Additional Features
A touching "Chaplin Today" documentary includes Bernardo Bertolucci's emotional reaction to the film ("I don't cry often, but here my tears flow"), and recollections from the
Limelight's ingenue, the articulate Claire Bloom. Chaplin's soundtrack (awarded an Oscar in 1972) is presented complete, and there's an interesting deleted scene, Chaplin home movies, and photo and poster galleries. Seven minutes of an uncompleted 1919 short,
The Professor, give an early glimpse at Chaplin's flea-trainer routine.
--Robert Horton
Amazon.com Essential Video
Certainly, Charlie Chaplin at this point in his career (1952) had earned the right to reflect on his years as an entertainer, and could make his film as overlong and soppy and sentimental as he darn well pleased. But that doesn't mean the rest of us have to abet this kind of melodramatic indulgence. Chaplin stars as Calvero, a fading clown who helps a paralyzed dancer regain the use of her legs and achieve great fame, but of course at grave cost to Calvero. The film is famous for featuring the only onscreen teaming of Chaplin with the other legendary comic of the silent era, Buster Keaton, and is equally infamous for Chaplin having allegedly cut out most of Keaton's best bits in their sequence together. How much Chaplin sabotaged his own movie to keep Keaton from shining has been much debated, but consider: In Keaton's autobiography, he calls Chaplin the greatest screen comic of all time. In Chaplin's autobiography, he never mentions Keaton.
--David Kronke
