Friday, September 30, 2011

Chaplin

I clearly remember the first time I saw a Charlie Chaplin film.

Up until that point, I honestly had no interest in ever investigating his films because for some reason I thought they would be boring - being silent films.

A friend of mine in Florida has always loved Charlie Chaplin and had several of his movie posters framed in her apartment. I would always look at them and think, “I wonder why she likes Chaplin so much?”

Until finally she told me that I just HAD to rent one of his classic films called, City Lights, to REALLY understand why she admired his work so much.

Well….one day I did rent City Lights, and it was at that moment I also fell in love with Chaplin.

She was right. He was a genius.

Chaplin had a way of expressing so much emotion through his face and eyes, that he really didn’t need to speak in order to convey.

You simply felt the emotion through his body language.

He was both a brilliant comic and dramatist.

Also, a musician.

Since then, I’ve rented many of his others films and have enjoyed them all. However, City Lights will always be my favorite because it was my first. Plus, it’s such a beautiful and touching story.

But I have to admit, it felt odd at first watching a silent film because I immediately noticed that I had to pay very close attention with my eyes because there was no audible dialogue. Yet after some time, I found myself magically drawn into the film; understanding the simplistic power of just a few printed words on the screen.

Many years ago, I saw the movie Chaplin starring Robert Downey Jr. and really got a sense of who Chaplin was, not only as an actor and director, but also the man. Downey did an AMAZING job embodying Chaplin. Watching him as Chaplin is like watching Chaplin himself. To this date, I still think it’s Robert Downey Jr.’s finest and most challenging performance. If you ever get the chance to rent it, I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did - even if you know nothing about Chaplin or his movies. It’s a gorgeous film, in which the last 15 minutes leaves you touched beyond belief.

I just recently watched it again, therefore the reason for this post.

Please allow me to share a few Chaplin films.