The Sound of Charlie Chaplin

11 Oct 2019

The Philharmonie de Paris pays homage to Charlie Chaplin with a new exhibition which focuses on the work of the master of silent film from a musical vantage point, shining the spotlight on the close relation to dance, rhythm and the illusion of speech and sound, all rigorously “orchestrated” in each of his works.

With many film clips, photographs, artworks, rare documents and interactive installations, the new exhibition, The Sound of Charlie Chaplin (French title: Charlie Chaplin : L’Homme-orchestre) is open from October 11, 2019 to January 26, 2020, and offers an in-depth vision adapted to visitors of all age-groups, who will be able to explore the life and work of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century through a new light.

The Philharmonie de Paris also has a special programme of Chaplin-themed concerts from October 9-13, which includes Modern Times and Cineteca di Bologna/Immagine Ritrovata’s new digital restoration of A Woman of Paris with live accompaniment by the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris conducted by Timothy Brock, and more…

Criterion Releases "The Circus"

25 Sep 2019

On September 24th 2019, the Criterion Collection released Charlie Chaplin’s The Circus.

In the last film he made during the silent era, Charlie Chaplin revels in the art of the circus, paying tribute to the acrobats and pantomimists who inspired his virtuoso pratfalls. After being mistaken for a pickpocket, Chaplin’s Tramp flees into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show, falling for the troupe’s bareback rider along the way. Despite its famously troubled production, this gag-packed comedy ranks among Chaplin’s finest, thanks to some of the most audacious set pieces of the director-performer’s career, including a close brush with a lion and a climactic tightrope walk with a barrelful of monkeys. The Circus, which was rereleased in 1969 with a new score by Chaplin, is an uproarious high-wire act that showcases silent cinema’s most popular entertainer at the peak of his comic powers.

SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration of Charlie Chaplin’s 1969 rerelease version of the film, featuring an original score by Chaplin, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary featuring Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
- Interview with Chaplin from 1969
- New interview with Chaplin’s son Eugene Chaplin
- In the Service of the Story, a new program on the film’s visual effects and production design by film scholar Craig Barron
- Chaplin Today: “The Circus,” a 2003 documentary on the film featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica
- Excerpted audio interview from 1998 with Chaplin musical associate Eric James
- Unused café sequence with new score by composer Timothy Brock, and related outtakes with narration by comedy choreographer Dan Kamin
- Newly discovered outtakes featuring the Tramp and the circus rider
- Excerpts from the original recording session for the film’s opening song, “Swing Little Girl”
- Footage of the film’s 1928 Hollywood premiere
- Rerelease trailers
- PLUS: An essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson

New Italian Book: Io & Charlie

15 Jul 2019

Orecchio Acerbo Editore has just published a lovely new children’s book entitled “Io e Charlie” (Charlie and Me) by Luca Tortolini with illustrations by Giacomo Garelli (licensed by Bubbles Inc. SA).