FILM: The Gold Rush (1925)

Country:           USA

Director:           Charles Chaplin

‘The Gold Rush’ is probably the first Chaplin film I’ve watched – at least the first one I knew the title of.  I still remember bits and pieces of it but I forgot most of the scenes and the plot itself such that it was a treat to be able to see it again.  The film is in the public domain, by the way, and is available in the The Internet Archive but don’t expect the digitally restored version with the commentaries and features. 

 

The famous table ballet scene was from this movie.  I don’t know how Charlie actually came up with the idea of forking two rolls and animating them to do a ballet-of-sorts.  I also imagine that he was probably bored at the dining table, just as portrayed in the movie ‘Chaplin’. 

The scene where he was forced to eat his boot was one of the lingering moments in my memory.  Knowing the impossibility of such a thing happening (or is it?) does not in the least make it an awkward scene. I keep wondering what the boot was actually made of and found out that it was from licorice.  As the scene took three days to shoot and they made 63 takes, Charlie was said to have been taken to the hospital for insulin shock. 

I must admire Chaplin for having the guts to act with real live animals with real potential to cause him injury.  In this film, he did so with a live brown bear.  I know that the bear they got on the set was probably tamed and the trainor was always present.  Still, the way the bear moves leaves me thinking how this could have easily turned ugly.  Or maybe that also added to the appeal of the scene.  Movies during this time are said to use costumed actors for live wild animals. 

I also liked the scene when Charlie’s two companions were fighting over a gun.  In their struggles, the muzzle of the gun points to Charlie and he tries desperately to get out of the line of fire.  Too slapstick, you might say, but Chaplin does the scene with such funny moves that one forgets the impossibility of the matter and laugh out loud.

I wonder if it really was Charlie who dressed up as the giant chicken.  Anyone could have done it; but seeing how the chicken moved, there’s really no mistake that it was Charlie who donned the silly costume.

As with the other movies of Charlie featuring the Tramp, there was a woman with whom his character falls deeply in love.  In this movie, it was Georgia, played by Georgia Hale.  I wonder if Charlie would have named the character Lita after his wife at the time.  The latter was supposed to act as Charlie’s love interest in the movie but she got pregnant with Chaplin’s child just before the shooting of the movie.

Of course, there was the scene of the cabin teetering on the brink of the cliff.  This was the most memorable part of the film for me.  I remember laughing uncontrollably at this scene when I watched it during my gradeschool days.  Chaplin seemed to like the idea of people losing their balance.  Prior to seeing the film again, I was thinking whether I would still laugh at the jokes that I’ve seen before.  I thought I was too old to laugh at such impossible scenes.  Turns out that the movie has the power of making me feel young again and laugh at Charlie and his antics all over again.

‘The Gold Rush’ became widely regarded as one of Chaplin’s best work and he himself was quoted that it was the film for which he wanted to be remembered.  Charlie probably got his wish as it was the highest ranking Chaplin film at #58 in the 2007 list made by the American Film Institute of 100 best American movies. Incidentally, the film was also given tribute in Cinema Paradiso’s kissing montage.

FILM: Modern Times (1931)

Country:           USA

Director:           Charles Chaplin

I decided to start my Chaplin series by watching Modern Times – one of Charlie Chaplin’s most memorable films and the last to have his Tramp character.  The film was also a commentary on how the Industrial Age has affected human society – dehumanized workers as they became mere appendages of machines, severe unemployment as much of the work is mechanized, and loss of human dignity as many are forced to live in horrible conditions.  Sounds Marxist, and this was probably one of the things that led those unscrupulous FBI agents to label Charlie as a communist.

It’s hard to imagine how it must have been to create a silent film during an era that was already crazy over talkies.  From my research, Chaplin was supposed to make Modern Times a talking film and even got to the point of having a script written.  Fortunately, he decided to keep it as a silent film believing that the Tramp would have lost his charm if he were to talk. 

Still, Chaplin did not disappoint moviegoers who longed to hear the Tramp’s voice.  Near the end of the film, the Tramp was required to sing in front of an audience. Now, how can that possibly happen in a silent film?  I remember thinking. But the character did sing.  The catch was, the words were nonsensical and audiences still had to infer what he was saying through his gestures and his facial expressions.  Now that’s pantomime!

In the film, I especially liked the scenes shot inside (and some just outside) the factory.  The first part of the film with the feeding machine and the crazed Tramp running amok were exceptionally funny.  The other factory scene somewhere in the middle of the movie where the Tramp managed to trap the mechanic in the machine was also hilarious.

One of my most favorite songs was written by Chaplin for this film – Smile.  Too many artists have covered this song but I suppose the first version that was recorded by Nat King Cole was the one I liked the most.  (Celine Dion’s emotionally laden version during the 83^rd Oscars was also magnificent.)  The lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons were just perfect for the melody and would have been the appropriate theme song for the film.  I have always liked the lyrics but upon seeing the movie’s ending with the Tramp trying to cheer up the depressed Gamine character puts another meaning to the words.  The Tramp was shown walking towards the horizon as he did in many of his films, but this time, he was walking away with the woman he loves in what I consider as the best possible exit for such a lovable character.

I liked the soundtrack of the movie so much that I became curious if there were any recordings available.  I did find two nice compilation albums of music used in Chaplin’s films. 

(On a side note, Paulette Goddard who played the Gamine was married to Charlie Chaplin from 1936 to 1942.  I guess that explains the apparent chemistry between the two actors.)

FILM: Chaplin (1992)

Country:           USA

Director:           Richard Attenborough

When I was still on second grade, I usually get home from school at 1 PM just in time to sit or lie down on the couch and watch reruns of classic movies on broadcast TV.  One of the movies I remember watching was “The Gold Rush.”  I still remember bits and pieces of the movie but the storyline and most of the film has been lost to memory after a couple of decades since I saw it. But I definitely remember laughing out loud.  And that is why I want to devote the next blogs to Charlie Chaplin in what I consider a small tribute to one of the titans of the film industry. 

I “rediscovered” Chaplin several years ago when I watched this biopic by Richard Attenborough with Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role.  Learning about Chaplin’s life and the many hardships he had had to endure makes me wonder where he got the inspiration for his films.

Robert Downey, Jr. was perfect for the role.  Not only did he come up to the challenge of playing a real life character at different ages, Downey also had to imitate Charlie in his famous Tramp character.  Now, Downey really had to do good as moviegoers would definitely compare his acting with the real thing.  Towards the end of the film, a montage of the memorable scenes from several Chaplin films were played.  That was the part where one can definitely say that Downey did do a good job at playing The Tramp.  Downey was nominated but did not win the Academy Award.  He was up against Al Pacino who also played a memorable role in Scent of a Woman.  Downey got the BAFTA for Best Actor though.

The film was based on two books: “My Autobiography” by Charles Chaplin himself and “Chaplin: His Life and Art” by David Robinson.  I would like to read both books, especially the autobiography.  Perhaps later when I have the money and the time.  I have checked the local bookstores but did not find any copy so Amazon’s my best bet.

The film showed to some degree how Charles was helped and influenced by his half-brother Sydney, by introducing him to Fred Karno (played by John ‘Inspector Morse’ Thaw) with whose troupe they were able to come to the USA and by later becoming Charlie’s business manager and adviser.  It was only later that I learned that there was a third brother – Wheeler Dryden.  This brother came to the knowledge of the Chaplin brothers a bit late as Charlie had already found success in Hollywood, but Dryden did work with his two half-brothers from 1918 until Charlie’s exile in 1952.  I guess Dryden got the brunt of the FBI’s inquiries as he was the one who remained in Hollywood to take care of selling Charlie’s studio and other properties.  He became mentally ill (inherited from his mother?) and died a recluse in 1957.

The film Chaplin was probably too short a film to cover all the essential aspects of Charlie Chaplin’s life, not to mention his influences and the political turmoil he found himself in.  Still, I don’t expect anyone’s life can be fully captured by film or by any other media.  It is enough for me to get a glimpse of that wonderful life well lived by this artistic genius.

FILM: Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Country:           Italy

Director:          Giuseppe Tornatore

It seems opportune that I start this blog on books and movies with this gem of a film by auteur Giuseppe Tornatore.  In itself a salute to the magic of the movies, it is also a nostalgic film about a boy growing up in a small Italian town, falling in love, and living in the limbo created by his own success.  Very few films has touched me as deeply or lingered as long in my memory.  Cinema Paradiso will surely be one of my favorite films of all time.

Tornatore set the film in his hometown in Sicily.  Citizens of post-war Italy might have sought solace in their small cinemas to temporarily escape the hardships brought about by the war.  With the mischievous antics of young Toto, the scenes of this first part of the movie were happy nostalgic.  Salvatore Cascio was perfectly cast as the mischievous young Toto, the film’s main protagonist.  I found his chemistry with Philippe Noiret (who played the role of Alfredo, Toto’s friend and father figure) to be one of the highlights of the film.  Later, I found out that both actors were honored in the BAFTA Awards.

The second part of the film when Toto was a teenager brought a different tone to the film but was similarly effective in showing the strengthening friendship between the two protagonists.  The relationship between Toto and Alfredo may be construed as the result of mutual dependence as they filled the gap in their lives by becoming each other’s father and son.  The arrival of Elena was pivotal not only as it was Toto’s first experience of love but also, as seen in Alfredo’s perspective, it showed how love’s powerful dominance over Toto could root the latter to the small town, denying him of what would be a brilliant future.  Alfredo’s intentions for firmly ordering Toto to leave the town and never to return may be seen as that of a father who think only of his son’s future, neglecting the emotional burden it brought to the latter.  However, Toto seemed to have never gotten over his loss of Elena.  As Toto’s mother commented, Toto was always in the company of a different woman every time she called yet he remained unmarried.

The return of the older Toto meant reliving his fond memories as well as his pain at losing Elena.  As he walked around the old cinema, seeing the familiar places and faces in the crowd, he was shown that everything in the town had gotten old and decrepit albeit still the same.  The old cinema may be seen as a metaphor for what could have been Toto’s life had he stayed in the town which after seeing its brief glory had faded and crumbled until it was time to be torn down.  In the famous last scene of the film (and in my opinion also the most touching), Toto was watching the film bequeathed to him by Alfredo.  It was a montage of the kissing scenes that were cut by Alfredo and he had promised to the young Toto.  For me, it was also a metaphor of Alfredo giving back to Toto that important part which he had taken away many years ago.

Other favorite parts of the movie include Alfredo’s projection of a film on the wall of a nearby house.  This scene was quite magical which made the following scene all the more shocking and tragic.  I also liked the scenes between Alfredo and Toto.  Their walks around the village were particularly strong in conveying the closeness of their relationship as well as the depth of Toto’s love for Elena.  Like Toto, I was unable to identify the reason why the man in Alfredo’s tale gave up after a long time of waiting for his love.  It took the director’s cut to answer that question.  Another favorite scene was Toto’s last visit to the deteriorating cinema.  I could almost hear Toto’s thoughts as he reminisced his exploits there as a child.  And seeing the familiar faces in the crowd, many of whom have grown old, it was like seeing some old friends and remembering the old times.

There had been at least three edits of the film but the version I watched was the shorter one (123 minutes) that was released internationally and won several international awards including the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and the Best Film Not in the English Language at the BAFTA Awards.  I’m glad I followed the advice of my friend who told me to watch the short version before the director’s cut.  Watching the director’s cut a few weeks later almost ruined the film for me.  I thought the director’s cut showed more than was necessary, like a chef adding some wild exotic ingredients to what was already a perfect broth.  There were only three revelations in the director’s cut that I liked.  The first was the confirmation of what I could only guess – the reason why the two young lovers failed to meet.  The second was the answer to Toto’s question about Alfredo’s tale of the man who waited a long time below his beloved’s window only to give up on the second-to-the-last day.  And third, what it was that Toto’s mother would not tell him.  I also liked the scene when Toto would project Elena’s image on the wall of his room imagining her to be with him.  Everything else seemed superfluous.

When I first watched Cinema Paradiso, I was scheduled for a vacation, I only had time to bring the video with me and watch it on a portable player.  In some ways, watching the movie in a quiet intimate setting away from the daily grind of the city has helped me focus and appreciate the movie more.  I just can’t help think how the experience would have multiplied many times over within the confines of a movie theater.  I can imagine myself sitting in the dark as the older Toto, watching that final montage of kissing scenes taken from several old films with the glorious music of Ennio Morricone sweeping the whole theater.  The experience would probably have been sublime.

Blu-Ray Disc of the original theatrical release and director's cut














DVD of the original theatrical release and the director's cut













Original Motion Picture Soundtrack