- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (15 Nov 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0810945320
- ISBN-13: 978-0810945326
- Product Dimensions: 30.8 x 23.7 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 968,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Charlie Chaplin was the first international cinema star and one of the greatest comic geniuses the world has known. Drawing on research and interviews with those who knew Chaplin, Jeffrey Vance presents an illustrated account which captures Chaplin's fascinating life as well as his creative process. Vance describes in detail the atmosphere on Chaplin's film sets and his relationships with the cast and crew, his first attempts at comedy sequences that later became famous, and the main themes and ideas that persist through the major Chaplin films. Chaplin's rags-to-riches life story is also represented in these pages, every stage of which is documented in photographs: his poverty-stricken childhood in late Victorian London, his unparalleled success in Hollywood, his numerous romances and four marriages, his political persecution during the anti-communist witch-hunts, and his happy years of quiet exile in Switzerland.
About the Author
Jeffrey Vance is a film historian and an authority on silent-film comedy. He is the author of Abrams' Buster Keaton Remembered and Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian. He collaborated on two previous books on Chaplin: Wife of the Life of the Party with Lita Grey Chaplin and Making Music with Charlie Chaplin with Eric James. Vance has been involved in the preservation and restoration of many silent films.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cinematic Shakespeare!,
By
This review is from: Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (Hardcover)
Author Jeffrey Vance's claim that "What Shakespeare is to Elizabethan theater, Dickens to the Victorian novel, and Picasso to modern art, Chaplin is to twentieth-centry cinemal" may sound remarkably audacious, but this exquisite 400 page book not only shows the truth of this statement with delightful narrative, but most impressively, *illustrates* the truth of it. Here are photographs, know and unknown, reproduced in stunning clarity and freshness as though they were only taken just yesterday instead of (for many of them) nearly one hundred years ago, showing the little fellow at work. Candid photos, behind the scenes phtos, movie stills, photos of him at his zeniths, at his lows, shots showcasing his flaws and imperfections as a person, and his incredible creativity as an artist-- they are priceless pieces of cinema history that any fan of classic film will enjoy seeing. The love put into this book is evident by the sheer quality contained herein. The public has seen 'the Chaplin image' so many times, that as the book points out, the respect for the ground-breaking brilliance of the artist's work is being lost to cynics and those who would downplay his role in cinema history to laud other less known filmmakers. But this book successfully illustrates that they are forgetting one thing: Chaplin doesn't just have a ROLE in cinema history, he helped CREATE cinema history.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews) 19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous Photographic Account of Chaplin's Life,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (Hardcover)
All I can say is "WOW!" I have never seen such a detailed photobiography in my life. It's so much more in depth than Chaplin's own, "MY LIFE IN PICTURES." There is so much text (a very unusual trait for a book like this) and so many photos that it will literally take weeks to absorb it all! This doesn't even include the captions which are like stories of their own. The author uses them as a way of shoehorning every possible interesting incident or entertaining story of Chaplin's life into concise morsels of pure reading pleasure. This book covers it all -- from the early shorts, the feature films, all the wives, the scandals, his music and even a previously unpublished (for the most part) interview with Chaplin himself!! The book probably weighs in at 5 pounds. It's like a text book and photo book rolled into one. If you're a fan of comedians or silent film don't miss it!
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rediscovering the Little Tramp,
By Scott T. Rivers - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (Hardcover)
Jeffrey Vance's "Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema" is an essential book and a valuable addition to the Charlie Chaplin bibliography. Along with many previously unseen photographs, Vance has assembled a thoughtful and revealing text, with memorable insights provided by Chaplin's family and noted filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Chuck Jones. Though Chaplin rarely discussed his cinematic technique, the book's unedited 1966 interview with Richard Meryman sheds new light on his working methods. From a critical perspective, the author provides a detailed reassessment of Chaplin's Mutual period (1916-17), with a particularly keen eye toward his later work - notably "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947), "Limelight" (1952) and "A King in New York" (1957). Thanks to the diligent research of cinema historians such as Vance, Kevin Brownlow and David Robinson, future generations will have a better understanding of Charles Spencer Chaplin and his enduring artistry.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Safety of Anonymity,
By D. Ford - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (Hardcover)
I find it odd that people who leave very positive reviews for books almost always leave their names, while the negative reviewers simply throw rocks anonymously from the safety of a crowd. I also find some of the criticisms of Mr. Vance's book bewildering at best. Great pictures but "boring" text? It's a heavily researched biographical work, not an adventure story you geniuses. If you want exciting and whimsical adventure stories, go read the latest Harry Potter tome and leave the classic cinema discussions for the thinking adults, Sparky.
After reading this book, (not just marveling at the incredible pictures; pictures that can usually ONLY be accessed by working with the estates, widows, and surviving family members of an historically important individual), I watched the remastered DVDs of Chaplin's films with a new appreciation and understanding of the man's work. How sad that people feel the need to write biased negative reviews that are petty at best, and illogical and juvenile at worst. And while I've never met Mr. Vance, it would be very interesting to hear his take on some of the sour grapes offered in these reviews. Some people make important films loved the world over, and some people research and write illuminating biographies of these people. Others can only rise to the level of jealously flinging mud at well-connected authors. Somehow, I believe even Chaplin would fail to find the humor in that. |
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