BAFTA TV Award |
| Best Factual Series |
| Best Graphics |
Primetime Emmy |
| Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Directing |
| Outstanding Informational Series |
Seeing not only how he worked, but also the amazing stuff he threw away is enlightening and totally worth it.
Unknown Chaplin (1983) **** (out of 4) Unknown Chaplin: My Happiest Years Incredibly interesting documentary from Kevin Brownlow uses outtakes, behind the scenes footage and other goodies to tell the story of Charles Chaplin during his Mutual years of 1914-1917. Since most silent "extras" are gone it's rather amazing they were able to find all of this stuff, which really puts a face on the rumors surrounding Chaplin's work methods.
This delightful documentary shows the secrets of many clever tricks that were a mystery until two film historians studied Charles Chaplin's works. Highly recommended to any serious fan of Chaplin.
Its almost ironic to call charlie chaplin unknown, but you truely learn how much you don't know about him with this series. It is getting you inside the mind of genius.
Unknown Chaplin is a three part television series produced from outtakes and film clips edited from most of Charles Chaplin's well-known films. The first part focuses primarily on the Mutual period when Chaplin made twelve films in sixteen months.
Charles Chaplin was truly the first independent filmmaker - with the exception perhaps of Georges Melies. Chaplin wrote, directed, starred in and scored nearly all of his films.
"Unknown Chaplin" is an interesting program--from two authorities on film history and preservation, Kevin Brownlow and the late David Gill, two men I'm thankful to for many of the restored movies I've seen. I consider Charlie Chaplin one of the greatest filmmakers ever, in addition to being the funniest man I've ever seen.
I picked up a DVD of this British series from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and it's fitting that a filmmaker be featured prominently in an art gallery--especially since this film isn't a biography of Chaplin, but a step-by-step analysis of his working style. They did this by collecting outtakes that had been saved by Mutual Studios as well as through photos and even home movies.
