Author: Dan Kamin Publisher: Scarecrow Press ISBN: 0810877813 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 245
Book Description
From his early shorts in the 1910s through his final film in 1967, Charlie Chaplin's genius embraced many arts: mime, dance, acting, music, writing, and directing. The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion examines Chaplin's fusion of these arts in his films, providing new understanding of how movement communicates, how comedy routines are structured, and how stage skills can be translated to the screen. An acclaimed comic performing artist himself, Dan Kamin brings a unique insider's perspective to the subject. He explores how Chaplin's physical virtuosity led him to create the timeless visual comedy that brought silent films to their peak. Kamin uncovers the underlying principles behind the filmmaker's gags, illuminating how Chaplin conjured comedy from the fundamental physical laws of movement. He then presents provocative new interpretations of the comedian's sound films, showing how Chaplin remained faithful to his silent comedy roots even as he kept reinventing his art for changing times. Kamin also offers new insights into how Chaplin achieved rapport with audiences and demonstrates how comedy created nearly a century ago is still fresh today. Lavishly illustrated with many never-before-published images, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin provides the only in-depth analysis of Chaplin as a movement artist and physical comedian. Revealing the inner working of Chaplin's mesmerizing art, this book will appeal not just to Chaplin fans but to anyone who loves comedy. This paperback edition features an annotated bibliography and a foreword by Scott Eyman, author of Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille and Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford.
Author: James L. Neibaur Publisher: Scarecrow Press ISBN: 0810882426 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 251
Book Description
Before making a name for himself as an undisputed master of cinema, Charlie Chaplin first developed his acting, writing, and directing skills at Keystone Studios. This book examines each of these films, assessing the important early work of a comedian who became a timeless icon.
Author: Claudia Clausius Publisher: New York [N.Y.] : P. Lang ISBN: Category : Comedy films Languages : en Pages : 216
Book Description
Speaking to us in the language of comedy, Charlie Chaplin's art has always brought the world closer together. At the same time, however, it deliberately, often insidiously puts us at odds with ourselves. What is responsible for this comic tension? And why do we find the humour irresistibly attractive? The answer greets us with a polite bow and tip of the derby - the Tramp. But whose creation is this gentleman tramp? Who holds the strings of the film marionette, Charlie - the puppeteer or the audience? The answer is, of course, both. In the collaboration between Chaplin and the spectator a comedy ignites which challenges as it delights and pricks as it tickles. Written in a straightforward manner with an eye to the amateur film enthusiast as well as the academic critic, this book investigates the Tramp character's evolution from the early shorts, through the sentimental middle period, to the darker, more cynical films and demonstrates how the comedy consistently uses the basic emotional/intellectual collision between Chaplin, the director, and Charlie, the Tramp, to evoke both laughter and reflection. Tackling both traditional and contemporary cinema criticism before analysing several of the key films The Gentleman is a Tramp takes a close-up look at the man in front of and behind the camera.
Author: Leonard Maltin Publisher: Random House Value Publishing ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 264
Book Description
Examines the personal lives, careers, and films of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Danny Kaye, and other great movie comedians.
Author: Fred Goodwins Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1442278099 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 339
Book Description
By the end of 1914, Charlie Chaplin had become the most popular actor in films, and reporters were clamoring for interviews with the comedy sensation. But no reporter had more access than Fred Goodwins. A British actor who joined Chaplin’s stock company in early 1915, Goodwins began writing short accounts of life at the studio and submitted them to publications. In February 1916 the British magazine Red Letter published the first of what became a series of more than thirty-five of Goodwins’s articles. Written in breezy prose, the articles cover a two-year period during which Chaplin’s popularity and creativity reached new heights. Only one copy of the complete series is known to exist, and its recent rediscovery marks a significant find for Chaplin fans. Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days: At Work with the Comic Genius is a vivid account of the ebb and flow of life at the Chaplin studio. Goodwins was an astute observer who deepens our understanding of Chaplin’s artistry and sheds new light on his personality. He also provides charming and revealing portraits of Chaplin’s unsung collaborators, such as his beloved costar Edna Purviance, his burly nemesis Eric Campbell, and other familiar faces that populate his films. Goodwins depicts Chaplin in the white heat of artistic creation, an indefatigable imp entertaining and inspiring the company on the set. He also describes gloomy, agonizing periods when Chaplin was paralyzed with indecision or exhaustion, or simply frustrated that it was raining and they couldn’t shoot. Reproduced here for the first time, the articles have been edited by film historian David James and annotated by Chaplin expert Dan Kamin to highlight their revelations. Illustrated with a selection of rare images that reflect the Chaplin craze, including posters, sheet music, and magazine covers, Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days provides a fascinating excursion into the private world of the iconic superstar whose films move and delight audiences to this day. It will appeal to movie fans, comedy buffs, and anyone who wants to know what really went on behind the scenes with Chaplin and his crew.
Author: Jonathan Lyons Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 1317679555 Category : Computers Languages : en Pages : 212
Book Description
While comedy writers are responsible for creating clever scripts, comedic animators have a much more complicated problem to solve: What makes a physical character funny? Comedy for Animators breaks down the answer by exploring the techniques of those who have used their bodies to make others laugh. Drawing from traditions such as commedia dell’arte, pantomime, Vaudeville, the circus, and silent and modern film, animators will learn not only to create funny characters, but also how to execute gags, create a comic climate, and use environment as a character. Whether you’re creating a comic villain or a bumbling sidekick, this is the one and only guide you need to get your audience laughing! Explanation of comedic archetypes and devices will both inspire and inform your creative choices Exploration of various modes of storytelling allows you to give the right context for your story and characters Tips for creating worlds, scenarios, and casts for your characters to flourish in Companion website includes example videos and further resources to expand your skillset--check it out at www.comedyforanimators.com! Jonathan Lyons delivers simple, fun, illustrated lessons that teach readers to apply the principles of history’s greatest physical comedians to their animated characters. This isn’t stand-up comedy—it’s the falling down and jumping around sort!
Author: Charlie Chaplin Publisher: University of Missouri Press ISBN: 0826273335 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 244
Book Description
Film star Charlie Chaplin spent February 1931 through June 1932 touring Europe, during which time he wrote a travel memoir entitled “A Comedian Sees the World.” This memoir was published as a set of five articles in Women’s Home Companion from September 1933 to January 1934 but until now had never been published as a book in the U.S. In presenting the first edition of Chaplin’s full memoir, Lisa Stein Haven provides her own introduction and notes to supplement Chaplin’s writing and enhance the narrative. Haven’s research revealed that “A Comedian Sees the World” may very well have been Chaplin’s first published composition, and that it was definitely the beginning of his writing career. It also marked a transition into becoming more vocally political for Chaplin, as his subsequent writings and films started to take on more noticeably political stances following his European tour. During his tour, Chaplin spent time with numerous politicians, celebrities, and world leaders, ranging from Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi to Albert Einstein and many others, all of whom inspired his next feature films, Modern Times (1936), The Great Dictator (1940), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), and A King in New York (1957). His excellent depiction of his experiences, coupled with Haven’s added insights, makes for a brilliant account of Chaplin’s travels and shows another side to the man whom most know only from his roles on the silver screen. Historians, travelers, and those with any bit of curiosity about one of America’s most beloved celebrities will all want to have A Comedian Sees the World in their collections. Available only in the USA and Canada.
Author: Dan Kamin Publisher: ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 202
Book Description
A reprint of the 1984 original, in which mime Kamin examines Chaplin's performance techniques. Foreword by Marcel Marceau. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Author: Jeffrey Vance Publisher: ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 408
Book Description
Drawing on research and interviews with those who knew Chaplin, Jeffrey Vance presents an illustrated account which captures Chaplin's fascinating life and his creative process, as well as describing in detail the main themes and ideas that persist through the major Chaplin films.
Author: Peter Ackroyd Publisher: Nan A. Talese ISBN: 0385537387 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 292
Book Description
A brief yet definitive new biography of one of film's greatest legends: perfect for readers who want to know more about the iconic star but who don't want to commit to a lengthy work. He was the very first icon of the silver screen and is one of the most recognizable of Hollywood faces, even a hundred years after his first film. But what of the man behind the moustache? Peter Ackroyd's new biography turns the spotlight on Chaplin's life as well as his work, from his humble theatrical beginnings in music halls to winning an honorary Academy Award. Everything is here, from the glamor of his golden age to the murky scandals of the 1940s and eventual exile to Switzerland. There are charming anecdotes along the way: playing the violin in a New York hotel room to mask the sound of Stan Laurel frying pork chops and long Hollywood lunches with Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. This masterful brief biography offers fresh revelations about one of the most familiar faces of the last century and brings the Little Tramp vividly to life.
Author: Dan Kamin
Author: James L. Neibaur
Author: Claudia Clausius
Author: Leonard Maltin
Author: Fred Goodwins
Author: Jonathan Lyons
Author: Charlie Chaplin
Author: Dan Kamin
Author: Jeffrey Vance
Author: Peter Ackroyd