aabooksuk
Price: £7.33
In stock
avides_media
Price: £7.82
In stock
12 used & new from £3.98
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Charlie Chaplin - Limelight [DVD] [1952]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Charlie Chaplin - Limelight [DVD] [1952]


4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


9 new from £3.99 3 used from £3.98
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Charlie Chaplin - Limelight [DVD] [1952]
82% buy the item featured on this page:
Charlie Chaplin - Limelight [DVD] [1952] 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
Charlie Chaplin - City Lights [DVD] [1931]
6% buy
Charlie Chaplin - City Lights [DVD] [1931] 4.5 out of 5 stars (10)
£8.98
Charlie Chaplin - Circus [DVD] [1928]
5% buy
Charlie Chaplin - Circus [DVD] [1928] 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£8.98
Charlie Chaplin Complete Box Set [DVD] [1921]
4% buy
Charlie Chaplin Complete Box Set [DVD] [1921] 5.0 out of 5 stars (14)
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Format: Black & White, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 22 Sep 2003
  • Run Time: 145 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000AISJO
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,121 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

One of Charlie Chaplin's most personal projects was 1952's Limelight for which he composed the unforgettably haunting score and which featured his son Sydney in a major supporting role. The result is a bittersweet masterwork, a May-September romance between an ascendant ballerina (Claire Bloom in only her second film) and a fading clown. Script and performances are superb, and though entirely studio-made, with London recreated in America, Chaplin's great visual sensibility ensures the production never feels stage-bound. The story harks back to the glory years of Music Hall and in fictionalised form draws heavily on Chaplin's experiences as recounted in his superb autobiography.

More affectionate and philosophical than the comparable Sunset Boulevard (1950), the story movingly echoes A Star is Born (1937) and The Red Shoes (1948), while one brilliant touch is the inclusion of Chaplin's fellow "silent" era star, Buster Keaton as his stage partner. Comedy is not forgotten, but this is at heart a moving reflection on the passage of time, a deeply autobiographical work in which the never seen background of the Great War is an ironic contrast to Chaplin's celebration of youth, theatre, music, love and life itself.

On the DVD: Limelight is presented in the original 4:3 black and white with excellent mono sound and a picture which apart from a little unobtrusive grain is absolutely immaculate. Also included are French and Italian-dubbed versions and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the soundtrack, which simply adds unnecessary spatial processing to the mono original. The disc features multiple subtitle options, including English for hard of hearing.

Disc 2 features a very useful six-minute introduction by David Robinson and an excellent 26-minute new documentary featuring contributions from Claire Bloom, Sydney Chaplin and Bernardo Bertolucci. One remarkable extra is Chaplin's entire Oscar-winning 58-minute score available as 36 separate musical cues in excellent mono. There is a four-minute scene that was included in the original release of the film and later cut, an unfinished short from 1919, The Professor (6 min), which introduces the flea circus idea developed in Limelight, as well as English and Italian trailers. Also included is a nine-section photo gallery and selection of posters, as well as two extracts from Chaplin reading Footlights, the unpublished novel upon which he based the film. Finally, 15 minutes of colour home movies show the star with his family in 1950 and more remarkably, revisiting the London of his youth in 1959. --Gary S Dalkin



DVD Description

A young dancer wants to know if the white-haired gentleman who saved her life is Calvero, the great music hall comedian. "I was," the gent replies. Charles Chaplin’s Limelight is a glimmering homage to what was, a proud look at a bygone entertainment era and a bittersweet tale of an artist passing the torch to a new generation. Chaplin portrays Calvero (the "tramp comedian" per an old theatrical poster in his room), who rescues a distraught ballerina (Claire Bloom) from suicide and mentors her to success. Among the film’s comedy highlights is a musical routine that’s anything but routine in the hands of legend Chaplin and stony-faced Buster Keaton. The extraordinary score by Chaplin, Raymond Rasch and Larry Russell earned the screen legend his only competitive Oscar.

Winner of 4 Academy Awards. Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Original Score, 1976. Winner of 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Best Direction, Best Cinematography, 1976.

See all Reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Charlie Chaplin - Monsieur Verdoux [DVD] [1947]

Charlie Chaplin - Monsieur Verdoux [DVD] [1947]

DVD ~ Charles Chaplin
4.2 out of 5 stars (4)  £13.67
Charlie Chaplin - City Lights [DVD] [1931]

Charlie Chaplin - City Lights [DVD] [1931]

DVD ~ Charles Chaplin
4.5 out of 5 stars (10)  £8.98
Charlie Chaplin - Circus [DVD] [1928]

Charlie Chaplin - Circus [DVD] [1928]

DVD ~ Merna Kennedy
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £8.98
Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940] [DVD]

Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940] [DVD]

DVD ~ Charlie Chaplin
4.7 out of 5 stars (15) 
Charlie Chaplin - Gold Rush [DVD] [1925]

Charlie Chaplin - Gold Rush [DVD] [1925]

DVD ~ Charles Chaplin
4.8 out of 5 stars (5) 
› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(5)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Limelight-a masterpiece, 3 April 2008
By Mrs. C. Jenner "adesto" (Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I am gradually introducing my sons to each of Chaplin's longer films.I was interested to see how they would react to Limelight after previously seeing such movies as "The Great Dictator", "Modern Times" and "City Lights".Like me they loved it.It is quite a contrast to the Knockabout comedy of a younger Chaplin and ,released in 1952 , benefits from a mature and reflective treatment of the themes of love,loyalty and fame.Though I am not normally a fan of Claire Bloom I think Chaplin drew from her a touching,gentle and masterly performance to match his own.The dismissal by some critics at its initial release as being too "wordy" reflects less on the film than on their unwillingness to ackowledge Chaplin's multi-faceted genius.Watch it.It is unforgetable.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Chaplin's Limelight, 10 Jul 2004
By A Customer
This film is well preserved on this new dvd release. Limelight has real warmth to it. Chaplin's music hall sketches are quite charming. The sketch with Buster Keaton is memorable, but one feels that Keaton could have done more than perhaps he was allowed to(Chaplin had him play a secondary part). The only criticism is that the ballet scenes are too long (and dull). The extras are not outstanding, but the short silent film with Chaplin as a flea circus trainer is interesting.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful., 15 Aug 2009
By Graeme J. Beard - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A master of his art this film is superb and with the addition of the best of the past masters in Buster Keaton it becomes even better. For all lovers of Chaplin this and The Kid are musts.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject






i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.