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Viewing The Kid
Students,
I have some goo news and some bad news.
First the bad news: There is no soundtrack to the upload of Charles Chaplin's film, The Kid (1921).
The good news is that you have not lost your hearing.
In addition this gives me the chance to sum up the exhibition of silent films during the Silent Film era.
Movies were never silent, even before the invention of sound in 1927. There was always a musical accompaniment to the film, supplied by the theatre organist or pianist who usually played familiar tunes to suit a scene's mood. Sometimes music was prescribed by the studio, but mainly improvised by the local theatre accompanist.
In some cases (such as in Japan) narrators explained or interpreted the film, often embellishing the narrative in fanciful ways.
But in Western countries the main accompaniment was musical. In the bigger theatres there might be a large orchestra, as in the case of D. W. Griffith's landmark, The Birth of a Nation (1915).
There were two reasons for an accompaniment.
First, there was the practical issue of covering the sound of the noisy projector.
Second, it was to create a mood to enhance the images on the screen. This function of an accompaniment has never changed, only now it's called an underscore and it's attached to an optical strip on the film.
In the case of the silent cinema, we can only guess what music was played during exhibition. Moreover, the accompaniment had no aesthetic relation to the film in the sense of commenting on the images the way modern underscores do.
Since the accompaniment was intended only for mood enhancement, nothing is lost by seeing a silent film silent. In fact it may enhance one's visual focus on the film.
But for those who feel uncomfortable viewing a film silent, just put on a CD you think matches the film. Certainly don't try heavy rock or even vocal music, which may be a distraction. Try some romantic piano or string music instead.
THE KID
The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921) is an assigned film for home viewing.
It was directed by, and stars, Charlie Chaplin, who also wrote and produced the film and (later) added a musical score. The Kid is famous for Chaplin's blending of comedy and pathos along with social commentary.
Every film student should know Chaplin's cinema. For he is, without doubt, one of the great artists of the twentieth century, and, with director D. W. Griffith, one of the first great artists of the cinema.
We study this film from many points of view, but our focus will be on traditional presentational acting technique, different from today's "naturalistic" and representational acting styles (see study pictures).
(Roughly, "presentational" means acting to an audience; whereas representational pretends there is no audience, making it like real life.)
Chaplin had no equal as a mime artist and was one of the early cinema's great directors. His stories (staged by himself) were well plotted; his cinematography, while not fancy, was functional (it captured each key moment).
Chaplin summed up camera scale with the motto, "Long shot for comedy, close-up for tragedy." This is not exactly true, but as a general principle it holds true.
Born in England, Chaplin migrated to America and helped make Hollywood the world center of the new cinema. As much as any one person, he can be credited with making cinema the great art form of the twentieth century. Only D. W. Griffith, as director, was his equal in forming the basic grammar of film.
At one time Chaplin was the most famous man in the world. Even his music became famous. "Smile" (from Modern Times) is one of the most recorded songs of all time, while "Eternally" (from Limelight) and "This Is My Song" (from Countess from Hong Kong) are close behind. (Click on the links to hear these famous songs.)
The longest standing ovation in the history of the Academy Awards (Oscars) was for Charles Spencer Chaplin when he was presented with an honorary Oscar near the end of his long life (he never won a regular Oscar). View this classic clip from the 1971 Oscar broadcast here.
Attached are study pictures for the film, focused mainly on acting, but not ignoring other aspects of the film. For those who have trouble with the first link, another link for the film is here.
