The Real Charlie Chaplin

A current Showtime doc about the master of silent film. Told from actual archival audio reels by Chaplin & key players in his life, this film is a welcome intro which gets at the heart of where his genius stemmed from (his poor upbringing in a working class section of England), where it would take him (he became the preeminent filmmaker of his generation w/crowds in the thousands flocking to his appearances) & how life humbled him (his persecution by the FBI for his communist leanings & his predilection for wooing young girls). Using actor portrayals to animate the archival audio gives the spoken words a perfect concreteness since there isn't any talking head interviews (Chaplin's son & daughters are interviewed be we only hear them). Probably not the definitive word on Chaplin (even 1992's Chaplin w/Robert Downey Jr. Scratched the surface a bit) but considering Showtime's stellar documentary presentations, this one will stand for the moment.