Charlie Chaplin: Interviews

Conversations With Filmmakers Series

by Kevin J. Hayes (Editor)

In late 1914, Charlie Chaplin's name first began appearing on marquees. By the end of the following year, moviegoers couldn't get enough of him and his iconic persona, the Little Tramp. Perpetually outfitted with baggy pants, a limp cane, and a dusty bowler hat, the character became so beloved that Chaplin was mobbed by fans, journalists, and critics at every turn.

Although he never particularly liked giving interviews, he accepted the demands of his stardom, giving detailed responses about his methods of making movies. He quickly progressed from making two-reel shorts to feature-length masterpieces such as The Gold Rush , City Lights , and Modern Times .

Charlie Interviews offers a complex portrait of perhaps the world's greatest cinematic comedian and a man who is considered to be one of the most influential screen artists in movie history. The interviews he granted, performances in and of themselves, are often as well-crafted as his films. Unlike the Little Tramp, Chaplin the interviewee comes across as melancholy and serious, as the titles of some early interviews―“Beneath the Witty, Wistful, Serious Is the Real Charlie” or “The Hamlet-Like Nature of Charlie Chaplin”―make abundantly clear.

His first sound feature, The Great Dictator , is a direct condemnation of Hitler. His later films such as Monsieur Verdoux and Limelight obliquely criticize American policy and consequently generated mixed reactions from critics and little response from moviegoers. During this late period of his filmmaking, Chaplin granted interviews less often. The three later interviews included here are thus extremely valuable, offering long, contemplative analyses of the man's life and work.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2005

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08mkprs

Description: Charlie Chaplin (1889-1975) rose from a destitute childhood to become perhaps the greatest comedian and filmmakers of them all.

First published in 1964, Nigel Hawthorne reads the extraordinary story of how Sir Charlie Chaplin became a silent cinema comedy legend renowned for his on-screen slapstick. Abridged in ten parts by Donald Bancroft.

1: At the start of his story, however, a sad fate awaits...

2: Surviving a school for destitute children.

3: His actor father is forced to take care of him.

4: Early success and failure on the stage.

5: The fate of his father. Read by Nigel Hawthorne.

6: Repercussions from the fate of his mother.

7: With his mother ill, Charlie Chaplin's stage career begins.

8: Honing his stagecraft and falling in love.

9: Stage success arouses jealousy and love.

10: Taking stock and a fateful decision.

[Kuriztee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, another great book for any Chaplin fan. I absolutely love the way he speaks and the way his personality is shown through text. The interviews show how much thought or what lack of thought went into his movies but what they meant between the lines and what this art meant to him. I wish I could've sat down and had a conversation with Mr. Chaplin. GENIUS.

[Ahmad Badghaish · Rating 4 out of 5]

أظن كلامي عن تشابلن راح يكون مجروح كثير، في البداية وقبل قراءة الكتاب يجب أن تكون مطلعًا على سيرة حياته حتى تفهم ظروف اللقاءات. أسلوب اللقاءات غريب عني، لكن تشابلن كان يتعامل معها بذكاء، على الرغم من قلة المقابلات. فعليًا كان ممتع جدًا بالنسبة لي

[nAeEMak نعیمک]

چرا باید مصاحبه کارگردان‌ها را خواند؟ بیشتر از هر چیزی برای من علاقه شخصی است. به این که روی واقعی آن‌ها را ببینم و چاپلین شاید به عنوان شمایل سینما و هنر یکی از آن آدم‌ها است. اولین برای فیلم‌های چاپلین را روی دی‌وی‌دی مجموعه آثاری که از باغ فردوس خریده بودم دیدم. کم‌نظیر بود. نبوغ چاپلین هنوز هم جواب می‌دهد. دقیقاً از نبوغ استفاده می‌کنم چون می‌داند چه می‌کند. و همان زمان کتاب را خریدم و از خواندنش لذت میبردم.
چیزی که می‌نویسم با اتکا بر حافظه است. بیشتر مقاله‌های کتاب مصاحبه‌های رودرو نیست. در سنت مقاله‌نویسی غرب گاهاً مقاله‌ها با حال و هوای گفت‌وگو پیش می‌شود و نقل قول مصاحبه شونده بین این مقاله می‌آید پیش با یک گفت‌وگوی پرس و پاسخی طرف نیستیم. اما از همین بین خیلی نکات مهمی درباره چاپلی، شیوه کارش و مهم‌تر از همه نظراتش پیرامون سینما دست پیدا می‌کنیم. پیشنهاد می‌کنم قبل از خواندن کتاب یک بار دیگری چند فیلم کوتاه و بلند از او ببینید.

[Murat Başaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bazin ve Rohmer'in Chaplin'inin altında kalan, yine de keyifli bir kitap. Ha, en iyisi gidip Hayatımın Hikayesi okumak elbette, lakin bulursanız değerlendirilebilir bir kaynak. Elbette filmleriyle birlikte! İzlemeden okumanın hiçbir keyfi olmayacaktır.

[Lee Bullitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's more of a 3.5 but anyway...