|
Guestbook
|
| "Hi. I am from Mexico. I have 16 and i really love Chaplin and of course this web page also... ciao" |
| Samantha, Mexico |
 |
| "Well, I was first introduced to Sir Charles Chaplin when I was twenty in a mime class I took in college. My teacher was an avid fan and used examples from Chaplin's movies to help instruct us. It fascinated me. I wasn't too familiar with silent films but just seeing Chaplin and laughing at his actions was enough to get me interested. Fortunately during this time, they were dedicating the whole month to Chaplin on TCM. They showed a lot of his movies and the best documentary made of him called "Unknown Chaplin". A couple nights of that and I was absolutely entranced. Learning about his ingenuity and his uniqueness hooked me for life. I honestly to this day know what it is about him that made me fall in love with him. Later, when I did more research on him, I learned what a great human being he was and how different his thoughts were from everyone else's during that time. A time when fascism was popular and war was always lingering in the air. He managed to keep his own ritcious views of people and not come down to everyone's narrow-minded level. He will always be my favorite artist and I will never forget what he has given me, even in death. He is my inspiration for my art and my humanity. I thank him from the bottom of my heart." |
| Dawn, United States |
|
"The funny thing is he really did change my life! I first discovered him about 3 or 4 years ago--just stumbled across a film on TCM. Within a matter of minutes I was intrigued. When that piece ended, I quickly checked the guide and found out that TCM was just ending a Chaplin film festival.
Appetite whetted, I went to my local library, checked out everything they had--went online, joined a Chaplin group on yahoo, bought DVDs...as time went by, I bought books on Charlie and other silent film comedians. And THEN I sought other silent films, an art form that I had hitherto never even thought of--
but now I find silent film to be one of the most beautiful of art forms. I have now seen "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," "Metropolis," Louise Brooks' "Diary of a Lost Girl," Mary Pickford's "Sparrows," and needless to say, virtually everything Chaplin ever made.
What is about Charlie and his films that appeals to me? The grace, the beauty, the pathos. I laugh, yes, but unlike almost any other comedian, when Charlie makes me laugh there's an added layer of delight and appreciation that is rather hard to explain...although not to a fellow Chaplin fan!
A final note, I saw "The Kid" at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles a year or two ago, and it was one of the highlights of my life.
To be surrounded by a packed house, roaring with laughter, is just an experience I would wish for every Chaplin lover." |
| Laura, United States |
|
"Chaplin had a multi-talent which I think never will be passed by any other. He arrived at the Keystone Studios without any knowledge about cameras or film in general, and within a couple of years he revolutionized the industry throughout. Watch The Bank from 1915. We laugh of the surprising humor in the opening scene, when Charlie walks into the bank and, in a serious tune with much dignity, opens a mighty vault -- just to pick up a scrubbing pail and a swab. A few minutes later, the film changes attitude when Charlie's sweet-heart tears his love letter to pieces. Chaplin's mimic is unsurpassed. How much empathy do we feel toward, say, Roscoe Arbuckle when we view one of his 1915-flicks? They're funny, but what make us laugh is rather a number of insane dolls than human beings. The Kid is one of the most brilliant examples. Gee, how that movie makes me cry.
Chaplin knew what was touching, sad, pathetic and heroic -- he knew how to tap the emotions of his audiences to arouse them, and he had an intuitive knowledge of the workings of the human personality. Through his movies, he made the world realize social injustice while he, at the very same time, made us laugh -- until we cried. The speech at the end of The Great Dictator is amazing. He is My Master." |
| Snorre, Norway |
|
| "Thank you for this wonderful website about Charlie Chaplin. my favorite movie is "the tramp" -- Keep up with the good work, greetings from Zurich" |
| Roger Anwalt Groner, Switzerland |
|
| "Your site is just fabulous, I'm 34 and discovered Chaplin on my teen years, this man is the first true genius the movie industry ever had. A month ago I presented his biography to my classmates and they loved it. I know it sounds unnatural, but I wish he was alive." |
| Kattia, Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
