Editorial Staff
By Captain Cumquat
When the talk of old silent movie stars arises, undoubtedly there will be a few typical names that rise to the top, most notably Charlie Chaplin. If you have never seen a Charlie Chaplin film, you owe it to yourself and your film education to watch one or more of his films. One couldn’t go wrong with ”The Kid”, ”City Lights”, ”Modern Times” to name a few. Once you’re done with that assignment, finish it off with the movie ”Chaplin”, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Charles Chaplin.
The 1993 biopic about the great silent movie comic icon is now available with a whole bucket of special features and insights into the genius and the madness that made The Tramp (Charlie’s flag-ship character with the funny waddle and the little moustache.) You will be stunned by Robert Downey Jr.’s capture of the subtleties and nuances of all things Chaplin. And you will probably be stunned by the story of everything that happened behind the glamour of the world’s most famous man.
Extras
Among the most interesting of bonus features is a featurette entitled â€Strolling into the Sunset†with insight from the director, LORD Richard Attenborough, who voiced a surprisingly unabashed disappointment for how the film turned out and particularly regret for including the fictitious character of the biographer, played by Anthony Hopkins. He goes on to praise the performance of Robert Downey Jr. despite his continued battle with substance abuse during filming. He appropriately lauds Downey with not only the success of the movie, but the very existence of the hard-to-finance biopic.
Other bonus features include: “Chaplin the Hero†focuses on the impact Charlie Chaplin still has on viewers young and old. “The Most Famous Man in the World†delves into the superstardom phenomena that Chaplin enjoyed like no other performer before him. “All At Sea†is a candid movie taken of Charles Chaplin and his companion Paulette Goddard by Alistar Cooke during a sailing trip to Catilina Island. …and two theatrical trailers for Chaplin.
My only complaint is why did we have to wait 15 years for the 15 year anniversary edition? Now there’s no time to lose, so break out those old silent movies and that slightly out-of-tune saloon piano and get to watching!
