Chaplin (1992)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Scene Selection Anim & Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	138:25 (Case: 151)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (65:24)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Richard Attenborough
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Robert Downey, Jr. Geraldine Chaplin Paul Rhys John Thaw Moira Kelly Anthony Hopkins Dan Aykroyd Marisa Tomei Penelope Ann Miller Kevin Kline Maria Pitillo Milla Jovovich Kevin Dunn
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	John Barry

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Dutch Portuguese	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    This film attempts to tell the life story of Charlie Chaplin, from his first stage appearance at the age of 5 through to his honorary Academy Award at 83. Any film that tells the story of 78 years of someone's life must either be very long, miss out a lot of detail or be about a fairly uneventful life. This one tends to skip a lot of the Chaplin story, particularly in the later part of his life. The best part of this film is the first half, which deals with his early career with Fred Karno up to his marriage with Paulette Goddard. The rest of the film tends to be perfunctory and is thus not as compelling. Allegedly the film was cut significantly prior to release to bring the running time down, and it shows.

    The basic facts of Chaplin's life have been taken from his autobiography, and this forms a framing device for most of the film. An editor from his publisher interviews Chaplin to try to fill in the gaps. This leads to Chaplin reminiscing about various episodes in his life, generally around his relationships with women, from his mother to his last wife Oona.

    As usual with films based on famous people, the casting is a hit and miss affair. There was some initial consternation about having an American play Chaplin but Robert Downey Jr. is very good in the leading role. He seems to have studied and mastered some of Chaplin's routines, but unfortunately there is not enough of this in the final product. Downey is less convincing as the older Chaplin, but that can at least in part be attributed to the cumbersome and not very lifelike makeup he was forced to wear.

    The other performances are variable. Kevin Kline does an excellent job at recreating the character of Douglas Fairbanks, and Diane Lane is reasonable as Paulette Goddard. However, Dan Aykroyd looks nothing like Mack Sennett and Marisa Tomei likewise looks nothing like Mabel Normand, and neither brings their role to life. David Duchovny has to walk through his role as Chaplin's cameraman Rollie Totheroh as the script gives him nothing to do. And Anthony Hopkins is wasted as the publisher's representative.

    There are a few conceits in the casting as well. Having Moira Kelly plays two roles as Chaplin's first love (Hetty) and his last (Oona) is a bit over-the-top. Chaplin's unstable mother is played by his actress daughter Geraldine, though she resembles her mother Oona more than her father.

    This film really does not delve beneath the surface of Chaplin's character. This is a fairly shallow run through the major events of his life, and does not explain either the man or the success he achieved. Nor does it adequately explain Chaplin's creative process, which was long and arduous in some cases. He would often suspend production for days while he thought of a solution to a difficult scene, while the recreations in this film are pat and unconvincing. The tone of the film is also badly affected by a couple of scenes which are shot in slapstick style, with the film speeded up. This was unnecessary and not reflective of Chaplin's own work after leaving Keystone.

    There is also a subplot about Chaplin's brushes with the FBI, which seems to attributed to him mocking J. Edgar Hoover at a party in 1918. You would come away from this film with the impression that all Hoover did over the next 34 years was simply to try to wreak vengeance on Chaplin for the insult.

    Chaplin is worth watching for Downey's performance and for a handful of good scenes, but if you want to know more about Chaplin you would be better served by reading either of the books on which it was based, Chaplin's My Autobiography and the biography by David Robinson.

    There are a few inaccuracies: Rollie Totheroh is shown working for Sennett, but in fact he did not work at Keystone and met Chaplin at Essanay a couple of years later. During the scene where Chaplin is working on the post-production scoring of Modern Times, reference is made to Fairbanks and Pickford fighting all the time; however they had split up more than a year before production on this film had commenced. In the "what happened to" section at the end of the film it gives their divorce as being in 1936 when it was the year before. It also says Mabel Normand did not make any films after 1922, which is simply not true.

    And some trivia: one of the two cameramen at Chaplin's studios (at around the 55 minute mark) to whom he bows is Jack Totheroh, the son of Rollie. His only other film appearance was as a baby in a 1915 comedy at Essanay, which means he had 77 years between films. This must be some sort of a record. The younger cameraman in this scene is his son David.

Video

    The film is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    This is a reasonable transfer of the film, though it falls short in certain aspects. The video is quite sharp and clear throughout. There are no issues with shadow detail. The colour is good, with accurate flesh tones and some deep blacks. While the look of the film is fairly flat, I would suggest that this is how it looked in the cinema.

    There are few significant film to video artefacts, with a fair degree of edge enhancement the most noticeable problem. There are also a couple of minor instances of aliasing but nothing else of note apart from telecine wobble during the opening credits. There is a film-like sheen of grain through most scenes. The film has not been restored, though the print used was in excellent condition, with only regular small white specks to indicate damage, and some dirt being visible early in the film.

    Subtitles are available, but only in Dutch and Portuguese.

    The film is presented on an RSDL-formatted disc with the layer change positioned at 65:24 during a scene change, and is slightly disruptive.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The sole audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0. This stereo track also has some surround encoding, which allows the music and some of the effects to come from the rear channels as well as the mains. The surround effect is satisfactory and some will prefer listening to the film in this mode. The subwoofer gets a bit of a workout, and is a bit too prominent for my liking.

    Dialogue is clear and distinct. I had no trouble understanding any of it. The audio, however, is a little harsh and thin-sounding. I suspect that this is due to overuse of noise reduction to remove hiss. The audio just does not sound as though it is in a natural acoustic, and at times is quite strident.

    The music score is by John Barry. The music is not bad, though it is one of those less-than-subtle Hollywood-style scores which are designed to signal the audience's response to certain scenes, rather than to help trigger it. There is also some use of Chaplin's own music, notably the song Smile.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Not an extra to be seen, apart from the menu features.

Menu Animation and Audio

    The menu is animated with some scenes and music from the film, preceded by some excerpts from The Kid. The scene selection screens are also animated.

    This film has been released on DVD in Regions 1 and 2.

    In comparison to the US Region 1 DVD, the Region 4 DVD misses out on:

• featurette - Behind the Scenes
• theatrical trailer
• production notes
• cast and crew biographies
• Easter Eggs (cast interviews accessible from their biographies)

    In comparison with the Region 4 DVD, the US Region 1 DVD misses out on:

• 16x9 enhancement

    In comparison to the UK Region 2 DVD, the Region 4 DVD misses out on:

• featurette - Behind the Scenes
• featurette - Production Story
• featurette - A Director's View
• theatrical trailer
• photo gallery

    In comparison, the Region 2 DVD misses out on:

• nothing

    The UK Region 2 gets the best extras, plus 16x9 enhancement, so it would be the release of choice.

    As an insight into Charlie Chaplin, this film is adequate and nothing more. It is worth seeing for the lead performance if little else.

    The video quality is quite good.

    The audio is a little strident, but acceptable.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall