Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced Chaplin for Blu-ray release on February 15, 2011. This biopic of Charlie Chaplin, directed by Richard Attenborough in 1992, earned Robert Downey Jr. a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his role of the world-famous British-born comic.
Hopefully it's region free (just like Apocalpyse Now from Lionsgate). A top film with Downey's performance as Chaplin one of the best performances of the 90s.
This film wasn't all that successful commercially or critically, in spite of Downey's award nomination, but I thought he was incredibly brilliant in the role. IMO, there are only a few films in all of film history where the actor completely disappears into the character and this was one of them. The most obvious other one was Brando in The Godfather, but there have been a few others, although most of the others were accompanied by heavy makeup.
Oh man, I thought we were getting more Chaplin movies. I'd love to see City Lights, The Kid, The Circus, The Gold Rush, etc. Still, this is a pretty solid movie and is one of my favorite Downey performances.
There really is no actor as annoyingly over-rated as Downey.
(Not counting his BRILLIANT work on Saturday Night Live, right? Hmph.)
His schtick consists solely of forced insouciance. Anyone who allows himself/herself to be duped by such a tired, threadbare acting gimmick is a fool.
Liked him best when he was on heroin and off the big screen.
Simply put, he sucks. If "Chaplin" has any merit, it's due to the supporting cast.
@Candy: I understand what you're saying. I feel the same way about Johnny Depp. They both tend to lean on the same old crutch--Depp hoping quirkiness passes as acting while Downey relies more on wild-eyed mania as a substitute--but we can't forget that they're both talented actors capable of producing some really good work. IMO Chaplin is some of Downey's best. While I prefer him in Home for the Holidays, as obvious as it seems Chaplin is also among his most mature work.
Yes I love Downey's performance and thought he deserved the oscar over Pacino for Scent Of A Woman. The movie has it's flaws and all but is worth repeated viewing for Downey.
dammitsomuch! I jsut bought the 15th anniversary of this movie last week! LOL Oh well, looks like i'll be upgrading if the picture/sound quality is better
