to normal behaviour. The gags in unison with the normality of the scenes are riveting and entertaining.

Chaplin was able to sustain the entertainment all throughout: from the scene where a mechanic is trapped in a big machine and to the Tramp's attempt to wait and sing in a cafe. For the first and last time, the Tramp's voice is heard singing a song with gibberish words while miming. Everything seems well after his well-loved act, but trouble always gets on their way. Fortunately, they escape and are back to square one.

The next day, the Tramp and the gamine is seen sitting on the side road. Then, she cries and says, 'What's the use of trying?' The Tramp replies encouragingly, 'Buck up - never say die. We'll get along!' He encourages her to put a smile. With arms linked together, they walk down the road towards the unknown future full of hope and optimism.The film's ending has long been included in the long list of classic and ageless moments in film history. That 'walking off' has been a symbolic moment in most Chaplin films. Whenever they end this way, the feeling brought out is unexplainable, very subtle, and calm. It is a perfect ending, and, as I am always saying about his works, timeless. 'Modern Times' is as excellent as it gets. We realise a serious message. Every inch, it goes together with the ever-effective laughter and sentiment combined. Even if talkies were becoming prominent when the film was released, Chaplin was still able to draw everyone's attention in admiring a silent film then considered passe for the last time. It had since been one of the most memorable films featuring the Tramp, a blockbuster, and one of the greatest films culturally and socially significant.