Chaplin
An aging Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to the editor of his autobiography, charting his ascent from poverty to wealth and enduring comedic fame, alongside his turbulent personal life and his run-ins with the FBI.
Director(s)
Michael A. Goorjian
Sacha Bennett
Richard Attenborough
Nikki Clapp
Peter C. Graupner
Lee Cleary
Michael D. Moore
David Tomblin
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CinemaSerf
Told by way of a retrospective, this is a stylish and informative - if not always very entertaining - biopic on the legendary film star. He is discussing his autobiography and as he meanders down memory lane, we accompany him from his life in Edwardian London through his journey to the USA where he found fame with Keystone Studios and developed the legendary "Tramp" persona that resonated so well with an increasingly poverty-stricken populace. Robert Downey Jnr is effective in the title role, conveying much of the quirkiness - and selfishness - of this character. Geraldine Chaplin (his real life daughter) delivers a poignantly strong, if sparing, contribution and the attention to detail with costumes and sets is special. Thing is, although it must have been hard for Richard Attenborough to condense eighty-eight years of this man's hugely interesting life into one film, those moments he has selected tend a little towards the more salacious; those less demonstrative of his creative genius. The scenes at the start when an opportunity was there to illustrate to us how his workhouse upbringing instilled the ethic that was to drive him all his life - we skip through them all too superficially (though maybe that's because there was no role for Downey?). The political emphasis on the McCarthy witch-hunts is interesting, and the general FBI conspiracy elements are developed well, but for me this is much less about the man than it is about the myth and that's a shame. The supporting cast deliver well enough - John Thaw as his discoverer "Karno" and Dan Aykroyd strong amongst them, and to be fair it does rather fly by for almost 2½ hours. I can't help but admire the director's intention to encapsulate such a lot into such a little amount of screen time, but perhaps it was just never really possible in the first place - if justice were ever to be done to this flawed, enigmatic, charming, ruthless and funny man.
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Chaplin FAQs
The directors of Chaplin are Michael A. Goorjian, Sacha Bennett, Richard Attenborough, Nikki Clapp, Peter C. Graupner, Lee Cleary, Michael D. Moore, and David Tomblin.
The cast of Chaplin includes Robert Downey Jr. as Charles Spencer Chaplin, Marisa Tomei as Mabel Normand, Ken Magee as Federal Marshal, Milla Jovovich as Mildred Harris, Kevin Kline as Douglas Fairbanks, Matthew Cottle as Stan Laurel, Moira Kelly as Hetty Kelly / Oona O'Neill, Walter Matthau as Self (archive footage), James Woods as Joseph Scott, Nick Corello as Masseur, Michael Villani as Dinner Guest, Mary Healey as Mrs. Karno, and more.
The duration of Chaplin is 2h 25 mins.
Yes. You can watch the Chaplin trailer on this Fanbiz page on Fanziz.
Chaplin was released on 17 Dec 1992.
Chaplin is listed under Drama on Fanbiz.
Chaplin has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 7.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "Told by way of a retrospective, this is a stylish and informative - if not always very entertaining - biopic on the legendary film star. He is discussing his autobiography and a..."
