Chaplin (1992) starring Robert Downey Jr.

DVD cover - Robert Downey Jr. as Chaplin

Chaplin, Directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Robert Downey Jr., Geraldine Chaplin, Moira Kelly, Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Kevin Kline

Synopsis of Chaplin:

A biography of Charlie Chaplin, told in flashback by the elderly Chaplin, played unexpectedly well by Robert Downey Jr. A very good film, relatively balanced, displaying Charlie Chaplin’s creativity, as well as his private life. It shows Charlie Chaplin’s good and bad sides, including his penchant for underage girls.

In short, it was a very well done movie; it captured the atmosphere of the time well, and I was frankly astonished at Robert Downey Jr.’s performance. I’ve never been of fan of his, or Kevin Kline’s for that matter, but everyone gave bravura performances.

Editorial Reviews of Chaplin (referring to the DVD version), courtesy of Amazon.com

DVD cover - Robert Downey Jr. as Chaplin

Sir Richard Attenborough’s biographical film of the life and times of Charles Chaplin is a little thin as a narrative, but it is so charmingly creative and ultimately moving, it’s hard to care about any deficits. Robert Downey Jr. does an excellent job re-creating Chaplin’s graceful slapstick and getting inside the silent-film superstar’s head over many years of triumph, defeat, scandal, official persecution, exile, and inner peace.

A huge cast portray the allies, friends, lovers, and enemies in Chaplin’s life, including Moira Kelly as his final, longtime wife, Oona, Kevin Kline as Douglas Fairbanks, Geraldine Chaplin as Charlie’s mother, and James Woods as a prosecutor working hard to nail Chaplin for anti-American sentiments. Attenborough declines to tell the story in a flat, linear way, employing such clever techniques as detailing one chapter in Chaplin’s life as a silent comedy. The climactic scene set at an Oscar tribute for Chaplin will get the tears flowing. —Tom Keogh

Product Description of Chaplin

Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin, the Little Tramp

ROBERT DOWNEY, JR. captures the essence of comic genius Charlie Chaplin in a compelling, nuanced performance that earned him Oscar(r) and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. Director Richard Attenborough’s well-crafted portrait traces Chaplin’s impoverished London upbringing, extraordinary success as an actor and director, his troubled marriages, scandalous affairs, shocking exile to Switzerland and his triumphant return to Hollywood. The huge star-studded cast includes KEVIN KLINE, DAN AYKROYD, MILLA JOVOVICH, DIANE LANE and GERALDINE CHAPLIN (as her own grandmother), and Downey’s astonishing mimicry of Chaplin’s gait, gestures and accents complete a dazzlingly authentic portrait of one of cinema’s first pop culture icons.

Be sure to check out the funny movie quotes from Chalin

Notes on Chaplin:

  • Geraldine Chaplin plays her own real-life grandmother.
  • Robert Downey, Jr., recorded the song “Smile” however this was not used in the film. This song can be heard on the soundtrack from the movie.
  • A body double had to be brought in for the nude scene between Charlie (Downey) and Mildred Harris (Jovovich). Milla Jovovich was only 16 years old at the time, and therefore too young to participate in a nude scene.
  • Over 200 hours of footage was shot, the original cut of the film was nearly 4 hours long.
  • The Oscar montage at the end uses footage of the real Charlie Chaplin.
  • George Hayden (Anthony Hopkins) is the only principal character in the entire film who is fictional and never existed.
  • Antony Sher was considered for the title role.

I rate it 4 clowns on a 5-clown scale.

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Professional clown for over 25 years - happily married, with 5 children and 1 grandson