Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2004)
Genre: Education/General Interest
Starring: Charlie Chaplin
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Reviews
The new generations represented here -- Depp, Scorsese, etc. -- remind us that Chaplin's best work does not confine his brilliance to bygone years. Or even to the 20th Century.
It's hard to argue with any film that features so much footage of Chaplin at his best.
Pity the poor film-school student who will have to sit through this dry-as-dust documentary.
Strictly quotidian as a biographical documentary, but the Chaplin comedy clips are peerless.
You’ll get more out of watching this documentary than reading another biography on Chaplin.
An excellent introduction to one of the towering figures in film.
A delightful doc that minimizes talking heads in favor of a treasure trove of excerpts from Chaplin films.
Manages to act as a riveting entrée for novices to Chaplin’s work while providing enough new fare for aficionados.
Delivers the facts and illustrates the work with a generous selection of well-chosen clips.
It is crammed to the gills with a fine selection of the beloved comic's best work, with talking-head commentary serving to deepen and enrich the enjoyment.
It whets the appetite to experience again Chaplin's luminous body of work.
A well-organized, informative and inevitably entertaining portrait of the man who revolutionized screen comedy and who arguably became the first mass-market, commercialized media figure.
Richard Schickel, a noted film critic and historian, has used the familiar techniques of historical documentary to construct a critical biography of one of the dominant figures in 20th-century popular culture.
Made with enormous affection; the Chaplinesque sentimentality, which so many silent fans cite when voicing a preference for Keaton or Harold Lloyd, is employed here, not exploited.
An affectionate and richly illuminating critical documentary.
A serious, often illuminating, and unavoidably entertaining account of the creature Downey calls 'the most endearing superhero you might ever want to watch.'
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by: Helen Wheels 3/28/04
Around the Network
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin at IGN
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin at AskMen


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