Friday, April 15, 2011

Now I Get It

Charlie Chaplin would have been 122 today. Google celebrated by making their own sort-of homage, a video header for their search page.

In the comments, someone complained about about it, asking "Why didn't they show him..." --But telling that would spoil the surprise. See for yourself:

Okay, now I see why they call him a genius. The usual sappy clips don't do the guy justice. Not even close.

J. Edgar Hoover loathed him; his politics tilted left and he had a dire weakness for young women. But all that died with him. What's left is is work. Look upon it, ye mighty, and enjoy! Beats a couple of trunkless stone legs and a shattered visage in the sand, no?

(The full depth of the drop may be trompe l'oiel l'oeil. That's still some darn fancy skatin'!)
at

8 comments:

  1. TimmeehhApril 16, 2011 at 2:38 AM

    trompe l'oeil

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wayne ConradApril 16, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wayne ConradApril 16, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    X, am I right that Buster Keaton's "The General" would be another of your favorite silent classics?

    He's known for his stunts, but he was a great actor as well. If you like trains, you'll get an eyeful. And it's just a beautiful film, perfectly shot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JoannaApril 16, 2011 at 8:19 AM

    Trompe l'oeil or not, that was stomach-clenching in a way I've never quite seen before. You're right; "genius" is exactly what he was.

    And of course I LOL'd at the end when he saw it and freaked out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Roberta XApril 16, 2011 at 8:31 AM

    Joanna: well played, wasn't it? :)

    Wayne: I've never seen "The General," only excerpts; but I really, really like Keaton.

    ReplyDelete
  6. StrangerApril 16, 2011 at 11:22 AM

    Chaplin was indeed a genius. I have always thought they should have preserved the set, and cast Chaplin in another depression era classic filmed in the same set. Thorne Smith's "Rain in the Doorway," with its corrosive take on "modern" life would have been a natural. In many ways, Smith seems hilariously prescient.

    Stranger

    ReplyDelete
  7. NorthApril 16, 2011 at 6:10 PM

    That was all done with computers.



    Them vacuum tubes and such.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ed FosterApril 17, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    All that and Paulette Goddard! Amazing.

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment will not be visible until approved. Arguing or use of insulting or derogatory language will result in your comment going unpublished: no name-calling. Comments I deem excessively partisan will not be published.