The most amazing thing to me about this famous film is the way Charlie Chaplin so ably duplicates the style of one of his earlier silent pictures. He knew all too well how fast the future was coming up, and how cinema had changed with the advent of sound recording. Like many, he feared mechanization and modern industry. He knew that his legendary Tramp character had to be put to bed, so he decided to go out in style. The picture is a tribute not only to The Tramp as a cinematic icon, but a showcase for Chaplin's truly varied talents as actor, writer, and director.
To go without sound when you don't have to do so is a mark of true class. Chaplin reminds us of how much we can rely on visual information to understand a story. The quick close-ups, tight edits, and the slightly exaggerated, histrionic scenes with Paulette Goddard are a stunning and pleasurable flashback to the simple melodramatic silent films of earlier years. It is sophisticated and serious despite the hilarious scenes. It was almost as if Chaplin wanted to remind modern film audiences that pictures of the silent era are an entirely separate genre from the "talkies." The closing scene, with the two leads walking off down the road, is elegaic and touching. I simply cannot understand why the Academy did not recognize the artistry that went into so many components of this picture. However, this oversight was made up later by the well-deserved lifetime achievement award for Chaplin.
To go without sound when you don't have to do so is a mark of true class. Chaplin reminds us of how much we can rely on visual information to understand a story. The quick close-ups, tight edits, and the slightly exaggerated, histrionic scenes with Paulette Goddard are a stunning and pleasurable flashback to the simple melodramatic silent films of earlier years. It is sophisticated and serious despite the hilarious scenes. It was almost as if Chaplin wanted to remind modern film audiences that pictures of the silent era are an entirely separate genre from the "talkies." The closing scene, with the two leads walking off down the road, is elegaic and touching. I simply cannot understand why the Academy did not recognize the artistry that went into so many components of this picture. However, this oversight was made up later by the well-deserved lifetime achievement award for Chaplin.