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  • 2021
  • Showtime Networks
  • 1 h 54 m
  • 2021
  • Showtime Networks
  • 1 h 54 m
The Real Charlie Chaplin

Summary Combining unheard audio recordings, dramatic reconstructions and personal archive, the film traces Charlie Chaplin’s meteoric rise from the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom, before his scandalous fall from grace. This kaleidoscopic documentary portrait explores the many facets of a complex figure whose ...

Directed By: Peter Middleton, James Spinney

Written By: Oliver Kindeberg, Peter Middleton, James Spinney

  • 2021
  • Showtime Networks
  • 1 h 54 m
  • 2021
  • Showtime Networks
  • 1 h 54 m

The Real Charlie Chaplin

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 14 Critic Reviews
66
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 8 User Ratings
5.6
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary Combining unheard audio recordings, dramatic reconstructions and personal archive, the film traces Charlie Chaplin’s meteoric rise from the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom, before his scandalous fall from grace. This kaleidoscopic documentary portrait explores the many facets of a complex figure whose ...

Directed By: Peter Middleton, James Spinney

Written By: Oliver Kindeberg, Peter Middleton, James Spinney

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 14 Critic Reviews
66
50% Positive
7 Reviews
50% Mixed
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 14 Critic Reviews
66
50% Positive
7 Reviews
50% Mixed
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
80
Feb 17, 2022
As portraiture, it’s also unapologetically (and therefore unfashionably) complex: the unsavoury aspects of his personal life are frankly addressed, but never used as a stick with which to beat the work. Rather, the signature tone of the narration – nicely delivered by the Doctor Who actress Pearl Mackie – is one of curiosity. And the fascination proves infectious.
By Robbie Collin FULL REVIEW
80
Feb 4, 2022
That’s a lot of years to wrangle into one biography – even before you take in the rags-to-riches, zero-to-hero-to-popular-villain arc of his life – but this snappy and searching doc makes a very solid fist of it.
By Phil de Semlyen FULL REVIEW
80
Nov 18, 2021
Despite its omissions, the film proves a rich and satisfying meal and should be embraced by Chaplin fans and completists.
By Gary Goldstein FULL REVIEW
60
Feb 18, 2022
It’s a fascinating delve or “kaleidoscope” as the film-makers have it. The film is as complete a portrait as we may ever get.
By Tara Brady FULL REVIEW
60
Feb 17, 2022
Just as we feel that we have grasped the truth behind the image, it vanishes into thin air: The Real Charlie Chaplin is a Sisyphean task of the directors’ own making.
By Christopher Machell FULL REVIEW
60
Nov 18, 2021
This meticulous documentary can’t quite overcome the inevitability of its rise-and-fall trajectory, the familiarity of its sad-clown hypothesis.
By Fionnuala Halligan FULL REVIEW
50
Nov 18, 2021
The filmmaking choices all too frequently muddle any potential insight, yet the documentary contains so much good stuff that fans of the subject might be powerless to resist.
By Daniel Fienberg FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 8 User Ratings
5.6
50% Positive
4 Ratings
25% Mixed
2 Ratings
25% Negative
2 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 8 User Ratings
5.6
50% Positive
4 Ratings
25% Mixed
2 Ratings
25% Negative
2 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Archer's Mark, BFI Film Fund, Fee Fie Foe Films, Film4, Passion Pictures, Showtime Networks, Smaller Biggie, Ventureland
Release Date Nov 19, 2021
Duration 1 h 54 m
Genres
Website https://www.instagram.com/charliechaplinofficial/
View All Details

Awards

Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 3 Nominations
Zurich Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Hamptons International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

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