Charlie Chaplin Tribute 104 Years in film The genius of Charlie

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Charlie Chaplin Tribute 104 Years in film The genius of Charlie"

Blanche Bridges
6 years ago
Views:

1 Charlie Chaplin Tribute 104 Years in film The genius of Charlie Sunday February 4 at 2pm

2 Digital restorations with live music Metcalfe Auditorium State Library NSW Macquarie St Sydney Tickets through festival website or call t Tickets $25/$20 Friend of the Library and concession / info@ozsilentfilmfestival.com.au Session est 80 minutes Accompanist Mauro Colombis The Festival celebrates Charlie Chaplin s start in film 104 years ago: The Festival and the State Library NSW are proud to present on Sunday February 4 at 2pm digital restorations of three of Charlie s classic silent short comedies.

3 Charlie s genius captivated and enchanted audiences around the world within a very short period of time. That relationship has never ended. The whole world claims Charlie as its own: the qualities in his roles as director, actor and composer are timeless and universal. The Rise of the Tramp: The Genius of Charlie Chaplin Australia s Silent Film Festival is proud to present a choice selection of fine short comedies by the great comic master, Charlie Chaplin. When he first appeared on the screen in a 1914 comedy dressed as a tramp, he was immediately noticed and his tramp character became known and loved worldwide.

4 Resembling a clown in his baggy pants, ill-fitting coat and huge awkward shoes, Chaplin played the character to the hilt in dozens of comedies, making him the most famous actor in the world by the end of World War I. Many people have said that his comic genius provided much-needed laughter and pleasant distraction during those gloomy war years. Humour is universal and timeless, and every new generation still finds an entertaining escape in Chaplin s comedies, even close to a century after they were made! The Festival follows his path to fame by selecting a fine example of Chaplin s work from each studio during these heady early years: Keystone (creator of the famous Keystone Cops) Essanay and Mutual. Each film showcases the varied talents and comic skills Chaplin had developed in pre-film days on stage in a range of productions such as Vaudeville. This background experience enabled Chaplin to progress to another studio which gave him much more freedom to create his own gags, stunts and slapstick routines. Known to be a perfectionist, Chaplin often re-did some scenes many times until he was satisfied. A few seconds of laughter for the audience often meant hours of careful choreography, planning and experimenting in order for a gag or stunt to appear completely spontaneous and unexpected. It was this understanding of what makes people laugh most that made Chaplin a genius then and now. Barbara Underwood Thank you Charlie! Chaplinitis is alive and well in Australia and there is no known cure!

5 The Floorwalker (1916) 28 minutes

7 In The Floorwalker, Chaplin is offered a job in a large department store by a floor inspector who looks exactly like him. Not knowing that the floor inspector has just robbed the place, he accepts it. Shortly after, the manager begins harassing him. The most entertaining sequences in this early short film feature the great Eric Campbell, who appeared in many of Chaplin's best films. Blu-ray.com Chaplin gets into fever-pitched shenanigans at the department store, when some detectives confuse him for the store's cashembezzling management. This film has a pretty rudimentary plot and typical use of slapstick gags, although there are a few memorable bits that make good use of Chaplin's graceful physicality. Highlights include Chaplin tussling with an escalator and doing a mirror-image routine with his character's lookalike (played by future director Lloyd Bacon). Dvdtalk.com

8 The Fireman (1916) 25 minutes The Fireman is a far more original film. A shady businessman and corrupt fire chief (played again by Campbell) who is in love with his daughter come up with a brilliant plan that would make both of them rich. But Chaplin's fireman steps up and seriously complicates things after he saves the life of the businessman's daughter. This film has a fantastic tempo and Chaplin's improvisations are already very good. Blu-ray.com Another silly outing with Chaplin as an inept fireman who manages to save a young lady's life despite himself. This film is notable mostly for being shot at an actual Los Angeles fire station, with several interesting shots of the spread-out local neighborhoods. Chaplin also tries out a bit of camera trickery with a horse-drawn fire carriage shown galloping in reverse. Dvdtalk.com

10 The Vagabond (1916) 25 minutes The Vagabond marks an obvious change of direction in Chaplin's acting style. In it Chaplin plays a poor violinist who decides to help a beautiful gypsy (Edna Purviance) and quickly falls madly in love with her. The film is filled with sadness that exposes an entirely different side of Chaplin's genius. Blu-ray.com In a plot that foreshadows his later feature films, Chaplin's Little Tramp is a wanderer who comes across a kidnapped girl (Purviance) being kept as a laborer in a gypsy camp. Unlike the previous two films, The Vagabond incorporates physical comedy while also telling a subtle, dramatically intriguing story. dvdtalk.com

The Festival appreciates the invaluable and generous support from the late David Shepard, Film Preservation and Associates and Blackhawk Films, Lobster Films, Jeff Masino, Flicker Alley, Robert

11 The Festival appreciates the invaluable and generous support from the late David Shepard, Film Preservation and Associates and Blackhawk Films, Lobster Films, Jeff Masino, Flicker Alley, Robert Gamlen, Hilton Prideaux, Samantha Hagan, Marcelo Flaksbard, Leslie Eric May and the sublime flair and talents of Stephanie Khoo. Please visit and read about your favourite silent film with the superb reviews at Amazon by the Festival s tireless supporter, Barbara Underwood. In Memoriam David Shepard

14 AUSTRALIA'S SILENT FILM FESTIVAL Phone

Sunday February 1 at 2pm Digital restoration with live music Accompanist John D Arcy Metcalfe Auditorium State Library NSW Macquarie St Sydney

Charlie Chaplin Anniversary 101 Years in film1914-2015 The Essanay Comedies 1915 Sunday February 1 at 2pm Digital restoration with live music Accompanist John D Arcy Metcalfe Auditorium State Library NSW