Silent Film Mirror: Charlie Chaplin in THE CIRCUS (1928) with live piano by Makia Matsumura
Charlie Chaplin in THE CIRCUS (1928) 72 minutes
Chaplin believed his Tramp character should not speak onscreen, and would make two more silent-based movies well into the 1930s. Today's film is his last to be released in the silent era. It finds the Tramp taking refuge in a traveling circus and unknowingly becoming the star of the show. He falls in love with a horseback rider whose stepfather, the ringmaster, mistreats her. His efforts to survive, and protect her, create a seemingly personal film about love, comedy and the price of fame, climaxed by his attempt to walk the tightrope while attacked by monkeys.
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
NOTE: This feature will be played with music that Chaplin composed on the soundtrack
Preceded by a Laurel & Hardy short:
THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY (1913) 18 minutes
The title refers to a prizefight in the ring and, later, to a pie-fight in the street.
Doors at 3:00PM and screening at 3:30PM.
*Please note that children under the age of six will not be admitted to the screening.
Returning after a long hiatus, the silent film series curated and hosted by Ken Gordon celebrates its 18th year. The series has a new name, Silent Film Mirror, and this season's themes are SWAN SONGS and the SILENT RITES OF SPRING & SLAPSTICK. All 3 of the features celebrate spring by taking us to Coney Island, Yankee Stadium and the Circus, and all are Slapstick-based. Additionally, each feature is preceded by a short comedy that explores slapstick tropes like chases and pie-throwing. The features are also Swan Songs of sorts, the last great silent films by Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin to be released in the silent era, which is said to have ended by about 1929.
