1992 Directed by Richard Attenborough
An elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, while is depicted his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.
Robert Downey Jr. Geraldine Chaplin Paul Rhys John Thaw Moira Kelly Anthony Hopkins Dan Aykroyd Marisa Tomei Penelope Ann Miller Kevin Kline Maria Pitillo Milla Jovovich Kevin Dunn Deborah Moore Diane Lane Nancy Travis James Woods David Duchovny John Standing Matthew Cottle Michael Cade P.H. Moriarty Howard Lew Lewis
채플린
~plus one star for the random david duchovny cameo
~minus one star for the random james woods cameo. didn't he date a 19 year old when he was 60.........?
I first watched this in a film studies class and have wanted to rewatch ever since.
I am so glad I did.
Downey Jr. made the perfect Chaplin and this reminded me why I fell in love with film and the man himself. I am slowly working my way through Chaplin's extensive filmography and this just makes me want to do it a million times faster.
If, like me, you get way too emotional, stay clear of the end scene. Clips from Chaplin's films cross cut with Downey Jr. shedding a tear at the Oscars will fill your heart with joy as well as tug at it's strings.
'Chaplin has become more than a name, it is a word in the vocabulary of films, and anyone who has ever seen a movie is in his debt.' - Daniel Taradash
Film #20 of Project 90
”If you want to know me watch my movies.”
How can you make a boring biopic? Take your 70 year old celebrity and ask him to tell the story of his life to someone else, that someone can be one of his grandchildren or one of his friends or a die hard fan or sometimes a writer. Start with his childhood, show how talented and sweet he was, then show how he beat all the odds and became a successful person, add some neat romantic relationships and then end your movie with some informative texts telling the viewers that your celebrity is now living a happy and peaceful life with his family. At the beginning…
Everyone complained last year about Bohemian Rhapsody's superficial approach to Freddie Mercury and how it took pains to glorify his life without exploring the man himself. Chaplin is an earlier example of this kind of biopic, and together with Bohemian Rhapsody it is irrefutable proof that making biopics about the most iconic people of all time is a bad idea.
You can counter the validity of this by pointing at my five-star review of Amadeus. But the brilliance of Amadeus is that it examines a legend through the eyes of a forgotten man and allows his jealousy to guide the narrative, and this anchors the film in emotion enabling it to transcend the biopic formula. However, most biopics aren't as…
It's telling that the most interesting and moving parts of this are the clips from Chaplin's films played at the end.
Robert Downey Jr. is actually a decent casting, but he's squandered on a totally boring, perfunctory script. I realize that every detail can't be included, but Chaplin doesn't ever feel like it understands Charlie, simplifying his worldview, politics, and craft into something that doesn't ever reflect why he's such a beloved cinematic genius.
And can we please cancel screen wipes? Good lord, I think this has more cheesy transitions than every Star Wars movie of the last decade put together.
Script issues and 'hey look who's playing a famous person' cameos aside, Chaplin is a beautiful film steadily directed by Sir Richard Attenborough but owes its' beauty to Sven Nykvist. He captures time and place as no other, spanning decades.
The real highlight, however, is Robert Downey Jr. who knocks it out of the park on PED's. It is truly as frighteningly authentic depiction of a historical figure that you're likely to see. Considering the physical demands that Chaplin put on himself, the depiction of him carries many of the same challenges. Downey answers all of these, and elevates the film from a formulamatic Hollywood bio-pic to a must see piece of cinema.
Unfortunately boring. The film covers about everything that is listed in Chaplin's Wikipedia article and nothing more, and frankly, the Wikipedia article is more entertaining. Geraldine Chaplin's performance is the only one that is interesting, as it is kind of surreal seeing her play her real life grandmother. The one scene that is really fun and entertaining is when Chaplin and his friends are trying to hide the uncut footage of "The Kid' and the film becomes like a silent comedy for a moment, it actually got a couple laughs from me. At some point in early in the film, Downey Jr as Chaplin says 'If they truly want to know me, they should watch my films". This really is…
I don’t think the movie as a whole is great. Richard Attenborough claims cuts eventually made the movie subpar (the initial cut was over 4 hours long). However, the cast is spot on and obviously Robert Downey Jr steals the show.
“Chaplin has become more than a name. It has become apart of the vocabulary of film and anyone who has ever seen a movie is in his debt.”
If anything, I’m more excited to watch more Chaplin.
One of the best movies of all time. Robert Downey JR. performance was amazing and to think he was only in his twenties. The story is engaging and the characters are fascinating and likable, most of them. It's a 💯100%
Quality: A+
Entertainment: 10/10
Chaplin is a film I'd watch again solely because of RDJ's performance. Probably my favourite film of RDJ of all time. The intensity with which he played the character made me think that I'm watching the Charlie Chaplin himself ! He does a highly credible Chaplin. Not only does he look like the comic, but he has mastered the physical mannerisms so necessary to the role. Downey said that copying "The Tramp" was his biggest challenge; it is also his most impressive accomplishment. In fact, the actor so perfectly captures his character that clips of the actual Chaplin can be used in the movie without ruining the illusion.
Also Geraldine Chaplin's portrait as Charlie's mother was my second favourite in…
Desde que Hollywood ainda era chamada de Holywoodland, as melhores cenas do entretenimento vinham de lá, e assim Richard Attenborough, resolveu contar a história de um dos maiores cineastas, se não o maior que já viveu. Em Chaplin os primeiros dias da indústria cinematográfica são vividamente recriados, o relacionamento de Chaplin com Douglas Fairbanks também é um dos destaques do filme. Eles, juntamente com Mary Pickford, realmente criaram a imagem da estrela de cinema e se tornaram a realeza de Hollywood conhecida em todo o mundo. Em 1920, eles eram provavelmente as três pessoas mais reconhecidas do planeta.
Acredito que Attenborough fez um trabalho decente ao explicar por que o homem era um gênio tão torturado, mesmo que ele tivesse…
It was pretty good overall. Robert Downey Jr. is always entertaining for me an I feel like his casting was spot on. The film itself was pretty standard I don’t feel like it took any creative risks it told the story plain and simple.
RDJ totally deserves the praise he gets for this role because he's just so good in it. His performance and the friendship with Douglas Fairbanks were what sustained me.
Otherwise, the structure of using a made up interviewer to fill in the blanks was a bit dull and affected the pacing even though I know it does fulfill a function for people who need a BS meter or context for a Charlie fib.
Final Thoughts: The accent and the violin playing oddly prepared Downey for his version of Sherlock Holmes.
They gave present day 1970s? Oona--even if she's considerably younger than Chaplin--the amount of old makeup budgeted for Middle Aged Woman #3 in a town play.
And Chaplin really liked younger women; these age gaps are wow.
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Every film that has ever been nominated for an Academy Award in any category. Enjoy!
