Though he would actually direct other features, including the ill received 1967 A Countess From Hong Kong, wherein Marlon Brando decided to be a mean girl to co-star Sophia Loren, and the neglected A King in New York (1957), many read the 1952 Limelight as Charles Chaplin’s ‘enduring’ final film. An appropriate approximation of his immortal Tramp character after fame has fallen away, the bittersweet tragicomedy wasn’t well-received at the time (though Bosley Crowther raved in The New York Times, hailing the film as “eloquent, tearful, and beguiling with supreme virtuosity”). McCarthyism succeeded in thwarting the film’s distribution, limiting the release to New York City and those labeling Chaplin a Communist picketed screenings where it did play. In the UK, the film’s release was less harried, with newcomer Claire Bloom securing a BAFTA win for Most Promising Newcomer. The film would receive a theatrical release for the first in Los Angeles twenty years later,...
- 5/27/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Limelight
Written and directed by Charles Chaplin
USA, 1952
Rightly dubbed a “supreme auteur” by David Robinson, who provides a video essay on the newly released Criterion Collection Blu-ray of Limelight, Charlie Chaplin wore many hats in making this 1952 film. Aside from writing, directing, and starring in the picture, he was the producer, he arranged the score, and he choreographed the dance sequences, in addition to other supervisory duties behind the scenes. Part of the preparation for the film even included Chaplin penning a novel on which the movie was based, called Footlights, which was then adapted with great ease by the author. Set in 1914 London (about the time Chaplin had left England for America), Limelight is a basically familiar showbiz story, with one performer’s career on the wane as another’s is ripe for revival, but there is far more to this late Chaplin classic. For the great comedian,...
Written and directed by Charles Chaplin
USA, 1952
Rightly dubbed a “supreme auteur” by David Robinson, who provides a video essay on the newly released Criterion Collection Blu-ray of Limelight, Charlie Chaplin wore many hats in making this 1952 film. Aside from writing, directing, and starring in the picture, he was the producer, he arranged the score, and he choreographed the dance sequences, in addition to other supervisory duties behind the scenes. Part of the preparation for the film even included Chaplin penning a novel on which the movie was based, called Footlights, which was then adapted with great ease by the author. Set in 1914 London (about the time Chaplin had left England for America), Limelight is a basically familiar showbiz story, with one performer’s career on the wane as another’s is ripe for revival, but there is far more to this late Chaplin classic. For the great comedian,...
- 5/26/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
About midway through watching Charlie Chaplin's Limelight for the first time I got to thinking about what makes a great filmmaker. It seems easy enough to spot a great film, while you're watching it as you get that "You'll know it when you see it" vibe, but I started to focus on what exactly it was about the films of great filmmakers that make them stand out from the rest. Films from great filmmakers stand alone, they can't be duplicated and in this age of remakes and reboots no one would dare attempt try and remake their work. In terms of Chaplin, could you imagine a remake of Modern Times, The Great Dictator, City Lights or The Gold Rushc Forget the fact they are silent films and the business of it all. Just focus on the artistry and what makes those films great. What makes those films classicsc I'll answer for you.
- 5/25/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
From Vci Entertainment comes the odd and only moderately interesting Silent Discoveries double feature, containing After Six Days, a 62-minute 1920 Biblical epic, and Yesterday and Today, a nearly hour-long 1953 documentary. As noted by Vci, the former was “Touted at the time as a ‘$3,000,000 Entertainment for the Hundred Millions,'” and this edition was made from the only complete copy known to exist, a mint 16mm print of the 1929 7-reel sound reissue. The second title here features actor, comedian, and famous vaudevillian George Jessel as he hosts a random assortment of clips from early silent film releases, most of which were, and are, rarely otherwise seen. Neither portion is particularly good, or even consistently entertaining, but both—and this is the reason the DVD is worthwhile—are unique and scarce, and are therefore significant entries into the growing library of archived films made available for mass consumption.
To start with After Six Days,...
To start with After Six Days,...
- 2/24/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Eddy and Sid after a Master Class at Nyu, 2003. (Photo: Michael Doft)
Sid Caesar’s funeral service was held on Sunday afternoon, February 16 at a private ceremony in Los Angeles. Among the family and friends paying tribute was Sid’s biographer and friend, Cinema Retro’s Eddy Friedfeld, who co-authored Sid’s creative biography, Caesar’s Hours, published by Public Affairs in 2003.
What follows is the eulogy Eddy delivered before Sid's family, friends and colleagues.
Sid said that, like Isaac Newton, he stood on the shoulders of giants, his inspirations- Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and W.C. Fields, who helped him develop his career and craft. Today, Sid, we stand on your shoulders- and celebrate your life, your art, your warmth, character, and friendship. You did things no one else could do and you inspired many others, including people in this room, to take the same artistic risks.
Sid Caesar’s funeral service was held on Sunday afternoon, February 16 at a private ceremony in Los Angeles. Among the family and friends paying tribute was Sid’s biographer and friend, Cinema Retro’s Eddy Friedfeld, who co-authored Sid’s creative biography, Caesar’s Hours, published by Public Affairs in 2003.
What follows is the eulogy Eddy delivered before Sid's family, friends and colleagues.
Sid said that, like Isaac Newton, he stood on the shoulders of giants, his inspirations- Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and W.C. Fields, who helped him develop his career and craft. Today, Sid, we stand on your shoulders- and celebrate your life, your art, your warmth, character, and friendship. You did things no one else could do and you inspired many others, including people in this room, to take the same artistic risks.
- 2/23/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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