“With the help of the film, we have revealed to all people a kind of trait, a kind that makes everyone laugh,” Charlie Chaplin once said. On May 28, a hundred years ago, Latvian viewers were invited to watch Chaplin’s film “for an increased fee” in “Strādnieku Avīze”, because the film was purchased for large expenses. Today, 12 Chaplin movies are available for anyone interested to watch for free on LTV and Replay.lv. –
This spring, Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889-1977) would have 132 years left. In honor of this birthday, Latvian Television pampers its viewers with restored versions of Chaplin’s films, which are more than a hundred years old. Although Chaplin’s films seem unusual today, as it is not uncommon to encounter such visual language – without color, with rare camera movements, almost without words and text – they can provide their enjoyment not only to film gourmets. Chaplin’s silent comedies not only allow him to see the acting act to the last detail and meet one of the most famous movie stars of the 20th century at the beginning of his career, but also to experience the magic of black and white cinema and not be confused by unworked or awkward dialogue.
The viewer of today’s 21st century cinema is pampered – he has come up with interesting plot solutions, original themes, colors, various types of sounds and soundscapes, dynamic images of a sharpening image, special effects and other technological phenomena that enrich motion picture.
At a time when large amounts of 1-3 minutes of entertaining, informative video are consumed, and when no one has time, dedicating 30 minutes of your day to black and white silent films can seem like a completely extraordinary choice.
In the history of cinema, with the beginning of speaking cinema, there was a sharp attack on the theatrical, exaggerated and dramatic style of play of silent cinema representatives, thus many actors decided to forget. Although there is no spoken sound in silent cinema, the universality of its gestures and body language is undeniable even today. Chaplin also managed to win his place under the sun in the world of cinema with the film The Great Dictator (1940). Nevertheless, his silent comedies show outstanding acting, in the form of a marginal, creative and kind-hearted image.
Charlie Chaplin in The Wanderer
Foto: akg-images
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Inspiration for Chaplin’s works came from the farstick comedy (“slapstick”) genre. The second source of inspiration has been the French actor and director Max Linder, from whom the “serial” hero, who bears the actor’s own name, is taken over. Cylinder, mustache, walking stick, duck-shaped gait are his main attributes. Another important “attribute” is the social status of Chaplin’s image. Of the 12 works, only two show the protagonist as wealthy (but afflicted with alcohol problems). In other films, Chaplin’s character is a member of the lower social strata – a prisoner who has escaped from prison or is on probation, a stroller, an unscrupulous cafe waiter, a barber’s assistant, an assistant supervising a film decor or a pawnshop who is about to be fired. Chaplin’s vivid images are especially highlighted by the opposite – tall and bearded, bearded, intrusively flirting, tired colleague, superhuman criminal, wealthy rival or authoritarian employer – a man with whom almost every film fights and against which Chaplin can demonstrate courage, kindness and charm. Greed, aggression, cowardice, greed, and pride are contrasted with kindness, generosity, simplicity, and transcend social norms in which Chaplin’s protagonist clearly does not fit.
There are three units in silent cinema – acting, situations and editing. Unlike his brother comedian Baster Keaton, Chaplin did not stand out with great virtuosity in the use of cinematic techniques. His works show relatively simple solutions – little camera movement and a static shot, but the essence of his film’s success lies in the acting and the physical and visual solution of the situation.
Charlie Chaplin in “Healing”
Foto: imago images / United Archives
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The corporeality of these films is especially noteworthy, which is also a denial of corporeality, because it seems that neither punching to the bottom or head, nor falling down the stairs is painful. As a result of various farce-like “sketches”, the legs or arms end up in a liquid substance in almost every film, which is often neglected, the strong criminal in the “Isis Street” beats and anointes his opponents, almost every film chases a circle that Chaplin’s image can easily avoid. . These chase scenes show something similar to mechanized accelerated movement, which is always interrupted at some point, creating a comic effect. Despite the still image and black and white image, the presence of this moving body helps to better identify with the films. Although Chaplin’s image is often run-down, dirty and clumsy, he also has some talent. In “The Adventurer”, the body of the protagonist, who escaped from prison, runs away from the police and swims brilliantly and rescues the drowning. In “The Ring”, despite the awkwardness of the main character in the work of a waiter, he is a very skilful and talented roller skater.
Publicity image of the film “Roller Skating Rink”
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The image of Chaplin’s wanderer would have been 106 years old in the spring since his first appearance on cinema screens. At a time when Europe was torn apart by war and the “golden age” of America was creating growing social inequalities,
Chaplin’s films, thanks to the comic elements and the ambiguous image of their main character, gave people hope and showed that representatives of marginalized groups can also have a place on the big screen.
Even today – with an interval of more than a hundred years – Chaplin’s image and masterful acting, as well as the thematic solutions of the films are worth these 25 minutes to pamper yourself with the indelible cultural and cinematic values.
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