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CHAPLIN DOCUMENTARY LIMITED EDITION DVD $10

Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:00 pm
by Stan16mm
In 1975, filmmaker Richard Patterson produced a documentary on Charles Chaplin which
was the first such film that included scenes from later films including City Lights, Modern Times,
The Great Dictator, Verdoux, Limelight, etc. It also contains footage of Chaplin from decades
worth of newsreels, home movies, the historic Oscar telecast from 1972 and footage taken of him
at his home in Vevey in 1974. He is the only person who had full access to Charlie and Oona and
was able to film them at their home. This loving tribute concludes with a final walk down the road as we see Chaplin, now using his cane as a real aid and his wife Oona walk down a grassy path. His final filmed trip down the road gives us comfort as he is not alone. Walter Matthau, Laurence Olivier and Jack Lemmon provide
various narration as well as some the finest voice talents in Hollywood including Len Weinrib, Alan Oppenheimer and Richard Dawson.

There have been countless documentaries on Charlie; some have merit (Harry Hurwitz' The Eternal Tramp" and "The Funniest Man in the World") and others are painful to watch.

"The Gentleman Tramp" is, in my opinion, the finest documentary on Chaplin and is not a
talking heads documentary. Rather, it unfolds in pictures and story through the use of
transcripts, film sequences, news articles, memorabilia and all in the space of seventy eight minutes.
It's visual style and swift pace makes it one of the best and most entertaining film documentaries
you're likely to see. Richard Schickel lifted certain sequences from "The Gentleman Tramp" (and without permission) for inclusion into his disjointed attempt at a Chaplin documentary.

Once available on VHS (and on twenty five 16mm prints released to libraries and universities), Mr.
Patterson has produced eight hundred limited edition DVD sets of his loving and sometimes brutally honest
depiction of the Little Tramp. The film was mastered from the original film elements and is breathtaking
to behold. The sharp visual quality and the clean, crisp sound were personally supervised by Mr. Patterson to insure the best transfer possible. This is one film you will treasure for years to come. If you love the documentaries of Kevin Brownlow and want to see rare and amazing footage of Charlie Chaplin throughout his entire life, you will want to own this award winning film.

Go to Amazon.com and type in Gentleman Tramp. You will be directed to the page where you can purchase it. You will be buying it direct from Mr. Patterson through Amazon.

Have a great day!

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 1:28 am
by kndy
Awesome...just purchased it!

Chaplin doc

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:10 am
by moviepas
Just purchased? So would I but when I ordered it for US$10.00 & already had a mass market paperback in my cart($8, Shining Thorough) I got a postage rate total of c$63 that ended that & I deleted the Chaplin and await a reply from Amazon on this. I will report what response I get from them

Re: Chaplin doc

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 7:10 am
by McCrutchy
Thanks for the info Stan16mm. I had no idea about this opportunity, and the documentary most certainly seems worth $10, especially if it has been remastered/restored. The Amazon.com listing also states that there is a " booklet with a lengthy essay on the making of [The Gentleman Tramp]" included with purchase.
moviepas wrote:Just purchased? So would I but when I ordered it for US$10.00 & already had a mass market paperback in my cart($8, Shining Thorough) I got a postage rate total of c$63 that ended that & I deleted the Chaplin and await a reply from Amazon on this. I will report what response I get from them
Hi moviepas,

Might you have selected Expedited Shipping for your order? Amazon.com Marketplace sets the value of International Expedited Shipping for a DVD at US $32.98. Standard International Shipping for a DVD is US $12.29.

Best,
McCrutchy

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 9:15 am
by Scoundrel
This documentary is included in David Shepard's
CHAPLIN MUTUALS 90th Anniversary set.

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 9:52 am
by kndy
Scoundrel wrote:This documentary is included in David Shepard's
CHAPLIN MUTUALS 90th Anniversary set.
That's fine with me...remastered/restored, an essay and for $10, that's a great price. Anything to help promote this documentary, especially with a lot of people planning to buy a Chaplin release for the first time from Criterion.

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 11:43 am
by Stan16mm
The shipping for The Gentleman Tramp DVD is $2.98 so there must have been something else pressed. As it's coming from Mr. Patterson himself, it's a separate shipping charge. I've heard from several people that have purchased it. Nobody will be disappointed. Yes, it's on the multi disc Mutual Collection but this is a stand alone DVD from the filmmaker (who said he'd autograph and DVD covers if you request it).

Chaplin doc

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 7:49 pm
by moviepas
Got it ordered less than 12 hours later. There was a glitch higher so postage was appearing which they fixed. It was an error in default settings their end they said. Who knows. I don't need faster shipping and paying more can take longer than paying less & I got an Amazon today after less than 9 days from shipping date for normal postage. So all is now well. Can't beat the service really.

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:20 am
by WaverBoy
I'd buy this, but I already have it. In fact, I have two distinctly different versions of it, both of which are included (along with the essay in booklet form) in the latest Mutuals set from Shepard & Co.

Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:27 pm
by McCrutchy
Received my copy of The Gentleman Tramp yesterday and just watched the Theatrical Version tonight: What a wonderful documentary! I am just beginning to get into Charlie Chaplin films, and so seeing all the wonderful film claps and the footage of Chaplin himself was incredibly illuminating.

Now I want to save up and get that Chaplin Keystone box set from Flicker Alley.

Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:26 am
by Mr. Grimes
Just purchased mine. Thanks a million for the info.

Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:35 am
by kndy
I also got mine earlier and requested Mr. Patterson to sign it. Very nice man!!!! If you guys want yours autograph, just contact the seller (Mr. Patterson himself) and he will definitely sign it for you.

Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 4:39 pm
by Silent film fan
I got mine today after just ordering a few days ago. It will be so nice to see this again, and to have the little booklet to read too (which did not come with the old VHS I had). Thanks!

Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 6:54 pm
by rudyfan
Mine arrived and I plan on watching it later this evening. I do not know if I've ever seen it.

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 6:06 pm
by sc1957
I watched this today, and got a lot out of it. There's a line in the "making of" booklet that comes with it: "In case you fell asleep watching the movie...," but there was no chance of that happening. One criticism I have is that it spent little time on Chaplin's early film career. After briefly mentioning Keystone, it seemed to jump several years to his feature films.

Chaplin doc

Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 1:11 am
by moviepas
Got my yesterday. Got the two cuts & a trailer. Interesting booklet. Keystone is spelt Keyston, though in it!!! Wonder what happened to all that Kodachrome original home movies Oona is said to have filmed & clips used in this doc?

Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 12:43 pm
by Stan16mm
I forgot to mention about the two different versions that are included with the DVD as well as the trailer.

The version with Matthau on screen was the T.V. version.
The theatrical version has him speaking but not on camera except for the end of the film as he and his family are seen with Charlie and his family.


I'd be curious to know what you all think of the film.