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Unknown Chaplin: Great Director [VHS]

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I remember sitting in front of my television, rapturously watching the documentary "Hollywood" created by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill in 1980. Each of the 13 segments dealing with a specific part of early Hollywood history, played on PBS and was a true delight. In this era before DVD, and even VHS, it was a great way to see a large number of rare clips from the Silent era. A few years later, they made "Unknown Chaplin", perhaps the most astonishing documentary ever created about the technical side of Hollywood. A few years later, "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" continued the tradition.

"Unknown Chaplin" was just released on DVD and is a must have addition for anyone even remotely interested in the history of film or filmmaking.

During production of "Hollywood", Brownlow and Gill naturally wanted to devote an entire hour to Chaplin but ran into a roadblock. The person who controlled access to Chaplin's work was only prepared to let them use a "snippet". They had to change their plans. They couldn't build an entire hour around a "snippet". After "Hollywood" aired, to great critical acclaim, they tried again. Chaplin's widow allowed them access to his personal vault. What they found there astonished them; row after row of film cans, many labeled with "City Lights", "The Gold Rush", "The Circus" and many with unfamiliar names. These contained clips never before seen, projects started but never finished and rehearsals for films like "City Lights". It was a treasure trove for any film historian.

Naturally, they believed they had just hit the mother load, but soon met a man named Raymond Rohauer. Rohauer, a film "collector", claimed to have many reels of film from Chaplin's Mutual days, the period immediately before Chaplin went independent and began to make his great feature-length films. The Mutual period is considered by many to be Chaplin's best, when he made his most famous two-reelers, "The Immigrant", "The Cure" and others along with "The Kid". As they viewed this footage, Brownlow and Gill made a major realization; Chaplin worked out all of his films on the set, while the cameras were rolling, providing a visual history of his work. Beginning with a bare outline he would began production, working out jokes on set, adding jokes, changing stories, and more. Sometimes, he would scrap everything and start over. Or get an idea and change everything around. And the camera was always running while he did this.

"Unknown Chaplin" premiered in 1983 to great critical acclaim, exposing many to the methods used by one of film's greatest comedians and most skilled directors. Imagine having the ability to watch Claude Monet create a canvas and get insight into the various decisions he made. Or to watch Frank Lloyd Wright work on his latest design and see why he decided to put that piece of word there. This is what "Unknown Chaplin" provides, access into the mind of a master.

Recently released on DVD for the first time, each of the three segments of "Unknown" look amazingly vivid and clear. Some of the better footage is so clear it looks like it was photographed yesterday. As James Mason narrates, guiding us, we begin to learn how Chaplin created his films. Every time I say this, I just get chills up and down my spine. How often can we expect to see a master, someone at the top of their craft, creating some of their most famous work? Considering how much of the Silent era was destroyed, the fact that this film exists at all is all the more impressive.

Part One is the most groundbreaking, presenting the footage from the Mutual days. Brownlow and Gill quickly realized that Chaplin filmed every take and frequently changed bits between takes. How should they deal with this wealth of material? They decided to arrange the clips in chronological order, recreating how Chaplin worked on the material as the cameras rolled. He began each project with an outline, but this is by no means how the projects were completed. He would work out the jokes and funny business on set, sometimes running into road blocks. If he couldn't work through it, he would scrap everything and start over. We get to see this process as we watch these clips unearthed by the filmmakers.

Part Two presents the material obtained from Chapin's vaults, after he became independent and began making feature length films. Less extensive, the footage still reveals a lot. For instance, a family friend stood near the camera and was able to take home movies as Chaplin worked on "City Lights". This footage is shown, and we get a glimpse of Chaplin, the director, at work. We also watch as Chaplin works through various location problems with "The Gold Rush", unused footage from "The Circus" and more.

Part Three shows us the unseen clips, portions of abandoned projects, unseen shorts and more Brownlow and Gill found in the Chaplin vaults. After Chaplin built his own studio, many dignitaries and famous people stopped by and the director filmed these visits, sometimes making quick shorts with them, on existing sets. If he did any funny business during these impromptu films, he frequently incorporated this into later works. He even started a few projects that were never finished, one of which shows Charlie as a down-on-his-luck `Professor' who owns a flea circus, temporarily abandoning his Tramp character.

"Unknown Chaplin" is a documentary almost solely devoted to the filmmaker's work. The few references to his personal life are made because they somehow affected his professional work. Because of this "Unknown" presents one of the most thorough, interesting and illuminating looks at one of film's true masters and true pioneers.

I have long owned the three-tape vhs version of this title. In the days before David Shephard, et al. put out all those magnificent restorations (and before Warner Bros. rereleased some early Chaplins), this series was the ONLY place to find high quality Chaplin films, albeit not complete, and incredible outtakes. I can't recommend this series enough to any Chaplin fan. My pre-order is on file!!

I agree this is a wonderful set. All the more impressive when one understands that the "out-takes" referred to in other reviews were supposed to be destroyed! Chaplin filmed his rehersals and played them back later, watching to see how jokes worked best. At times he'd do over a hundred takes until he had the gag worked out the way he wanted. Today, with video that doesn't seem like a big deal, but for him to film it all was an extremely large investment made by a true comic artist. After the film was complete, Chaplin ordered all this extra footage burned. Only because someone disobeyed did this material survive to be seen today.

Another great feature of this set (along with Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow and Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius) is interviews with surviving co-workers who share their personal memories of Chaplin. Even during the time between the Chaplin and the Lloyd series, many of those interviewed had passed away. Recreating this documentary today would be impossible. Get this set and look back on a parade that has gone by.

Highly recommended, especially for those interested in history and film production.

This absolutely astonishing set of tapes shows Charlie Chaplin at work on some of his greatest films. What a unique experience to see one of the true geniuses of cinema hone his art! You get to watch gags and storylines evolve as he painstakingly experiments before the cameras. There's even an amazing moment when Chaplin, in his Little Tramp costume, angrily turns and berates a talkative extra on the set of "The Immigrant." If you love Chaplin, this collection is a little bit of heaven.

The third and final volume in the "Unknown Chaplin" series put together by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill for Thames Television, looks at some of the lost treasures that were hidden for over half a century in the Chaplin family film vault. Again the emphasis is on how simple gags eventually evolved and made their way into Chaplin's films. A home movie reveals a bit that eventually became the ballet with the globe balloon in "The Great Dictator," while some shots from the unfinished filmed "The Professor" reappears as one of the dream sequences in "Limelight." However, the centerpiece here is the restored opening sequence from "City Lights," presented with its original musical score. I stumbled across this documentary several years ago and was instantly enthralled. James Mason provides the perfect narration, where you feel he is enjoying the discoveries as much as you are as we watch Chaplin create his comic magic. "Unknown Chaplin" is an exemplary documentary treatise on one of the acknowledged masters of the cinema, showing us how he created some of the funniest sequences in movie history. Even if you have seen only bits and pieces of Chaplin's work, you will find this documentary absolutely fascinating.

"The Great Director," Volume 2 in the "Unknown Chaplin" series from Thames Television, looks at Chaplin working on some of his biggest films, including "The Kid," "The Gold Rush" and my personal favorite, "City Lights." The chief assets of this documentary are the treasures found in the Chaplin family private film vault, including discarded sequences and home movies never before seen by the public. There are also interviews with Jackie Coogan, Lita Grey, Virginia Cherrill and others who worked with Chaplin. The emphasis remains on how Chaplin worked, beginning with simple sight gags and slapstick and transforming them into comic masterpieces. This volume also gets into a bit more of Chaplin's artistic temperament, especially when his patience ran thin with Cherrill and he temporarily replaced her with Grey as the blind girl in "City Lights." There are even clips of the film's classic ending shot with Grey. Kevin Brownlow and David Gill were given access to these unseen films by Oona Chaplin and they make the most of it in providing a portrait of a great artist at work. James Mason provides the narration, managing to sound like a college professor lecturing students and at the same time like a fan of Chaplin's comic genius. Whether you have seen a few or all of Chaplin's films, "Unknown Chaplin" is an absolute treat.

These tapes are worth owning. Covers from the beginning, behind-the-scenes and later on in his movie "life". Georgia Hale,Lita Grey and other leading ladies, give some insight into Charlie's movie making process. Very entertaining.

Unknown Chaplin is an excellent three part documentary about the parts of Charlie Chaplin's career that are not well known to the public. Film-makers Kevin Brownlow and David Gill became aware of rare film footage from Chaplin's archive and came up with the idea to make a documentary of it. They discovered ample evidence of the genius's filming techniques including scenes of him directing and creating gags on film.

The first episode delves into what are known as Chaplin's "happiest years," the ones making Mutual comedies. During this time, he was able to do everything behind the camera. He was a director as well as an actor and he contributed greatly to the stories and pacing of the films. We also learn a bit about his relationship with Edna Purviance, his leading lady for 8 years. The second bit focuses heavily on two major accomplishments in Chaplin's career, The Gold Rush and City Lights. Here we see interviews with his leading ladies Georgia Hale and Virginia Cherrill to gain insight into the man and his methods. The last segment rediscovers the artist through outtakes and rare clips. We see a very funny cut scene from City Lights as well as other interesting moments.

Also included on this disk are two fascinating bits for film historians. We hear Brownlow's story of the making of these documentaries, a very interesting but disappointingly short segment. Next is The Making of The Count, a dissection of how Chaplin made the film. Both are excellent supplements to a wonderful show. If you find yourself wondering why Chaplin gets so much attention in the history books, watch this film. You won't second guess anymore.

I consider this an excellent documentary of the inner workings of Chas. Chaplin. There are many insightful parts and many of the films recorded on this documentary that had never been seen since they were filmed. Also according to the DVD extras, some of the film that is seen on this dvd did not survive.

This video is mainly outtakes and shows scenes never seen before. I think this is the most behind-the-scenes you'll get. Also shows Charlie "breaking up" in some scenes.