This weekend my wife and I watched two Charles Chaplin films.
She had never seen any prior to late last year when we watched
"Modern Times" and "The Gold Rush". I had not seen either of
those two at that time.

This weekend we watched "The Kid" and "City Lights". I had
seen clips of "The Kid" before and was a little disappointed
by it. It was an enjoyable film... but did not live up to my
hopes for it (based on the clips I had seen). I had seen
"City Lights" before and was excited to watch it with my 
wife, as I was certain she would really enjoy it.

I was very glad to find that she _did_ really enjoy it. I
think we both agree that it is the best of the ones that we
have watched. Not because it is funnier than the others, but
because it so perfectly blends what he does into a single 
film. It is definitely funny, but it also shows a man down
on his luck that still wants to be a good person and help
those around him, that doesn't let the world bring him too
far down. The climax of the film felt very honest and real
to me. I am so glad he cut it where he did and did not push
further. I have tried to avoid spoilers here, but those that
have seen it likely know what I mean.

I think Chaplins philosophical opinions and political
leanings are likely made clear by his most famous character
(the tramp) and it is a shame the United States opted to
treat him poorly for it during the McCarthy era.

If you have not watched any Charlie Chaplin films I highly
recommend "City Lights" as a good place to start, or
perhaps "The Gold Rush". In "The Gold Rush" you will find
many visual gags and comedy routines that will likely be 
familiar to you if you grew up watching Looney Tunes. They
seem to have borrowed a lot from his films. I think "The
Gold Rush" is possibly funnier overall, but that "City
Lights" holds together as a complete film with a range of
things going for it much better. "Modern Times" is also
quite good, particularly the scene in the jail dining hall.
Maybe wait on "The Kid" until you decide you just need to
see more of his films.

Up next for us is either "The Great Dictator" (a Hitler
satire that I believe was filmed before war fully broke
out, but dont quote me on that) or "The Circus", wherein
the tramp joins an impoverished circus as a clown, but it
is discovered that he can only be funny unintentionally.
Both sound highly enjoyable. I believe "The Great Dictator"
has much more spoken dialog than the rest. Oh! That reminds
me: if you watch "The Gold Rush" definitely get the
re-release he put out in the 50s (?). It has a narration
track by charlie Chaplin that I found really enjoyable,
though I think my wife said she would have prefered it
without... so maybe dont listen to me.

Has anyone out there watched a good bit of either Buster
Keaton or the Marx Brothers? I think we would like to watch
some of their films. My wife has seen "Duck Soup" and wants
me to watch that, so we may start there. If you have 
recommendations please reach out by replying over gopher
or by e-mailing < sloum AT rawtext.club >.