Audience Rated by buyers PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Type of bind: Video On Demand
Release Date: August 22, 2008
Running Time: 145 minutes
Sale Popularity Level: 4884
Studio: Lionsgate
Theatrical Release Date: January 07, 1993
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In the hands of director Richard Attenborough, Charlie Chaplin's life story becomes a sweeping and touching drama. Robert Downey, Jr. gives an unforgettable performance as Chaplin, who rose from the slums of London to become Hollywood's favorite silent movie character, the Tramp. Along the way, Charlie had to deal with his mother's insanity, his love affairs, marriages, and a paternity scandal, all involving much younger women, and investigation by none other than J. Edgar Hoover.
This very entertaining story vividly recreates the beginnings of the movie industry. The sets and costumes are magnificent, as is the John Barry soundtrack, which features Chaplin's own song, "Smile." Downey gives the performance of a lifetime playing a controversial but ultimately very likeable hero over a span of sixty years. He oozes charisma.
The cast is full of stars but it's all about Downey and he's wonderful. I've only seen bits of Chaplins' films and didn't expect to like this movie, but I found it fascinating.
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I would agree with D. Reyes' review on this dvd reissue. The picture quality is improved, but the special features are very short and the two short docs that were on the original release are not included here. Surely they could have squeezed an extra 14 minutes of material onto this anniversary release. A commentary would have been wonderful, as would some deleted scenes. Attenborough states that he wishes he could make the film again, so perhaps we might see an extended version or director's cut one day (perhaps on the 20th anniversary)?
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The very first time this came out on DVD was in 1998 I believe. The new release differs in the sense that it's a cleaned up print and that it's also enhanced for 16x9 televisions, where as the original wasn't. If you watched the original on a wide screen TV it was letter boxed. As far as special features go for this one, there's about 3 new featurettes that are less than 10 minutes long as well as some home movie footage of Charlie Chaplin and of course a trailer.
Unfortunately there are no deleted scenes. I suspect that this release has come out only due to Robert Downey Jr's rise in popularity again. But it's good to see it on DVD with a cleaner print and enhanced for today's televisions. I have given this a 5 star rating because it's a good film none-the-less and a must watch for fans of Chaplin.
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I have been a fan of Charlie Chaplin and Robert Downey Jr for years. This is the perfect combonation of the two. RDJ does a wonderful job becoming Chaplin. It is not an easy task to do. I love the movie.
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If you're anything like me, the almost semi-annual relapse and recovery of Robert Downey Jr. has been an interesting periodic feature of the morning news. After a while one begins to question why does Hollywood put up with him when there is no shortage of talented actors desperately trying to make it in Hollywood? Why would producers and studios, who are so financially dependent on their productions going off without a hitch, take yet another chance on Robert Downey, Jr? Then I saw Chaplin, and I understood.
The intensity and power of the Robert Downey's performance in this film is the stuff of Oscars and true movie legend! It's both a beautiful performance and a beautiful film!
Somehow Sir Richard Attenborough got out of Downey the kind of performance that can sustain a career, and a legend. But Sir Richard's mastery didn't stop there. He got spectacular performance out of everyone, including a young, pre-X-Files David Duchovny. (I know I misspelled that. But you know who I mean.)
In summation, Robert Downey's performance is every bit the equal of James Dean's in Giant, East of Eden or Rebel without a Cause, and maybe that's what we should keep in mind. For unlike Dean, another self-destructive personality, Robert Downey has not driven off the cliff yet, and hopefully he never will.
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