Restored Chaplin Keystone films available this October (1 Viewer)

[Richard--W]

That's certainly true. Further, in 1914 most films were shorts that were projected under the most primitive and informal conditions. Audiences and filmmakers did not have the expectations for cinema they would have by the 1920s. What I see here, in Chaplin's first year, is self-discovery and experimentation. He tries everything, testing his own limits, challenging himself and the medium, learning by doing. He starts out doing skits and riffs and little scenes, and by the end of the year, he is the confident and discerning director and storyteller of the feature-length Tillie's Punctured Romance. Along the way he is never less than inventive, resourceful, unfailingly creative, and funny. Chaplin's growth as an artist starts here, 96 years ago, and in a way, his refinement as a comedian and tragedian and a film maker mirrors the refinement of the new art form of cinema. These short films are exciting because they are primitive.

 

[bigshot]

Since they were shot so fast, they're improvisation in it's purest form. Later Chaplin is the product of hundreds of takes. The Keystones are the closest to what the music hall Chaplin probably looked like.

 

[Richard--W]

Good point that the Keystones are probably closest to what the music hall Chaplin looked like, especially in Making a Living and Kid Auto Races at Venice Ca. Certainly the Keystones have the spontaneity of improvisation. But I see considerable preparation as well. Chaplin draws on his music hall routines to prepare a skit and then improvises on it, which is not usual. The Keystones are a combination of planning and improvisation, in varying degree from one short to another. Chaplin is the consummate entertainer at the outset, however, bringing a range of experience to his first film Making a Living.