Unknown Chaplin (1983) **** (out of 4) Unknown Chaplin: My Happiest Years Incredibly interesting documentary from Kevin Brownlow uses outtakes, behind the scenes footage and other goodies to tell the story of Charles Chaplin during his Mutual years of 1914-1917. Since most silent "extras" are gone it's rather amazing they were able to find all of this stuff, which really puts a face on the rumors surrounding Chaplin's work methods. It is known he was a genius but no one ever saw how that genius came to be. Some said he was sadistic and others said he was a terror to work for. With these outtakes we see why people would feel this way as Chaplin takes little scenes and runs off fifty to one hundred takes. But we also see the genius this creates especially during outtakes of The Immigrant where the same scene is shot over and over using different actors, clothing and other things to pull the scene off. This was part one of a three part series.Unknown Chaplin: The Great Director Part two of Kevin Brownlow's documentary about Charles Chaplin, this one taking a look at the making of The Kid, The Gold Rush and City Lights. Once again you get a perfect idea of who Chaplin was and how he was able to create the masterpieces that he did. The alternate ending and footage from City Lights is certainly the highlight here.Unknown Chaplin: Hidden Treasures Final segment in Brownlow's brilliant documentary is a real treat for fans as it contains to deleted scenes from The Circus, both of which are among the best stuff Chaplin has done. Also included is the deleted opening sequence to Modern Times, which was also quite nicely done. Home movies and other goodies are scattered throughout this part as well. Overall this is certainly a brilliant documentary and highly rated to those who enjoy Chaplin's work.

I picked up a DVD of this British series from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and it's fitting that a filmmaker be featured prominently in an art gallery--especially since this film isn't a biography of Chaplin, but a step-by-step analysis of his working style. They did this by collecting outtakes that had been saved by Mutual Studios as well as through photos and even home movies. At first, I thought this all sounded very dry but as the film continued I realized what a great treasure this is. What I liked in particular was how they took two of his earlier non-Keystone comedies and analyzed the many, many changes the film underwent thanks to Chaplin's obsessive-compulsive film style. Considering what a gift he had for making films, this lengthy style of constructing films is forgivable and even understandable.In addition to analyzing his shorts, the documentary also chooses to analyze CITY LIGHTS as well as THE GOLD RUSH and provides many behind the scenes insights. I really liked this, since GOLD RUSH might just be my very favorite silent film (though it's hard to say for sure, considering some of the great films of Lloyd and Keaton).All-in-all, this is an absolute must for serious film students, historians and lovers of silent comedy. Considering all the pain and trouble they went to in making this film, it's no surprise that it earns a 10 of 10.FYI--Fortunately, while this is a nearly perfect film about Chaplin, there are also two wonderful similar documentaries about Harold Lloyd ("American Masters", Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius) and Buster Keaton (Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow)--both written by the same two writers who made this wonderful film. See them all if you get a chance!!Also FYI--On the DVD is a 12 minute segment on how they assembled all the footage for the documentaries. It's worth a look to give you insight into this very laborious process.

"Unknown Chaplin" is an interesting program--from two authorities on film history and preservation, Kevin Brownlow and the late David Gill, two men I'm thankful to for many of the restored movies I've seen. I consider Charlie Chaplin one of the greatest filmmakers ever, in addition to being the funniest man I've ever seen. This three-part television series shows cut footage from Chaplin's films, providing a unique look at the filmmaker's perfectionism and improvisational approach.The first two episodes are especially telling. "My Happiest Years" features cut footage from his Mutual shorts "The Immigrant" and "The Cure", where Chaplin repeatedly retook scenes, improvising the comedy and narrative in front of the camera. And, "The Great Director" includes a nice look at the struggle between Chaplin's perfectionism and his unprofessional leading actress during filming of "City Lights". The last episode, "Hidden Treasures", shows a comedian who continued to work when not filming movies for release and how some of the gags in his films evolved over time. There's also a sequence from his aborted film "The Professor" and cut scenes from more of his films. Overall, "Unknown Chaplin" is worth watching for everyone seriously interested in Chaplin's art.

its almost ironic to call charlie chaplin unknown, but you truely learn how much you don't know about him with this series. It is getting you inside the mind of genius. The rare footage and personal interviews show you how secretive and personal chaplin was in life. If you are a silent film lover, this is a program you won't want to miss!