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How do you do, sir?
I'm Charlie Chaplin.

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Chaplin. You sent me a telegram.

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Butte, Montana.

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You've hired me for a year,
Mr Sennett.

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You can't be Chaplin.

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The guy I hired did the best
comedy drunk I ever saw.

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But he was old.
I don't pay 100 a week to juveniles.

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Another one, boss?
No, no, we'll move on.

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Mr Sennett...

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There can be no argument
that Charles Spencer Chaplin

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is the most iconic figure
in movie history.

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Through his silent film persona
as the Tramp

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and his dazzling talent
behind the camera,

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he transformed cinema
into an art form.

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So if nothing else,
it is an act of great daring

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to take on such a man.

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With Chaplin, director
Richard Attenborough does much more.

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This is a passionate,
richly detailed biopic

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of one of cinema's founding fathers.

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What is it about
the life of Charlie Chaplin

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that makes him such a worthwhile
subject for a biopic?

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Well, Charlie Chaplin does encompass
almost all of the 20th century.

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So the events of his life
cover the key events

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of one of the most tumultuous
centuries.

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Also,
he is a particular kind of man,

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and he's the kind of man
that lends itself well to biopics

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in that he's driven,
he's passionate, he's damaged,

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and therefore,
the decisions he makes

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are not necessarily
the decisions we'd make.

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He's incredibly famous as a result,
but it doesn't make him happy. He...

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These are all the great things
for a biopic.

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The coming from nowhere,
in his case, extreme poverty,

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the getting to somewhere,
and it not giving you what you want.

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Hm?

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OK.

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You might be Chaplin after all.

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In a sensational central performance,

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Robert Downey Jr portrays Chaplin
both on and off screen,

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from teenager to octogenarian,

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convincingly capturing both his
outward glamour and inner turmoil.

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This is a highly textured portrait
of a highly complex artist.

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Charlie Chaplin remains, I think,

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one of our great geniuses
of the art of motion pictures,

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and even people
who don't know much about him

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probably recognise the iconic image
of him as the Little Tramp

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with his moustache and cane.

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And so when Richard Attenborough
makes this film,

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which encompasses
not just the biography of Chaplin,

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but really a history
of the early part of Hollywood

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and silent pictures
going into talkies,

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he is sort of introducing that
to a brand new audience in the '90s.

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Charlie Chaplin
is vitally significant

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in the evolution of cinema.
He is, in fact,

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one of the most important figures
in the early period of Hollywood.

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He was the man who took
basically silent comedy,

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which was relatively
unsophisticated,

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and dragged it into the 20th century

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with a greater deal
of sophistication

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and also social conscience.

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He was able, somehow, through
his character of the Little Tramp,

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to engage with the audience in a way
that hadn't been done before,

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because behind that figure,

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with whom many people
could identify,

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because, of course,
these films, the great films,

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were made during
the Great Depression,

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he could then not only
send himself up,

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but he could also show the spirit
of someone who was down but not out.

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And it's also an extraordinary time
for mankind, isn't it?

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This is technological change.
There's the invention of an art form,

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but the period in which
Charlie Chaplin sort of comes of age

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is sort of the move into
the industrial century, isn't it?

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Well, it's the industrialisation
of the arts.

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I mean, we've had the industrial
revolution in the 19th century,

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and where Chaplin is, it's at
the point where creative arts

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are becoming industrialised. In
particular, we see him in Hollywood

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at a time when it begins
like a factory

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and very gradually becomes
an artistic endeavour.

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But he's encompassing
how ideas about what we do

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with all this machinery
to create something beautiful,

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something funny, something tragic,

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he's critical
in helping us understand

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how to use things
like a movie camera

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and make something out of it
that isn't simply

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knocking out 20-minute short films.

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And who's this
sitting on top of the world?

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Why, it's none other than
Charlie Chaplin,

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back in the old Keystone days
when his pathetic little figure

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first taught millions of grouches
how to smile.

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And here we see him,
a couple of million dollars later,

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but you'll notice there are
silver threads among the gold.

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We get the many shades
of a remarkable life,

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the rise from London poverty
to Hollywood fame,

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the pursuit of all the possibilities
of film and its attendant stardom,

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and also the womanising
and political views

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that tested his welcome in America

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and eventually would bring about
his downfall.

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Chaplin as a film
has all of the beats

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that you would want from a biopic
or from a film from this period,

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which is lavish period detail,

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the glamour of Hollywood
bygone times,

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the sort of idea that
the creative process

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is a difficult and costly one
for the artist.

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And, of course, Chaplin's life
was incredibly glamorous.

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He was the first really major
international film star

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and one of the most famous men
in the world.

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And the art form was so new
that he sort of lived out

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how that would affect the future
and what that meant to people.

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This is indeed

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a very emotional... moment for me.

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You're all here,
and it was realised,

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and I want to take this occasion

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to thank you

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and to express, if I possibly can
in words, although words relatable,

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I can't express
the wonderful friendship,

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this marvellous family and love
I've felt

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ever since my arrival here.

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I can't tell you
how much it has meant to me

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to know that I've had
such staunch, loyal friends.

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It's wonderful to be back
in my country, amongst my people.

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Hear, Hear!

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Charlie Chaplin is an ideal subject
for a film

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because, of course,
he is a creature of the cinema.

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Not only that,
he had such a full life

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that it's sort of stuffed
with incident.

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There's also a great
rags to riches story,

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which, of course,
is one of the great narrative arcs

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of any biography or any biopic.

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So there's everything that you need
to make something

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that is not only relevant
to the subject itself,

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I mean the man himself, but also
has a kind of meta interest

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in the fact that
it's about the creation

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of a certain cinematic style.

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But it's also a risk, isn't it,
taking on the most iconic figure

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- in film history?
- Yes, I mean, he was,
well, for the '20s and '30s,

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he was probably one of the most
famous men in the world.

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And he is also
a particular kind of performer.

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He's very skilful, very precise.

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So to put someone on screen
trying to imitate him,

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you can't imitate Chaplin,
you can't,

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"Oh, well, we'll do something
that's a bit Chaplin-style."

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You have to be able to be sure
that the actor, the performer,

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is able to have that level
of precision about comedic timing

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that Chaplin had that would make
the simplest things funny,

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which is incredibly hard.
There's a reason why

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there's really
only one Charlie Chaplin

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and that's because it's very hard
to do what he did.

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What do you think makes for
a good biopic,

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just in the general sense
of the genre?

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I think a good biopic
has to be laced with tragedy.

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We are not going to go to the cinema

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to watch someone become incredibly
wealthy and live happily ever after.

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That's not what we like.

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We are aware that with the deals
that we do for fame,

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it's like the blues singers
at the crossroads,

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the deals that we do for fame
bring about great costs.

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But also, we're also aware that
artists are normally damaged,

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that there's something
they're carrying with them.

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To want to do this in that sort
of way, that obsessive way,

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they're driven by something.
And we're fascinated,

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what is it that drives an artist?

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And with Chaplin,

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it begins, and certainly
the film argues it begins,

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with his poverty-stricken
upbringing,

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with his mother
going to the madhouse,

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and with him falling in love
with a girl who he never sees again.

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So there's a lot of tragedy
at the beginning

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which he's really unable to resolve.
He's always trying to find a way

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to use the money he has
to find the happiness he's lost.

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We also get a fabulous portrait
of Hollywood's sunlit infancy

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and the changing face of a nation

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across the first half
of the 20th century.

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The little man
makes for a big subject.

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He was the FBI, old darling.

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Said he knew
what a loyal American I was,

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wondered if everyone else
felt the same way.

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I just sat there and let him work
his way around to you. Which he did.

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He asked were you a member
of the Communist Party?

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I said that was
an absolute impossibility.

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- Because I love America.
- Because
you're too cheap to pay the dues.

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It's remarkable.
Your timing and work is flawless.

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In life, it's the reverse.

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In 1992, Attenborough was celebrating
50 years in the film industry,

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both as star and director.

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He specialised in transforming
real lives into epic dramas,

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with Winston Churchill,

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apartheid martyr Stephen Biko,

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and an Oscar-lauded life of Gandhi
behind him.

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When a biopic of American
revolutionary hero Thomas Paine

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fell apart, he was at a loss
where to turn next.

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Richard Attenborough, by the time
of making Chaplin in 1992,

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was a recognised and beloved veteran
of the motion picture industry,

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both in front of the camera
and behind it.

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He had starred in the indelible role
of Pinkie in Brighton Rock

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back in the '40s,
and went through doing a series

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of amazing war pictures,

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and then went on to direct
films like Gandhi,

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which would win him Best Director
in 1983.

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Richard Attenborough's reputation
in 1992 was,

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after 50 years in the business,
absolutely unassailable.

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He was actually a kind of
national treasure, to be honest.

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Of the 12 films
that he actually made,

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only three of those are not based
on real people or real events.

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So he was very attracted
to real lives

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and tracing their kind of trajectory

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over often many, many years.

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He is, you know, the archetypal
biopic director.

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Essentially, he almost
invented the form, didn't he?

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Yes, he did.
I mean, he invented the form

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with films about Winston Churchill,
Young Winston,

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concentrating on a very specific
period of his life.

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This is the most interesting thing
about the film Chaplin

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is it stands out from his biopics.

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He does Young Winston, he does Biko,
and he does Ghandi,

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and later
he would go on to do Shadowlands,

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but these are key figures
in the 20th century again.

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You know, obviously Churchill, Biko
is an anti-apartheid campaigner,

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00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,239
a critical
anti-apartheid campaigner.

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And these are people
who bring about change.

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Without them, we would have
a different world today.

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And so that's what interests us.

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And so Chaplin's decisions
change art forever,

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00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,839
but he doesn't know that.
He's unaware.

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What he's doing is he is being
driven by the thing that hurts

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and the desire
for some kind of peace.

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And that is why we watch.
Because if we just had someone

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writing a great song and becoming
famous, great, we don't care.

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It was Diana Hawkins,
Attenborough's long-term assistant,

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who came up with the answer.

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She drew up a list of everything
she thought Attenborough looked for

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in his world-changing life stories,

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and something closer to home.

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00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,359
At the bottom of the list,
she scribbled "CC."

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When Attenborough realised
she meant Charlie Chaplin,

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he leapt at the chance to celebrate

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00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,039
the supreme figure
of his own art form.

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00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,559
Sir Richard Attenborough
had actually made the acquaintance

237
00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:54,919
of Charlie Chaplin in the 1950s,
and like many who were in cinema,

238
00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,079
was a huge admirer of his.

239
00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,399
So he, I guess, had, on some level,
it in the back of his brain

240
00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:02,439
and loved Chaplin very much.

241
00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,559
But it hadn't been
at the forefront of his thoughts

242
00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:06,919
and he had recently had a project
fall through

243
00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,079
and was feeling
quite depressed about it.

244
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,719
So enter his long-time publicist
and assistant

245
00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,479
and creative collaborator,
Diana Hawkins.

246
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,559
She, knowing that he loved Chaplin,

247
00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:21,319
and feeling that actually
if he were to take on that project,

248
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,199
that all the best talent in
Hollywood would be drawn to it

249
00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,959
because of the subject
and how beloved Chaplin was,

250
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,199
she put a list on his desk

251
00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:33,199
and floated the idea of Chaplin
to him. And that was the beginning.

252
00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,439
And she kind of graduated
from being a publicist

253
00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,079
to being credited as a producer
and co-writer on Chaplin.

254
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,359
Chaplin and Attenborough met,
they knew each other briefly,

255
00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,719
towards the end of Chaplin's life.
And he was obsessed by him.

256
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,439
But he'd come up himself through
a very different kind of route

257
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:54,159
into acting. One of his early roles
was Pinkie in Brighton Rock,

258
00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:58,119
which is definitely not a Chaplin
role, it's a psychotic killer.

259
00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,839
Really, really mesmerising actor.

260
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:05,119
And he was able to play
an enormous range of characters.

261
00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:09,119
He could play comedy,
he could play hard working-class,

262
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,959
he could play posh, he had an
enormously diverse range of talent.

263
00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,159
So he understood
the challenge of acting

264
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,199
and he understood
the possibilities of acting.

265
00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,119
But gradually,
he became more and more interested

266
00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,319
in production and directing,

267
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,999
beginning with Oh! What A Lovely
War, which is 1969,

268
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,479
and then moving more into
his biopics,

269
00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:34,799
until by the 1980s, he was rarely
acting, if so, more cameos, I think.

270
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,199
Do you think there's sort of
an added resonance, though,

271
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,519
in the fact that Attenborough is one
of the most famous actor/directors

272
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:43,999
who there's ever been,
taking on someone he reveres

273
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:48,679
as much greater than even him, but
it's a love song to the very art form

274
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:50,959
and industry
that Attenborough belonged to.

275
00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,599
Yes. And, I mean,
it's a risky thing to do.

276
00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,519
It's typically a truth
in film and television

277
00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,359
that the general public don't want
to see films or television

278
00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,199
about people
who make films and television.

279
00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,479
But people who are in that industry,
they find the artist

280
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:08,359
and they want to explore them.

281
00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,239
Attenborough had known Chaplin
in his dotage.

282
00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,839
They had met by chance at a
restaurant in the French Riviera.

283
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,999
The younger director would drop by

284
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,959
whenever Chaplin was at the Savoy
in London,

285
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:24,079
listening to his stories,
catching the note of sadness.

286
00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,319
Years later, getting his daughter,
Geraldine Chaplin, on board

287
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:32,999
was key to gaining the approval
of Chaplin's widow, Una.

288
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,479
Her one condition was that
she had nothing to do with it.

289
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,879
She entrusted Attenborough
with her husband's legacy.

290
00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,839
He then acquired the rights
to two books,

291
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:48,879
Chaplin's autobiography,
and David Robinson's biography,

292
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:54,319
very well regarded, in order to be
able to start thinking about this,

293
00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:58,599
what would be a grand and, in fact,
rather difficult project.

294
00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,399
But what he wanted to do
first of all, his initial idea,

295
00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,239
was to make
a television mini-series,

296
00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,279
because he felt that the project
was too big

297
00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,919
to be contained within one movie.

298
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,359
He went to Universal Studios,
they initially liked the idea,

299
00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:21,359
and they agreed in principle.

300
00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:24,399
He had, on the back
of the huge success of Gandhi,

301
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,639
got a three-picture deal
with Universal.

302
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,439
So he knew he had to make three
movies. So he set about making...

303
00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,439
I mean, Gandhi he'd been working on
for 18 years,

304
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,599
so he must, to some degree,
have felt

305
00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,439
a level of creative sort of
completeness and exhaustion,

306
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,199
to looking around for something,
"What can I do?"

307
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,119
To find that,
he then was committed to that.

308
00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:47,239
You know, not the same level
of time, but the same level

309
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,719
of absolute defiant determination
to deliver the project.

310
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,679
You would've thought Attenborough
would've had the keys to the kingdom

311
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:57,559
after the success of films
like Gandhi and his overall career,

312
00:17:57,560 --> 00:17:59,719
but he struggled with Universal

313
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,199
when he approached them
for the idea of Chaplin.

314
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,279
They didn't really feel that
this dusty old figure

315
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,599
was someone that was relevant
any more.

316
00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,079
They assumed audiences
wouldn't be interested.

317
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:14,079
Tom Cruise, who was initially chosen
for the part, turned it down.

318
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,519
And the person that Attenborough
wanted instead

319
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,999
was a young actor
called Robert Downey Jr,

320
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,919
who had been in a few things
but didn't have

321
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,559
a huge amount of star power
behind him just yet.

322
00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,319
And so there was a lack of
confidence on the studio's part.

323
00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,479
Also, to complicate matters further,

324
00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:30,519
he wanted a $30 million budget
for it,

325
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:35,159
which he needed in order to capture
this elaborate world,

326
00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,319
over a long period of time, as well.

327
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,759
So the production actually stopped,

328
00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,959
or pre-production stopped,
for about ten months.

329
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,399
As convinced as Attenborough was
that he had the perfect subject,

330
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,399
Hollywood was wary
of such an expensive project.

331
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,639
There was the fear that Chaplin
might not translate to modern times.

332
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,479
Initial plans for a mini-series
were shelved.

333
00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:59,799
Then Universal pulled the plug

334
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,119
as they were building sets
at West Fillmore in California.

335
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,319
Attenborough had to take
his begging bowl around Hollywood

336
00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:08,199
to save his film.

337
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,599
It was blockbuster indie Carolco

338
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:15,079
who scented awards potential
in the lavish biopic.

339
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,879
Attenborough had a very difficult
time making Chaplin to begin with,

340
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,679
and getting it off the ground,
because Universal Pictures,

341
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:27,519
first of all having sort of
got cold feet about it,

342
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:29,639
then halved the budget. They said,

343
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,999
"You'll have to find the rest
yourself."

344
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,719
Attenborough went to Columbia
and they turned him down flat.

345
00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,919
He then thought, "Where can I go?"

346
00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:43,319
He went to a studio, Carolco,
run by Mario Kassar.

347
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,439
Carolco was known for Rambo films,

348
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,159
and they made a lot of money through
Rambo and Schwarzenegger movies,

349
00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:56,279
and they, unbelievably, said,
"We will finance the whole film."

350
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,359
They probably saw it
as a prestige product.

351
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,559
It was something that would
give them respect and kudos,

352
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,759
having made vast amounts of money

353
00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,439
from, you know,
sort of shoot-em-ups.

354
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,599
All of my fear and everything
came up before doing this film

355
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,959
because this was like saying,

356
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:15,919
"Are you... Can you really do

357
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,080
what you've always hoped
and wanted to do?"

358
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,119
So it's like, you know, it was
like a real judgement day for me.

359
00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:26,919
But what did you hope
and want to do?

360
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,799
I hoped I could...

361
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,199
I could bring him to life on screen.

362
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,839
And I wanted to...

363
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,559
I wanted to do it for myself
and for Richard,

364
00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,879
who had had the faith
to give me the opportunity.

365
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,399
Naturally, there were big names
in the frame to play Chaplin.

366
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:50,599
Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey,
Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.

367
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,079
26-year-old Robert Downey Jr,

368
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:55,879
one of Los Angeles'
brat-pack generation,

369
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,559
won the part the old-fashioned way,
in a screen test.

370
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:03,639
Nearly tripping on his way in,
he ballet-danced around the room,

371
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,359
moving in and out of character
as the Tramp.

372
00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,599
It was the way he moved
that convinced Attenborough.

373
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,960
The fact that he and Chaplin
looked uncannily alike also helped.

374
00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:16,959
Why are you so worried?
Me?

375
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,759
Oh-ho-ho!
I haven't a care in the world!

376
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:23,679
I'm the oldest action star in
the business and talkies are coming.

377
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,080
What the hell have I got to be
worried about?

378
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,719
That's talking, Charles.

379
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,960
Talking! Talking.

380
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,439
Can you imagine the Tramp talking?
It's the future, Charlie.

381
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,399
Not in my lifetime.

382
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,999
Talkies!

383
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,919
It'll never catch on.

384
00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,839
Talkies!

385
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,479
Talkies?

386
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:55,360
Talkies!

387
00:21:57,406 --> 00:22:01,159
A perfectionist, Chaplin
first rehearses his routines

388
00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,159
in front of the camera,
so he may later study

389
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,319
and improve every gesture.

390
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:11,399
This rare film, a rehearsal without
make-up for a scene in City Lights,

391
00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,520
shows how carefully Chaplin develops
his exquisite precision.

392
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,519
Downey was well aware
he was taking on an icon.

393
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,839
He worked with film historians,
vocal teachers and movement coaches.

394
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,479
He learned how to take a fall,
to walk with splayed feet,

395
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,519
or simply how Chaplin sat in a chair.

396
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:23,879
All of it had to feel effortless,

397
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,919
that languorous,
dishevelled elegance,

398
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,519
those madcap, slapstick routines.

399
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,079
His entire body
had to become Chaplin.

400
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,879
Moreover, this isn't just
a convincing version of the figure

401
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,999
we see on the screen,
but the man we never knew,

402
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,359
out of character,
wrestling with his art.

403
00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:46,479
Now, you mentioned briefly
that Robert Downey Jr won the part

404
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,279
in probably the most traditional way
there is, he did a screen test.

405
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,199
Can you just tell me a bit more about
that very famous screen test,

406
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,599
and what it was
that Attenborough saw in him?

407
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,759
Well, I mean, the screen test
started with an accidental trip,

408
00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,479
that he walked in front
of the camera and genuinely,

409
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,799
unintentionally, almost fell over.

410
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,359
That didn't necessarily
immediately translate

411
00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:10,719
and Attenborough thought
it was deliberate. Excellent.

412
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,439
And then Robert Downey Jr used
sort of dance techniques

413
00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,559
and he moved
almost as a ballet dancer.

414
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:21,239
And that's what...
really what the Vaudeville

415
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,999
and the Music Hall
slapstick routines were,

416
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,399
is they were choreographed
as if they were dance.

417
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,119
So he saw that ability
to move like a dancer,

418
00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:33,119
which was critical
for inhabiting Chaplin.

419
00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:35,959
He also looked a bit like him.
That was very, very important.

420
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,439
I mean,
that does a lot of work for you,

421
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,119
if you've got
a certain physical resemblance.

422
00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:45,599
But the performance was just, he had
a little, and it wasn't quite there,

423
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:47,759
well, of course it wasn't there,
it took him a year

424
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,599
to get to that stage
where he was ready to perform,

425
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:54,759
- but he had a quality.
- Yeah.
And once he'd seen that quality,

426
00:24:54,760 --> 00:25:00,239
that ability to be
both a bit tragic and funny,

427
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,199
then Attenborough stuck with him,

428
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,359
despite the lack of financing
as a result.

429
00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:06,399
No, wait, wait, hold it.
Keep it going.

430
00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,559
Maybe it's not so crazy after all.

431
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,640
Photographer! Henry!
Chase him around the camera!

432
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,119
OK, put him in line.

433
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:18,640
Big reaction! Big reaction!
Who is this?

434
00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,159
Stay down, Henry, stay down!

435
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,639
Groom, look jealous. Jealous.

436
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:27,919
You can do better than that,
can't you? Pride!

437
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,679
Now, Mabel, give the Tramp the eye.
That's right.

438
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,999
Yeah, yeah. Matron, you're a real
hoity-toity. Who is this bum?

439
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,759
Good, very good.

440
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,599
Downey Jr shows a really natural
and instinctive ability

441
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,239
to switch between
Chaplin the performer,

442
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,399
which was a very important thing
when there's a real persona

443
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,719
behind him
in those early silent years,

444
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:54,279
and Chaplin the man,
who was a very serious artist,

445
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,399
who was someone
who was naturally haunted

446
00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,839
by some of his past
and childhood experiences

447
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,879
and who put that into his work,
and who was a major perfectionist,

448
00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,879
who did things in the early
wild days of Hollywood

449
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:11,319
that were truly pioneering, but
spent much longer amounts of time

450
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,639
than the quick sort of slap-dash way
that they made films back then,

451
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,079
was sort of in opposition with.

452
00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:22,319
And so Downey Jr encompasses
both of those sides of Chaplin,

453
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,119
rather than just playing to a crowd
who might only see the stereotype.

454
00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:30,879
The choice of Robert Downey Jr
was quite controversial

455
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,359
because he wasn't a big star.

456
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:36,999
He was recognised,
but, you know, he would never...

457
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,239
he'd never led a film. The two films
he had done before Chaplin

458
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,119
were Soap Dish and Air America,

459
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,159
and he was a sort of second lead,
or even third lead in that.

460
00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:51,559
He was on his way up, but he was
by no means a sort of marquee name.

461
00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,079
Once you've seen Robert Downey Jr
play Chaplin,

462
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:56,919
it's quite obvious that nobody else
could have played it like him.

463
00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,279
He is absolutely perfect.

464
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,559
It's not that he was born to play
the role, in spite of what he says,

465
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,839
it was that he worked so hard
to get it right,

466
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,119
and he took all the right choices.

467
00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:12,599
He got the voice right
for a start off.

468
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,919
His English accent
is absolutely impeccable.

469
00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,599
But he got the physical comedy,
the timing.

470
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:21,599
He could do the man
with the Chaplin mask,

471
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,199
the Little Tramp mask, perfectly,
and when he took the mask off,

472
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,479
he could do Chaplin the man
wonderfully.

473
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,159
You could see the transition,

474
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,599
you could see the melancholy
in his eyes

475
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,279
and the sort of way
that he needed to

476
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:39,879
sort of keep this creature
that he had created going.

477
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,239
The other crucial element
is this isn't just the Tramp

478
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,199
he's performing as. It isn't just him
repeating Charlie Chaplin's films.

479
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,719
He's playing the teenager,
he's playing the old man,

480
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:53,039
he's playing the man off camera,
the man in Hollywood.

481
00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:58,199
You know, this isn't simply a version
of the Tramp, it is an entire life.

482
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:02,519
Yes, and it is very hard
for an actor to manage to do that.

483
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,639
I mean, at that point, Robert Downey
Jr was not tested in that way.

484
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:09,239
He'd been in brat-pack films,
he'd been in...

485
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,959
He'd been in smaller roles,
he'd never led a film.

486
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,839
And he wasn't necessarily known
as an actor actor,

487
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:20,599
he was, you know, quite good
looking, he was in popcorn movies.

488
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,359
So Attenborough saw something in him

489
00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,799
which made him understand that
he would commit to this performance

490
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,799
and that he would work hard
every step of the way

491
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,319
to try and inhabit this man.

492
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,719
He was also a huge fan. I mean,
actually, he was a fan of Chaplin.

493
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:37,839
By the time he'd finished
all his training,

494
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,519
he was probably as knowledgeable
about Chaplin as Attenborough,

495
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,599
and they did used to argue a bit
about details of,

496
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,719
"This would happen first, Richard,"
and he would go,

497
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,559
"Poppet, this is not a documentary,
we are making a film,

498
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:50,319
we're making my film."

499
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,999
So that's the other thing
is that he was a huge fan.

500
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,399
Tell me a little bit about
your opinion of the performance,

501
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,479
because it is the movie. You know,
we talk about Chaplin the biopic,

502
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,399
it's really about Robert Downey Jr,

503
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,719
who's in every scene of the film
virtually.

504
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,679
And as we say, he just did
all these different versions of him

505
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,559
and these different textures. What do
you make of that performance?

506
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,839
If Robert Downey Jr
can't convince us

507
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:18,679
that he is the greatest physical
comedian of the 20th century,

508
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,959
then we are not going to buy
this film. It's someone doing

509
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,039
a really poor-quality
Charlie Chaplin impersonation.

510
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,799
And there's plenty of people
who do impersonations of characters

511
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,919
and we just don't really want to pay
to go to the cinema to see them.

512
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,919
He was so devoted
to getting this right,

513
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,279
he found a guy who used to work on
The Benny Hill Show,

514
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,399
who had worked with a guy
who'd worked with Fred Connor,

515
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,039
and he then trained with that man.

516
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:49,279
He had these huge books that all
the Vaudeville and Music Hall stars

517
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,199
used to work from,
these enormous choreograph books.

518
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,439
He had two body movement coaches.

519
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,799
You know, he really, really
put himself through the hoops

520
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,039
in order to get everything right.

521
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,679
Chaplin is almost by definition
a one-man show.

522
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,439
No-one knew how to hold centre stage
like him.

523
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,439
Nonetheless, there are sumptuous
supporting performances.

524
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,599
Paul Rhys as his devoted brother Syd.

525
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,959
Dan Aykroyd as cranky,
tobacco-spitting

526
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,479
comedy mogul Max Sennett.

527
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:24,999
Kevin Kline cutting a dash
as Douglas Fairbanks.

528
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,959
And Kevin Dunn as a soon-to-be
FBI head J Edgar Hoover.

529
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,079
And out of an unseemly parade
of wives and lovers,

530
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:39,320
Diane Lane shines as the sassy,
exasperated Paulette Goddard.

531
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:42,039
So in order to understand Chaplin

532
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,519
and the sort of microcosm
of early Hollywood,

533
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:46,999
you do have to understand
who all the major players are

534
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,359
within that world,
especially because Chaplin,

535
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:51,599
as a newcomer
in the beginning part of the film,

536
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,159
is himself kind of an ingenue.

537
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:58,279
And so two of those key figures are
Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks,

538
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,999
who were sort of the first
celebrity couple of Hollywood,

539
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,039
and great friends
and creative partners to Chaplin.

540
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,399
And they would go on to form
Famous Players,

541
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,359
which would become United Artists,

542
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:12,759
the first sort of independent
production companies and studios

543
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:17,159
for and led by artistic vision
and by the actor.

544
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:20,319
So that's one set of relationships
that Chaplin has.

545
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,639
Another more adversarial one
is one with J Edgar Hoover,

546
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:27,839
who basically begins a vendetta
against Chaplin

547
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:31,919
which will end with Chaplin
in exile,

548
00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:35,239
leaving Hollywood and not
being welcome back into America,

549
00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,279
having his visa revoked.

550
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,439
So these are the key relationships
that the film shows at the start,

551
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,639
which will go on to affect the
trajectory of his life and career.

552
00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:46,039
There are an awful lot
of characters, of course,

553
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,199
in the film around Chaplin,
who are, you know,

554
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:50,919
are or were very well-known,

555
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,559
and they all get very distinctive
portrayals by the actors.

556
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:59,919
I'm particularly fond of Paul Rhys's
portrayal of Syd Chaplin.

557
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:04,679
Dan Aykroyd as Max Sennett,
who is wonderfully funny,

558
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,199
at the same time
immensely sort of irascible.

559
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,879
Diane Lane as Paulette Goddard,

560
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:15,359
and Kevin Kline,
who's a fantastic Douglas Fairbanks,

561
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:20,799
and who has to age, and so you see
him go into a sort of decline.

562
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,119
And you have to be good, really,
in those roles

563
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:26,279
because you're playing with
Robert Downey Jr,

564
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,839
who's spent a year
getting this part right.

565
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,079
If you don't turn up with
the same level of commitment,

566
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,159
it's going to look weak.
And they really do.

567
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,759
I mean,
I think that Max Sennett is superb.

568
00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,239
There's a description
in Chaplin's autobiography

569
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:44,439
about what it was that made
Max Sennett a great director.

570
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:46,439
And it was that
he was always laughing.

571
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,879
Whenever he was directing you,
if it was funny, he laughed.

572
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,679
That's what you were working towards
was getting Max Sennett to laugh

573
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,959
while you were filming.
And that's what Aykroyd's doing.

574
00:32:55,960 --> 00:33:01,359
He's watching the performance, and
once Max Sennett starts to laugh,

575
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:05,319
then it happens. So that's,
you know, it's a nice touch.

576
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,359
Poignantly,
Attenborough asked Geraldine Chaplin

577
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,639
to play Chaplin's mother,
her grandmother.

578
00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,919
Hannah Chaplin's rapid decline
into insanity,

579
00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,279
with her son committing her
to a London asylum,

580
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,719
haunted Chaplin his entire life.

581
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,239
Just as he was haunted
by 16-year-old Hetty Kelly,

582
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:28,079
the girl he left behind
to seek his fortune in America.

583
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:32,679
Casting Geraldine Chaplin in
a very important role in the film,

584
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,599
as her own grandmother,
Chaplin's mother,

585
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,279
is a master stroke by Attenborough

586
00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,959
because she gets to bring all of her
inherent family knowledge

587
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:45,959
to that role. And Chaplin's mother
was a very key figure

588
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:47,719
in his life and his work.

589
00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:51,359
She herself was an artist
and an actress for the screen.

590
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,439
She had a great artistic ambition
and passion,

591
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,919
but she struggled with
her mental health.

592
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:02,159
His own heartbreak is that he can't
get his mother back from insanity

593
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,359
and he can't ever get Hetty back.

594
00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:08,639
Yes. And, I mean, there's also,
he doesn't overly stress this,

595
00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,999
but there's also
his mother's psychosis involves

596
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,039
an obsessive-compulsive aspect,

597
00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,759
which she's always grinding things
up in her hands.

598
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,999
And you get the sense that
he sees Chaplin's obsession

599
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,879
with just a few notes on the piano

600
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,879
as he's trying to compose the score
for a film,

601
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,439
it's not madness in the same way,
he's functioning,

602
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,159
- but it is obsessive.
- Cos the book
editor asked the question of him

603
00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:37,199
in the film, he said, "Did you ever
fear going mad yourself?

604
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,479
Your grandmother had been mad,
your mother went mad."

605
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,239
And that felt like a very powerful
thing to ask him.

606
00:34:42,240 --> 00:34:44,959
Yes.
And Chaplin dodges the question.

607
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,999
But it is a film that studies
- a kind of madness, isn't it?
- Yes.

608
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,879
The obsessive nature,
the creative madness

609
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,119
of what he brought, that you wonder.

610
00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:59,959
Chaplin became, very quickly,
very famous.

611
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:03,999
In fact, he became one of
the most famous people in the world.

612
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,199
And that, of course, brings with it

613
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,639
a sort of forensic
sort of spotlight.

614
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,559
And because of the nature
of what he was doing,

615
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:18,199
which was he created a character

616
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:20,999
in the clown, in the Little Tramp,

617
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,879
that spoke to millions of Americans

618
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,519
who had suffered
under the Great Depression,

619
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:30,279
and they could identify with someone
who had nothing

620
00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:35,039
and yet had the sort of...
had that sort of spirit

621
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,559
to, you know,
kick authority in the pants,

622
00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:42,919
in spite of the fact that he had,
you know, absolutely nothing at all.

623
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,319
And that appealed to them a lot.

624
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,919
It was almost... almost anarchic.

625
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:53,399
The script by Brian Forbes,
William Boyd and William Goldman

626
00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:56,279
condenses a mini-series
into a feature film.

627
00:35:56,280 --> 00:36:01,159
This is the life, beginning with
a hard-scrabble, East End childhood,

628
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,479
then the rise in Music Hall,

629
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,919
the coming to America,
the movies, the Tramp,

630
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,839
to being the most famous man
in the world,

631
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:14,359
as framed by an aging Chaplin,
exiled in Switzerland,

632
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:17,959
discussing his autobiography with
Anthony Hopkins' book editor,

633
00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,440
sceptical about
what he's leaving out.

634
00:36:23,483 --> 00:36:28,239
I am amongst my own fellow artists.
Hear, hear!

635
00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:32,479
And after all,
the wonderful profession

636
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:35,639
was a great and honourable one.

637
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,799
It was the backbone,

638
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,399
the sort of...

639
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:43,479
oh, the joy,

640
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,039
the expressed joy
of good old England.

641
00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,959
And I come back
and, of course, that's gone.

642
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,400
Life goes on.
There's nothing static about life.

643
00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,239
Alongside Chaplin's journey
from stage to screen

644
00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,559
is a portrayal
of the birth of cinema.

645
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:07,919
After the dingy, cluttered,
Victorian streets of London,

646
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,399
early Hollywood is rendered
with a widescreen poetry,

647
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:16,719
an almost rural industry basking
in that glorious Californian light.

648
00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:19,119
This is still pioneer country,

649
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,039
where Max Sennett was making
two pictures a week,

650
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,440
and where a tramp
could make a million.

651
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:28,399
Well, he is... it's the Tramp,
- isn't it?
- Yeah. He is the Tramp.

652
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,319
Yeah, he carries the Tramp with him
everywhere and the Tramp has no home.

653
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:36,119
And, I mean, this line that he says,
the critical line is,

654
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:38,759
"If you want to understand me,
watch the movies."

655
00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,759
If you think about the Tramp,
the Tramp has many qualities

656
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:45,519
which Chaplin had. He's enormously
sentimental, he's enormously kind,

657
00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,319
he falls in and out of love a lot,

658
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:51,759
he is, well, he certainly begins
each film broke.

659
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:53,839
But he's incredibly cruel, as well.

660
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,119
So he will kick anyone
if he wants to, if he needs to.

661
00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,879
I mean, there is almost no person
who's safe from him.

662
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:04,359
So there is something about
understanding the Tramp

663
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:06,279
that is really about
understanding Chaplin,

664
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:11,599
is that this switch between
lovely sentimental man,

665
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:15,519
caring for the small child, and the
guy who will give you a kicking

666
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:17,679
if you get in his way.

667
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,239
And so he really is
saying the truth.

668
00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:22,159
"This man is me. I am him."

669
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,599
And understanding that
all of the qualities of that,

670
00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:30,759
that rootlessness, that inability
to be anywhere comfortably,

671
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,399
get caught up in things to your own
detriment, that's how he felt.

672
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,479
So, there is a narrative device
in Chaplin,

673
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:40,959
which is entirely the invention of
Attenborough and his screenwriters,

674
00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,199
which is this idea of Chaplin,
who in real life

675
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,279
had been living in Switzerland,
sort of in exile from America,

676
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:49,559
in his later life, working on
writing an autobiography.

677
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,959
He is having conversations
with an imagined book editor,

678
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,799
played by Anthony Hopkins, and I
think this is a way of Attenborough

679
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,359
addressing the fact that
the book was criticised

680
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:01,119
for Chaplin having certain omissions

681
00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,279
around some of the more tawdry
or controversial aspects

682
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:08,799
of his life story. And so it's a way
to lightly challenge Chaplin

683
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:10,679
in terms of his egotism,

684
00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:13,839
in terms of his own narrative
of the story of his own life

685
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:17,599
that he is putting in the book. And
so Attenborough is trying to address

686
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:22,039
some critiques of Chaplin's fame
and personality there.

687
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:25,639
This biopic of Chaplin
is surprisingly unsentimental.

688
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,919
He is drawn as a flawed man,
a neglectful husband

689
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,919
and cruel perfectionist,
and often wilfully naive.

690
00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,639
Memories of that poverty-stricken
childhood

691
00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:38,119
lead him to risky political views.

692
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:41,919
Chaplin understood that this art
could speak to millions.

693
00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:45,919
Tellingly, it is his first encounter
with a Kinetoscope

694
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,759
and walking onto his own sound stage

695
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:52,599
that are accompanied by
composer John Barry's Love Theme.

696
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:17,399
Nothing quite like it.

697
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:21,919
The film is also the story
of how Chaplin created Chaplinesque.

698
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,239
From the Vaudeville routines
born out of desperation

699
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:28,439
to his unbending devotion
to the art of comedy,

700
00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:31,919
we see the spontaneity behind scenes,

701
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,999
or the balletic choreography
of silent film,

702
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,759
and the grind of editing
that could go on for months.

703
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:41,559
Attenborough even dares to switch
the film into slapstick mode,

704
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:44,679
as Chaplin and his team escape
across the state line

705
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:48,519
with reels of The Kid
to avoid divorce lawyers.

706
00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,759
One of the good things
about this film,

707
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,399
and particularly
the character of Chaplin,

708
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:59,319
is that it shows how difficult
the creative process is,

709
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:02,479
and how, you know, the idea that

710
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:07,159
creation is 1% inspiration
and 99% perspiration.

711
00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:11,959
Chaplin was, like Stanley Kubrick,
he was a perfectionist,

712
00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:16,279
and he would do many, many,
many, many takes to get it right.

713
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:19,519
He would want absolute perfection.

714
00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:23,159
He not only drove his actors
into making sure, you know,

715
00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:26,799
going through several takes,
but he would drive himself.

716
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:30,359
And it was that driven quality

717
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:35,719
that, you know, was, in fact,
as one of his wives says,

718
00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:38,679
you know,
when he's pouring over a screenplay,

719
00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:41,039
or still pouring over something
that isn't quite right,

720
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,799
right into the middle of the night
and the early hours of the morning,

721
00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:48,759
said, "Is this why, you know, is
this what caused your last divorce?"

722
00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:52,599
And he said, "Probably." Because
filmmaking and getting it right

723
00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:57,000
was above all. It was paramount,
above relationships, everything.

724
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,839
That shows a man
who is clearly driven

725
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:04,759
by an ambition and an aspiration.

726
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:10,799
It also shows someone who cares more
about what he's producing

727
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:16,159
than what he... and what he leaves,
in other words, after his death,

728
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,679
than his relationships with anybody.

729
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:23,879
The film didn't do well on release.
It was as if critics, audiences

730
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:27,279
and Hollywood itself
felt that Chaplin was untouchable

731
00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:29,599
and were blinded
to the film's qualities,

732
00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:34,039
though Downey Jr's performance gained
a much-deserved Oscar nomination.

733
00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:35,999
But it's only over the years

734
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:38,679
that the film's value
has come to be recognised.

735
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:43,119
What Attenborough and Downey
truly evoke is Chaplin's humanity.

736
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:46,399
He was gifted in ways
he couldn't express in words.

737
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:50,679
Uneasy and often tormented,
but deeply empathetic.

738
00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:55,839
This mix is what gave us The Kid,
The Gold Rush, City Lights,

739
00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:58,439
Modern Times and The Great Dictator.

740
00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:00,519
As Chaplin says in the films,

741
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:03,759
"If you want to understand,
watch the movies."

742
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:08,159
One of the big takeaways for me
from watching Chaplin

743
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:12,999
is that Hollywood,
and often, in a larger sense,

744
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:16,839
the commercial side of the artistic,

745
00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:22,199
punishes those who colour
outside the lines too much.

746
00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,799
And although eventually
we get great catharsis for Chaplin,

747
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:28,239
being invited back to America

748
00:43:28,240 --> 00:43:32,159
and the welcoming arms of a 1972
Lifetime Achievement Award

749
00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,760
at the Oscars, and it's a very
emotional moment for him...

750
00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:39,199
...it is profoundly unfair, really,
what happened to him

751
00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:42,159
and the way a target was put
on his back for his politics.

752
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:45,319
And it was because
he wasn't a people pleaser.

753
00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:48,559
It was because he didn't quite
colour within the lines.

754
00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:52,319
And Hollywood punishes
its geniuses sometimes.

755
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,399
And so that's a bitter pill
to swallow.

756
00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:58,119
And I think Attenborough really
understood the complexity of that

757
00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,759
and also the immortality
of Chaplin's art.

758
00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:06,519
Chaplin gives an excellent portrait
of an instinctive artist

759
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:09,199
who created an incredible character,

760
00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:11,359
universally recognised,

761
00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:15,439
and then also takes off that mask
and shows the man beneath it

762
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:21,239
and the psychological complexity
that actually made him what he was.

763
00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:25,919
I think it's one of the few
really good biopics

764
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:32,319
of somebody who went from being
a nonentity

765
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:34,519
to a universal icon.

766
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:36,079
It's vastly important, isn't it?

767
00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:39,039
Because this is a lasting testament
to Chaplin.

768
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:43,199
You know, we've read the books, we've
seen the films, but so many haven't.

769
00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:47,839
And I think this is an extraordinary
film in just honouring that legacy.

770
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:51,799
Yeah, this is going to be the urtext
about Chaplin and his life

771
00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:55,679
for the majority of people
who encounter him and his life.

772
00:44:55,680 --> 00:45:00,399
I mean, it's beautifully,
respectfully, lovingly delivered.

773
00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:04,479
But it's more than that.
It has a heart and a soul to it

774
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:08,559
that is part and parcel
of the Chaplin films.

775
00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:11,119
You can take enormous
pain and suffering

776
00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:15,559
and you can make millions
and millions of people really happy.

777
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,079
That's the paradox.

778
00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:21,759
This is a valuable portrait
of a man, an artist,

779
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:24,319
and America, his great backdrop.

780
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:28,239
Attenborough goes in search
of the source of greatness

781
00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:30,999
and returns
with a profound ambiguity.

782
00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:36,559
This film is a moving testament
to the enigmatic, era-defining,

783
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:39,840
unforgettable genius
of Charlie Chaplin.

784
00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:54,400
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