Charles Chaplin: An Appreciation by Charles Silver PDF torrent

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Charles Chaplin: An Appreciation by Charles Silver PDF

Seventy five years ago, in February 1914, six months before the guns of August signaled the beginning of the end, a messiah for the modern age appeared. He was a figure of shabby elegance, and decidely dubious dignity, a denizen of the slums. In short, he was a bum, or as his creator preferred, a Tramp. Scrambling for survival against uneven odds, and frequently giving authority a forceful kick in the butt, the Tramp attracted the allegiance of that mass of humanity for which the twentieth century offered a threatening present, and a potentially dire future.

The phenomenon of Chaplin's worldwide popularity was far from being a happy cultural accident. For all of his last five films, Chaplin required no language, or rather his language was universal. Although he was a white male dealing with the hazards of Western society, his feelings and values were not restricted by geography. Everyone understood lonlieness, everyone looked for love, and everyone longed to kick someone in the butt. Chaplin elevated the most basic human needs and vulnerabilities to the highest levels of art. In the process, he has affected more people than any artist in history.

Chaplin often spoke of the 'feebleness' of words and how nothing written can substitute for the experience of the films themselves. We encourage you to see them, and perhaps add a little to your pleasure. See the films and see if you agree that Charlie Chaplin, ultimately Sir Charles, will do nicely still, until another messiah comes along.

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