#756: CHAPLIN, Charles: Limelight (1952)

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CHAPLIN, Charles (United States)
Limelight [1952]
Spine #756
Blu-ray


Charlie Chaplin's masterful drama about the twilight of a former vaudeville star is among the writer-director's most touching films. Chaplin plays Calvero, a once beloved musical-comedy performer, now a washed-up alcoholic who lives in a small London flat. A glimmer of hope arrives when he meets a beautiful but melancholy ballerina (Claire Bloom) who lives downstairs. An elegant mix of the comic and the tragic, this poignant movie also features Buster Keaton in an extended cameo, marking the only time the two silent comedy icons appeared in a film together. Made at a time when Chaplin was under attack by the American press and far right, Limelight was scarcely distributed in the United States upon its initial release, but it is now considered one of his essential and most personal works.

137 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2015
Director/Writer


Charles Chaplin was 63 when he wrote and directed Limelight.

Other Chaplin films in the Collection:

#799: The Kid (1921)

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Forty-four page booklet featuring an essay by critic Peter von Bagh and excerpts from an on-set piece by journalist Henry Gris.

Commentary

None.

Chaplin’s “Limelight”: Its Evolution and Intimacy

A video essay by Chaplin biographer David Robinson.

Interviews

With actors Bloom and Lloyd.

Chaplin Today: “Limelight”

A 2002 documentary on the film.

Archival audio recording

Of Chaplin reading two short excerpts from his novella Footlights.

Two short films

By Chaplin: A Night in the Show (1915) and the uncompleted The Professor (1919).

Outtake and two trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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