Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Michael_Elliott Unknown Chaplin (1983) **** (out of 4) Unknown Chaplin: My Happiest Years Incredibly interesting documentary from Kevin Brownlow uses outtakes, behind the scenes footage and other goodies to tell the story of Charles Chaplin during his Mutual years of 1914-1917. Since most silent "extras" are gone it's rather amazing they were able to find all of this stuff, which really puts a face on the rumors surrounding Chaplin's work methods. It is known he was a genius but no one ever saw how that genius came to be. Some said he was sadistic and others said he was a terror to work for. With these outtakes we see why people would feel this way as Chaplin takes little scenes and runs off fifty to one hundred takes. But we also see the genius this creates especially during outtakes of The Immigrant where the same scene is shot over and over using different actors, clothing and other things to pull the scene off. This was part one of a three part series.Unknown Chaplin: The Great Director Part two of Kevin Brownlow's documentary about Charles Chaplin, this one taking a look at the making of The Kid, The Gold Rush and City Lights. Once again you get a perfect idea of who Chaplin was and how he was able to create the masterpieces that he did. The alternate ending and footage from City Lights is certainly the highlight here.Unknown Chaplin: Hidden Treasures Final segment in Brownlow's brilliant documentary is a real treat for fans as it contains to deleted scenes from The Circus, both of which are among the best stuff Chaplin has done. Also included is the deleted opening sequence to Modern Times, which was also quite nicely done. Home movies and other goodies are scattered throughout this part as well. Overall this is certainly a brilliant documentary and highly rated to those who enjoy Chaplin's work.

MartinHafer I picked up a DVD of this British series from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and it's fitting that a filmmaker be featured prominently in an art gallery--especially since this film isn't a biography of Chaplin, but a step-by-step analysis of his working style. They did this by collecting outtakes that had been saved by Mutual Studios as well as through photos and even home movies. At first, I thought this all sounded very dry but as the film continued I realized what a great treasure this is. What I liked in particular was how they took two of his earlier non-Keystone comedies and analyzed the many, many changes the film underwent thanks to Chaplin's obsessive-compulsive film style. Considering what a gift he had for making films, this lengthy style of constructing films is forgivable and even understandable.In addition to analyzing his shorts, the documentary also chooses to analyze CITY LIGHTS as well as THE GOLD RUSH and provides many behind the scenes insights. I really liked this, since GOLD RUSH might just be my very favorite silent film (though it's hard to say for sure, considering some of the great films of Lloyd and Keaton).All-in-all, this is an absolute must for serious film students, historians and lovers of silent comedy. Considering all the pain and trouble they went to in making this film, it's no surprise that it earns a 10 of 10.FYI--Fortunately, while this is a nearly perfect film about Chaplin, there are also two wonderful similar documentaries about Harold Lloyd ("American Masters", Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius) and Buster Keaton (Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow)--both written by the same two writers who made this wonderful film. See them all if you get a chance!!Also FYI--On the DVD is a 12 minute segment on how they assembled all the footage for the documentaries. It's worth a look to give you insight into this very laborious process.

Jon Noel Shelton Charles Chaplin was truly the first independent filmmaker - with the exception perhaps of Georges Melies. Chaplin wrote, directed, starred in and scored nearly all of his films. No one understood the craft of film-making (silent or otherwise) better than Chaplin. He never compromised his artistic vision, perfectionism, or his integrity. Charlie literally made his films up as he went along, rehearsing on film and discarding whatever didn't work. Such techniques would prove too costly and time consuming today. This documentary consists of some of Chaplin's best experiments - some of which he re-shot and much of which he ordered burned. Like many a magician, Chaplin didn't want his secrets getting out. Luckily, many of his best tricks are revealed here for posterity. It's all lovingly narrated by James Mason. And the scenes that were cut from THE CIRCUS, CITY LIGHTS and MODERN TIMES are as good as anything that ended up in the final releases. I wish this was available on DVD, as my tapes are beginning to wear out.

cricket-14 Anyone who knows little about Chaplin or the silent movie era (including myself, being born in 1960) will find this documentary very educational.Thank goodness someone had the foresight to interview people who knew and worked with Chaplin while they were still alive. Documentaries like this are a crucial part of film history and preservation. People who actually worked in the silent era know it better than anyone.I highly recommend it to anyone.