As one year ends and another begins, we get to celebrate with Kubrick, DeMille, Cuarón, Murnau, and Chaplin - all in Bay Area movie theaters. But still no film festivals. The Week's Big Event A+ 2001: A Space Odyssey — The 70mm / 4K Challenge, Castro, Friday through Tuesday 70mm and/or 4K presentations! Stanley Kubrick's … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 28 – January 3
Tag: charlie chaplin
Chaplin Diary, Part 20: We end with A Countess from Hong Kong
And so we come to the end of our survey of Charlie Chaplin's work as a director. His last movie, A Countess from Hong Kong, made in 1966 and released in 1967, is easily his worst. Countess stands out among Chaplin's films in several ways. It's his only color film, and the only one financed … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 20: We end with A Countess from Hong Kong
Chaplin Diary, Part 19: A King in New York
With his last starring film, A King in New York (1957), Charlie Chaplin finally remembered that he was first and foremost a clown. For the first time since The Great Dictator, he's made a movie that is more than sporadically funny. And yet he manages to give it a serious side as well. Which isn't … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 19: A King in New York
Chaplin Diary, Part 18: Limelight
Charlie Chaplin dug into his family's history in what would be his last American film, Limelight - a drama about a washed-up comedian. I started this Chaplin Diary almost a year ago with films he made in 1914. Now he has made a film set largely in his home town of London in that very … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 18: Limelight
Chaplin Diary, Part 17: Monsieur Verdoux
It took a long time for me to get to the next movie in my Chaplin Diary. I've been busy. I'm also not that enthusiastic about Chaplin's later work. By the time Monsieur Verdoux came out in 1947, Chaplin had not made a movie in almost seven years. He horribly altered and re-released The Gold … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 17: Monsieur Verdoux
Chaplin Diary, Part 16: The Great Dictator
In my previous Chaplin Diary entry, I called Modern Times "arguably Chaplin's last performance as The Tramp." But there's still a lot of Chaplin's "little fellow" in his first true talkie, The Great Dictator. By the late 1930s, even Charlie Chaplin couldn't make silent films anymore. No one wanted to see them. The change was … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 16: The Great Dictator
What’s Screening: August 17 – 23
John Ford and John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Carl Sagan, Elia Kazan, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Mel Brooks light up Bay Area movie screens this week. But no film festivals. Also, I'm changing the Lebowskies section to Frequently-revived classics. The Big Lebowski doesn't screen as often as it used to. Promising events She Wore a … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 17 – 23
What’s Screening: July 20 – 26
Silent comedians, weird cartoons, French noir, military musicians, mediocre musicians, and four film festivals. This and more on Bay Area movie screens this week. Wild parrots couldn't drag me away! Festivals The San Francisco Frozen Film Festival runs through Sunday. You can read my admittedly short preview. Modern Cinema/Black Powers: Reframing Hollywood continues through the … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 20 – 26
Santa Fe & Charlie Chaplin: More July Festivals
I've already told you about Modern Cinema and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (although there'll be more to say on that one). But there are two other festivals competing for your attention next month - and both over the same weekend. Charlie Chaplin Days Friday, July 13 - Sunday, July 15 Every year, the … Continue reading Santa Fe & Charlie Chaplin: More July Festivals
Chaplin Diary, Part 12: The Gold Rush
As I chronologically move through Charlie Chaplin's work as a director, I now come to his first feature-length masterpiece, The Gold Rush. His 1925 epic belongs on any list of great films - including mine. I've already written two articles on The Gold Rush: a report on a screening with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 12: The Gold Rush
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