Who was Real Charlie Chaplin? The trailer for a new documentary film ‘The Real Charlie Chaplin’ is out. It gives a glimpse into the life and career of a famous silent-film star. The documentary will premiere on Showtime on Saturday, December 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Peter Middleton and James Spinney are the directors of this documentary. Peral Mackie will be the narrator. On Friday, November 19, the film will open in theatres at the Cinema Village in New York and the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles. The documentary film will provide unprecedented access to the Chaplin archives, revealing never-before-heard recordings, intimate home movies, behind-the-scenes footage, and fully restored classic flicks.
Tracing back to Chaplin’s first onscreen appearance, over a century ago. The film describes itself as a “recount of Chaplin’s meteoric rise. It will showcase the story from rags to riches, rom the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom. The documentary will also portray his scandalous fall from grace. It will leave us thinking, who is the real Chaplin?
Middleton and Spinney have collaborated on several non-fiction projects over the last decade, and this is their second feature. They earned an Emmy Award in 2014 for the short documentary film Notes on Blindness. According to the teaser, the film also delves into the darker aspects of Chaplin’s life. It focuses on his estrangement from loved ones, his desire to be perceived as entertaining.
“I had grown up with the icon,” states a female voice overlapping burning film footage of Chaplin. “But I had no idea who the man was.” The Real Charlie Chaplin, described as a “kaleidoscopic picture of a man who became an immortal legend,” promises to be a fascinating look into the intriguing life of the worldwide icon.