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The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.The Kid.For over a century, Charles Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” has been a global icon. His signifiers are simple: the derby hat and cane; the toothbrush mustache; the tight jacket and baggy trousers; the giant shoes. His significations, however—what the Tramp has meant to audiences around the world—have been profound.The most diminutive of men, the Tramp has had an outsized role in film history. Indeed, he is a portrait in paradoxes: a tragic-comic hobo-gentleman, flea-riddled but fastidious; a poet of pantomime, whose silence speaks volumes; a prat-falling klutz, who is the most graceful of danseurs; and a loner, who is worthier than most of human intimacy. Obtuse to the socioeconomic realities that structure his existence, he is an idealist hero akin to Don Quixote, as pointed out...

“The Real Charlie Chaplin” is an alluring title for a documentary about the man who was arguably the greatest comic artist in the history of the planet. (I could be wrong in that assessment; I wasn’t around in 1230 or 5600 B.C. But I’ll stand by it.) The title suggests that we’re going to get an unvarnished look at the man behind the curtain — the brilliant and complicated human being that Charlie Chaplin was, a charmer and a scoundrel, a sweetheart and a monster, not to mention a celebrity of scandalous appetites. All of that is covered, quite ingeniously, in “The Real Charlie Chaplin.”

Yet the documentary doesn’t shy away from immersing us in Chaplin’s artistry, a subject that has, of course, been covered once or twice before. We learn a lot about his films and how, exactly, he put them together. And the trick of...

As directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney, The Real Charlie Chaplin attempts a delicate dance, quite ambitiously trying to understand both Chaplin the genius filmmaker and his iconic character the Tramp. “Enjoy any Charlie Chaplin you have the good luck to encounter, but don’t try to link them up to anything you can grasp,” observed writer Max Eastman. A title card with the above text opens the film, offering a direct warning: as much as one can know Chaplin, one never really will. Given access to an incredible amount of archival footage from the legend’s estate, Middleton and Spinney do their damndest to confront the man from every angle. And though they don’t succeed, perhaps that’s the point?

Pearl Mackie does sharp work as the narrator, guiding the viewer through Chaplin’s downtrodden childhood in London, to his signing with Fred Karno and move to America,...

The great movie pioneer D.W. Griffiths once said “we do not want now and we shall never want the human voice with our films.” Shame he failed to realise that film-making is a technical medium that will always develop. In the last 100 years we have had the introduction of colour, trick photography, 3D and CGI, among other numerous innovations such as CinemaScope - and even Smellovision. But none of these compare to the most revolutionary of cinematic changes: sound.

The silent era of the twenties holds little more than curiosity-value for many modern film fans. Other than a few notable exceptions such as Nosferatu (1922) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925), it’s become a long-forgotten part of cinema history. But back then we had the Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolies of their day! Big stars and talented actors who sadly failed to survive the test of time.

The coming of sound was controversial,...

London, Dec 12: Charlie Chaplin's bowler hat from his silent film 'The Tramp' is to be auctioned in New York.

Fans are expected to pay 15,000 pounds for the hat, which was bought by Sir Edward Hallstrom and is being sold through his estate by Sotheby's on Dec 13.

The comic star first wore the bowler in 1909 as a struggling performer in the UK.

He took it with him to the Us where he toured with Fred Karno's comedy troupe, the Daily Express reported.

Chaplin later gave it to fellow actor Bert Bailey, whose note of provenance comes with it. (Ani)...

Ian Sansom on the complex family saga of the silent movie star

A recent headline in the Birmingham Mail read: "Charlie Chaplin may have been from Birmingham." It reports on a letter found by Chaplin's daughter Victoria, after her father's death, that suggests south London's most famous son may have been a Gypsy born in Smethwick. We may never know the truth: Chaplin's birth certificate has never been discovered. But we do know that his parents worked in the music halls, and that he worked in the entertainment industry for more than 75 years, and that many of his 11 children became actors: the Chaplin family story is as complex, sad and delightful as one of his finest slapstick routines. He wrote in My Autobiography (1964): "To gauge the morals of our family by commonplace standards would be as erroneous as putting a thermometer in boiling water."

Chaplin's father, Charles Chaplin Sr,...

Mira Mexico! London

The darkly surreal edge that saturates both comedy and tragedy in Mexican cinema is a constant source of delight, and there's plenty of it on show in this season of contemporary Mexican talent. Rollicking circus black comedy Meet The Head Of Juan Pérez, for example, revolves around a magician's unfortunate decapitation, while in Rodrigo Pla's art-and animation-suffused The Desert Within, a peasant attempts to thwart a government ban on religion. There's also Daniel And Ana, a shocking tale of kidnapped siblings, and Five Days Without Nora, a heart-warming take on a well-organised suicide.

Barbican Screen, EC2, Thu to 27 Jan

Slapstick 2010, Bristol

Whether it's a twirl of Chaplin's cane, fisticuffs between Laurel and Hardy or a cartoon anvil falling on an unsuspecting cartoon head, chances are you're a secret, or not-so-secret, lover of slapstick comedy. And why not? As this sixth slapstick silent comedy festival proves, it's as popular today as ever.

Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, one of cinema's most famous characters, is to become a 3D animated competitor to Mr Bean

Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character, a true icon of cinema, is to be reborn in the 21st century as a computer-generated 3D avatar.

The absurd figure with the baggy trousers, bowler hat and cane was once the best known silhouette in the world, and is to be introduced to modern audiences in a series of short films following a multi-million-pound deal approved by the Chaplin family.

Almost a hundred years since Chaplin first appeared in front of Hollywood cameras, an Indian-French collaboration has been licensed to make a series of six-minute animated episodes for cinema and TV.

The silent films will be based on 70 original "shorts" that featured Chaplin as the Little Tramp. Visual gags and slapstick choreography from the films will be re-enacted by the new "stereoscopic" avatar,...