Unknown Chaplin

Anyone who knows little about Chaplin or the silent movie era (including myself, being born in 1960) will find this documentary very educational.

Thank goodness someone had the foresight to interview people who knew and worked with Chaplin while they were still alive. Documentaries like this are a crucial part of film history and preservation. People who actually worked in the silent era know it better than anyone.

I highly recommend it to anyone.

I picked up a DVD of this British series from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and it's fitting that a filmmaker be featured prominently in an art gallery--especially since this film isn't a biography of Chaplin, but a step-by-step analysis of his working style. They did this by collecting outtakes that had been saved by Mutual Studios as well as through photos and even home movies. At first, I thought this all sounded very dry but as the film continued I realized what a great treasure this is. What I liked in particular was how they took two of his earlier non-Keystone comedies and analyzed the many, many changes the film underwent thanks to Chaplin's obsessive-compulsive film style. Considering what a gift he had for making films, this lengthy style of constructing films is forgivable and even understandable.

In addition to analyzing his shorts, the documentary also chooses to analyze CITY LIGHTS as well as THE GOLD RUSH and provides many behind the scenes insights. I really liked this, since GOLD RUSH might just be my very favorite silent film (though it's hard to say for sure, considering some of the great films of Lloyd and Keaton).

All-in-all, this is an absolute must for serious film students, historians and lovers of silent comedy. Considering all the pain and trouble they went to in making this film, it's no surprise that it earns a 10 of 10.

FYI--Fortunately, while this is a nearly perfect film about Chaplin, there are also two wonderful similar documentaries about Harold Lloyd ("American Masters", Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius) and Buster Keaton (Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow)--both written by the same two writers who made this wonderful film. See them all if you get a chance!!

Also FYI--On the DVD is a 12 minute segment on how they assembled all the footage for the documentaries. It's worth a look to give you insight into this very laborious process.

When the series Hollywood was made in the late 1970s, it's producers had more than enough material for a series of over 10 episodes (as it was shown). Especially the material dealing with interviews of silent film period survivors. The producers decided to do several follow-up documentaries. Three eventually were made, about Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd. This was the first. Taken from the Chaplin family film vaults, it showed (in three episodes) scenes that were filmed by Chaplin from movies that were actually finished but re-cut (like CITY LIGHTS, THE CIRCUS, and THE CURE), as well as films that were made for private viewing (a film with visitor Sir Harry Lauder), and film that was created for projects that did not work out. It was a wonderful series, and all too brief - mostly due to the tragic fact that Chaplin did not save all the cut material from all his projects and films. Try to catch this on DVD.

"Unknown Chaplin" is an interesting program--from two authorities on film history and preservation, Kevin Brownlow and the late David Gill, two men I'm thankful to for many of the restored movies I've seen. I consider Charlie Chaplin one of the greatest filmmakers ever, in addition to being the funniest man I've ever seen. This three-part television series shows cut footage from Chaplin's films, providing a unique look at the filmmaker's perfectionism and improvisational approach.

The first two episodes are especially telling. "My Happiest Years" features cut footage from his Mutual shorts "The Immigrant" and "The Cure", where Chaplin repeatedly retook scenes, improvising the comedy and narrative in front of the camera. And, "The Great Director" includes a nice look at the struggle between Chaplin's perfectionism and his unprofessional leading actress during filming of "City Lights". The last episode, "Hidden Treasures", shows a comedian who continued to work when not filming movies for release and how some of the gags in his films evolved over time. There's also a sequence from his aborted film "The Professor" and cut scenes from more of his films. Overall, "Unknown Chaplin" is worth watching for everyone seriously interested in Chaplin's art.

This delightful documentary shows the secrets of many clever tricks that were a mystery until two film historians studied Charles Chaplin's works. Highly recommended to any serious fan of Chaplin. The backwards hat trick alone is worth viewing the whole series.