The Circus

(1928) director Charles Chaplin
viewed: 09/18/10 at the Castro Theatre, SF, CA

When the Castro Theatre announced that it was doing a mini-Chaplin festival, I was pretty keen on bringing the kids down to watch one, if not more, of the films.  But circumstances being what they are, schedules conflicted and as a result, only Felix was free to accompany me to see The Circus.

In the Charlie Chaplin/Buster Keaton debate, I fall more into the Keaton camp.  Not that I think that one by any means excludes the other, but the expectations and enjoyments often play out that way.  And it’s funny, but I’d have to say that it’s pretty consistent.  I actually think Felix would be in the Keaton camp too.

The Circus played with two shorter films, The Idle Class (1921) and A Day’s Pleasure (1919), which, under consideration, I think I may have enjoyed more than the feature film itself.  The Circus isn’t considered one of Chaplin’s major films, and though the Castro is playing several of those such as The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), and Modern Times (1936), I thought it would be interesting to see one that I hadn’t seen before.

In The Circus, the “little tramp” becomes the star attraction at a down-on-it’s-luck circus run by a tyrant of a ringmaster.  The ringmaster’s much-abused daughter becomes the tramp’s love interest, and while his natural inventiveness and/or clumsiness leads to his main schtick, he also takes up the tight-rope walking to impress the girl.

There is a lot of fun in the film, and Felix enjoyed the whole show, as did I.  Sadly, in comparison to a couple of years ago when I first started showing the kids silent films, Felix can now read most of the inter-titles himself (not the ones in cursive, however), and so the experience is a little less interactive than it once was.  I’ve been planning to bring over another Keaton film for the kids to watch, and with this under our belts I’m even more encouraged to do so again.

There is something amazing and profound about enjoying a film that is 80-90 years old with a child.  It’s an amazing form of time travel of sorts, looking at the automobiles and other ancient technologies, laughing at gags that persist to be funny throughout so many changes in the world, and to share in such a unique experience.  I have to wonder how he will come to look back on these kinds of memories as an adult.

I was also much brought to mind of the influence of these silent comedies on another “retro” experience that I have with the kids, namely watching old Warner Brothers and other studio cartoons from the Golden Age of animation.   The influence of the slapstick and the outright “borrowing” of jokes and gags never seemed clearer, even with their color and sound and far out lunacy, the basics of physical humor were well captured by Chaplin no doubt straight out of Vaudeville and transformed into the truest elements of cinema.