: Chaplin

Rating: - Downey Jr. Was Robbed...
....Kline should have, at least, also been nominated. Attenborough's sweeping film biography hits all the right notes. It gets a touch smaltzy when Chaplin visits England, but overall it is an entertaining movie with loads of great acting. See it with someone you dig being around...

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Rating: - best biography film of charlei ever
...this film was the best of telling about charlies life ever , it touches your heart , makes you laugh , make you mad , amke you feel whatever . the reason i gave this film 4 stars is because some of the info in the movie is not very accurate and thats some of the actors look nothing like the reall people such as mack sennter , charleis brother edna purviance , mabel normandand douglas faribanks . either the actors were too skiiney , tall , short , fat , or not them at all .the scenes i likes most about the film were when he palkyed the drunk in karno's company , when he had to go to salt lake city , the scene when hes old and ahs to go to an awards cermony , and possbly more .buy this film and you'll never regret it , but if you hate chaplin the don't .

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Rating: - Bitter
"Chaplin" is another in a long line of three hour biopics that are unoriginally named after their subject's last name, and which whisk us impressively through their lives without ever revealing much depth. Be it said that Downey does a good job recreating some of Chaplin's comic grace (though the scene in which Chaplin runs onto Mack Sennett's set and improvises and entire movie while others play along seems unrealistic.) The movie is told in a series of flashbacks that involve the old, bitter Chaplin discussing his life from exile in Switzerland, usually complaining of one of his ex-wives that he "hated the little --tch." Indeed, this film seeks to turn a splendid career and a complex man into a rather dark story that leaves us wanting to go watch a real Chaplin film and cheer up.

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Rating: - Robert Downey Jr can act!
From the director of great movie autobiographies such as Gandhi, and Cry Freedom, Chaplin hooks you right from the start. Simply, it's an interesting story. How a ragamuffin from the poor end of London became the most famous man in the world is wonderful.

Robert Downey Jr will always be able to look at this piece of work as his finest (forget Air America and all the news about addictions, this piece of film-work will keep him fondly remembered)

Footnote:
When all movies were still silent flickering images, Chaplin made features dealing with controversial topics such as racism, and fascism, which lead the US authorities, particularly J Edgar Hoover, to brand Chaplin a communist, and have him kicked out of the USA. Chaplin deserved better, and had to wait until the 1970s before he was remembered and recognised by his peers in America.

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Rating: - Mildly Entertaining But Paper Thin Biography
It's hard to cover a life like that of Charlie Chaplin's in a short period of time (even if that "short" period is two and a half hours). The problem is, Richard Attenborough's "Chaplin" tries to cover way too much, and in the process fails to give us much insight on Chaplin or his times. On DVD, the scene selection option is terribly wonderful because the film give different aspects of Chaplin's life seperate, sketchy vignettes. His wives and mistresses are in it for two minutes apiece, "The Great Dictator," "City Lights," and "Modern Times" each have only one scene, and if you blink you might miss the coverage of "The Gold Rush."
The film is entertaining in that it is briskly paced, and the performances are good. Robert Downey Jr. should have won an Oscar, and supporting performers, especially Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin Kline, James Woods, and Dan Aykroyd, are great. But one reason their performances are so good is because they are given no challenge. Chaplin is the only character in this movie who has more than two dimensions.
The DVD fares better. Colours are good throughout, and there aren't any visual flaws worth noting. The menu interface is pretty neat. On the extras front, there are several documentaries that are essentially promos for the film. There are quite a few production notes, including some about Chaplin's films (which, appropriately, are as sketchy as the film itself.) Hidden on the disc are some fairly illuminating interviews with Downey, Anthony Hopkins, Attenborough, and others.