Chaplin
dir. Richard Attenborough (1992)
A lengthy biopic that musters unexpected pathos in portraying the rise and fall, the brilliance and obsession, the unhappy wretchedness (some dictated by circumstances, some self-inflicted) of the man behind the tramp mask. Downey Jr. is exceptional even amongst a stellar cast.
The Great Dictator
dir. Charlie Chaplin (1940)
A political satire that, even at the time, carried a poignance well beyond its surface humour. Chaplin, playing a Jewish barber Hitler lookalike, struck an uneasy but quite brilliant balance between serious filmmaking (Chaplin the writer-director) and comic business (Chaplin the actor).
