Chaplin get's "modernized"

[medea]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/01/chaplin.revival.ap/index.html

Finally, "Chaplin has gotten a computer-enhanced makeover, with his feature-length films and some of his shorts digitally restored to remove flecks, specks and scratches and rebalance the black-and-white tones.
Four Chaplin flicks arrive on DVD Tuesday -- "The Gold Rush," "Modern Times," "The Great Dictator" and "Limelight."
Coming early next year are "City Lights," "The Kid," "Monsieur Verdoux," "The Circus," "A Woman of Paris" and "A King in New York," plus such Chaplin shorts as "Shoulder Arms," "A Dog's Life" and "Pay Day."
Some restored Chaplin movies are playing theaters in Europe. A spotlessly rejuvenated version of "Modern Times" closed this year's Cannes Film Festival, where a seat was left empty and illuminated by a spotlight in honor of Chaplin, who died in 1977.
What would Chaplin think of the digital gizmos that revitalized his films?
"He hated machines, he was suspicious of machines. All you have to do is look at 'Modern Times' to see that. But I think the result on these restorations is so spectacular, he would have loved it," said his daughter, actress Geraldine Chaplin. "You can't really say you've seen Chaplin unless you've seen these restored versions. These are the way they're supposed to be seen."

I already have City Lights on DVD as well as some shorts, but I was waiting for the films to be truly restored before I purchased any more, for silent film fans this is great news.

[medea]

<bump>
wait a minute, people can't stop talking about ***** T3 and the Matrix but nobody cares about Charles Chaplin:? tsk.

[jelloshotsrule]

haha. i saw that no one else responded.

from the little i've seen of chaplin's stuff, it's brilliant... i'll probably check out the dvds

thanks for the heads up. (was too lazy to reply before. ;))

[iGav]

The resto works sounds cool and atleast they've been sypathetic to the originals... unlike some of the treatment that gets handed out to the giants... e.g. colourising Laurel and Hardy films... :eek: :rolleyes: :( what are they thinking....??

I actually used to know someone that didn't realise Chaplin was supposed to be funny... :eek: :eek: :eek:

Personally I'm more of a talkies fan, than the old silents... 'Laurel And Hardy' being my absolute favourites... :)

That said, a few years ago I had the privilege of seeing Harold Lloyds 'The Freshman' at Warwick Arts Centre, with live Orchestral accompaniment, it was truely amazing...

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by medea
<bump>
wait a minute, people can't stop talking about ***** T3 and the Matrix but nobody cares about Charles Chaplin:? tsk.


jeez. the one day i have to leave my house to work and this is what happens? you know i would have been first to jump on this, had i been here when it was posted ;):)

this set looks awesome. i'd heard about the set, but didn't know the release date was this soon. I'm dying to get a copy of the gold rush w/o that annoying organ music thats on most VHS tapes. I was hoping for a more comprehensive release (ie: EVERYTHING; all features and shorts, documentaries, the attenborogh film, etc) that i'd be willing to pay $300 or more for. And to decide to release Limelight and Great Dictator in the first batch is strange. But thanks for posting this, medea.

iGAV-if you liked The Freshman, you should check this out:
LINK (http://www.haroldlloyd.com/license.asp)

[Simon Liquid]

I checked out his "Mutual" shorts in DVD from the library a while ago. Pretty cool stuff. I saw Gold Rush as well. I'll have to keep an eye out for these if I ever have any money. :p

[mico]

If you never seen City Lights you gotta check it out. One of the best films I've ever seen and will last longer in your mind than any of the T3's, hulks, et al. I 'm looking foward to the restoration of that one in particular.

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by mico
If you never seen City Lights you gotta check it out. One of the best films I've ever seen and will last longer in your mind than any of the T3's, hulks, et al. I 'm looking foward to the restoration of that one in particular.

last summer i got to see City Lights on the big screen for the first time. It's one of my favorite films of all time. Last time i was in paris, i got a picture of a friend of mine and i recreating the drunk billionare scene on the banks of the seine (sp?).

[jelloshotsrule]

i agree that city lights is a much better film than some popular films that are out there now... ie, hulk, t3, etc.

but, these films are popular for a reason (perhaps because people are shallow. ;)), but nevertheless, to say that city lights or any film will leave a better/longer impression on you is assuming that people are smart enough to get past the explosions and CG to the story and execution of a film... that is credit that i feel people in general don't deserve. ;)

[Rower_CPU]

Hmmm, might have to "upgrade" the feature DVDs my girlfriend and I already have. ;)

Chaplin is truly an under-appreciated, under-respected figure in the history of film in general and comedy in particular. I can't even count the number of times I've seen a gag that Chaplin used reused in modern cartoons/films/etc. Truly a pioneer and genius.

Were it not for McCarthy, he would get more of the respect he deserves.

[medea]

Originally posted by trebblekicked
last summer i got to see City Lights on the big screen for the first time. It's one of my favorite films of all time. Last time i was in paris, i got a picture of a friend of mine and i recreating the drunk billionare scene on the banks of the seine (sp?).
Seine is correct. City Lights is wonderful and perhaps my personal favorite among chaplin's, but the most amazing thing is that it was actually released three years after the talkies started making rounds. I've yet to see it on the big screen, but it is the one dvd of chaplins that I did buy because I had to have it, I'll defintely still purchase the upcoming version though.

[Santiago]

I was quite happy a few years back when they released a digitally cleaned-up set of the complete (surviving) works of Buster Keaton, which I checked out from my university library and watched. Last year, they apparently found a print of another one of his movies which was thought to be lost fixed it up for release.

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Hmmm, might have to "upgrade" the feature DVDs my girlfriend and I already have. ;)

Chaplin is truly an under-appreciated, under-respected figure in the history of film in general and comedy in particular. I can't even count the number of times I've seen a gag that Chaplin used reused in modern cartoons/films/etc. Truly a pioneer and genius.

Were it not for McCarthy, he would get more of the respect he deserves.

i agree on all counts, but i think it was j. edgar hoover who had it in for Chaplin. he wanted to trip him up for something, anything. the HUAC stuff was just another tactic hoover hoped would work. At the time it seemed to, but history remembers what jackasses j edgar hoover and joe mccarthy were, and what an amazing artist chaplin was.

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by medea
Seine is correct. City Lights is wonderful and perhaps my personal favorite among chaplin's, but the most amazing thing is that it was actually released three years after the talkies started making rounds. I've yet to see it on the big screen, but it is the one dvd of chaplins that I did buy because I had to have it, I'll defintely still purchase the upcoming version though.

yeah, chaplin went kicking and screaming into talkies. though technically, modern times was a talkie (synced soundtrack, a few lines of spoken dialogue here and there), and i think City Lights may have had a synced soundtrack, too.

The tramp couldn't exist in the talking world. chaplin knew it. Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd both had an easier time making the transition than Chaplin did. Funny, though. Keaton and Lloyd's stuff, though more commercially succesful at the time is much harder to find nowadays.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by trebblekicked
i agree on all counts, but i think it was j. edgar hoover who had it in for Chaplin. he wanted to trip him up for something, anything. the HUAC stuff was just another tactic hoover hoped would work. At the time it seemed to, but history remembers what jackasses j edgar hoover and joe mccarthy were, and what an amazing artist chaplin was.

Yeah, Hoover was bad, too, but since Chaplin left the US during the McCarthy trials and was prohibited from coming back it's easier to point to him. Hoover was probably pulling the strings...

[medea]

Originally posted by trebblekicked
yeah, chaplin went kicking and screaming into talkies. though technically, modern times was a talkie (synced soundtrack, a few lines of spoken dialogue here and there), and i think City Lights may have had a synced soundtrack, too.

The tramp couldn't exist in the talking world. chaplin knew it. Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd both had an easier time making the transition than Chaplin did. Funny, though. Keaton and Lloyd's stuff, though more commercially succesful at the time is much harder to find nowadays.
Actually you are wrong on a few counts, though Harold Lloyd was definitely more accessible and made a fairly easy transition into sound and talkies, Buster Keaton did not do so well with the advent of talkies and quickly resorted to alcoholism which led to him being commited to a sanitarium straight-jacket and all. He was able to kick the habit but still couldnt make it in the film industry, luckily Paramount paid him a great deal for the rights to his life story (do not bother viewing the result though) and towards the end of his life there was a resurgance of interest in Keatons work, though mostly underground still and partially due to Beckett's Film, which he was able to enjoy and bask in until he unfortunately died in 1966.
Oh and you should definitely check [url=http://www.kino.com/video/dvd_titles/keaton_dvd.html]Kino[url/] for the DVD collection they've released for Keaton, I don't have the complete set but I've picked up The General (w/The Playhouse & Cops) and Sherlock Jr. (w/Our Hospitality) both of which are really great copies.

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by medea
Buster Keaton did not do so well with the advent of talkies and quickly resorted to alcoholism which led to him being commited to a sanitarium straight-jacket and all.

OMG. i had no idea. the juice seemed to have claimed quite a few silent stars. i always thought keaton's talkies did better than chaplin's.

i'm just starting to read up on harold lloyd , as i'll be playing him in an animal club project in NYC early next year.

and thanks for the link. my keaton collection is pretty sparse (although my soon-to-be-roomate is a card-carrying member of the damphinos and has all the films on VHS).

[medea]

well I have purchased the box set now and have viewed Limelight and Modern Times so far and all I can say is amazing, the quality of the film is beyond stunning and the extras that come packed with the DVD are a nice addition as well. If there are any other Chaplin/Silent Film fans then definitely pick up the set, it is not very expensive and very much worth it.

[Flowbee]

Just added them to my Netflix queue. Thanks for the heads-up.

[themadchemist]

bah, part of the beauty of Chaplin flicks are those little imperfections in the image.

That adds to the character and the richness of the art.

edit: ...but since you guys seem to think they're good, I might have to check them out.

[Simon Liquid]

I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and saw 2 disks from "The Essential" set on a bargain table. Apparently someone had broken open a box and they were trying to get rid of the rest. So I got the one with "The Adventurer" as the first film and also the one with "the Firemen" first.

It's good stuff, some of them I'd never seen before. I was pretty disappointed by the music, though.

It seems like the producers just bought some cheap random jazz stuff and stuck it on. Music tracks begin and end in the middle of action. A lot of the scenes have a definite tempo which is ignored. In "Shoulder Arms" (maybe elsewhere too, haven't gotten through all of them yet) the members of the jazz combo engage in banter, which is pretty distracting.

Maybe I'm just too picky, but I prefer silent films put to music that has something to do with what's going on on the screen. I'd have rather they'd just hired some starving pianist who knew how to improvise for minimum wage.

I'm still on the lookout for this "Gold Rush," etc set. Was hoping to find it the other day but now I'm stuck out in the boonies again.

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by medea
well I have purchased the box set now and have viewed Limelight and Modern Times so far and all I can say is amazing, the quality of the film is beyond stunning and the extras that come packed with the DVD are a nice addition as well. If there are any other Chaplin/Silent Film fans then definitely pick up the set, it is not very expensive and very much worth it.

thanks for the word. once my move is complete, it's the first thing i plan to buy.

[medea]

Originally posted by trebblekicked
thanks for the word. once my move is complete, it's the first thing i plan to buy.
where are you moving to?

[Ambrose Chapel]

modern times is probably my favorite chaplin film - i have it on a vhs tape with a clockwork orange...the 2 balance out nicely.

anyone here a johnny depp fan? he's talked about chaplin being a big influence. just look at edward scissorhands...

[medea]

Originally posted by Ambrose Chapel
modern times is probably my favorite chaplin film - i have it on a vhs tape with a clockwork orange...the 2 balance out nicely.

anyone here a johnny depp fan? he's talked about chaplin being a big influence. just look at edward scissorhands...
well I know he based much of his performance in Edward Scissorhands on silent films but I'm not sure how much was based on Chaplin.....I am a Johnny Depp fan though, he lives the life I was meant to, though I doubt I could have taken the leap and starred in 21 Jump Street.....

[OutThere]

I think that its good that they are being digitized, but I think that they should have left all the flecks and hairs in...they make an old film what it is. :)

[Ambrose Chapel]

Originally posted by medea
I am a Johnny Depp fan though, he lives the life I was meant to, though I doubt I could have taking the leap and starred in 21 Jump Street.....

heh..i used to love that show. there was even one where depp played the little tramp!

[medea]

Originally posted by OutThere761
I think that its good that they are being digitized, but I think that they should have left all the flecks and hairs in...they make an old film what it is. :)
well that is not really how the movie was meant to be seen, those are a sign of wear, tear etc. and by cleaning up the film you get a better idea of what Chaplin (or any other director) really wanted us to see. Unfortunately there are side effects such as making the stock even weaker and cropping in certain areas, though so far that has not been very noticeable in these dvds but of course I probably wouldn't know where to look anyways ;)