Saturday, May 31, 2008
SET DESIGN IN CHAPLIN's "THE RINK"
Hands down, my favorite silent comedy is Charlie Chaplin's "The RINK," It's not perfect; sometimes you can't follow what's happening and you could argue that it's a little longer than it needs to be, but I don't think the best comedies can ever be perfect. Drama can be perfect because it logically builds to a pre-determined climax. Comedy has to look spontaneous. You start out with a plan but if some deviation turns out to be funnier you do that instead. Some of the best comedies are all over the place.
There are so many things to say about this film! Just to isolate one, I love the way the restaurant is a long, narrow room like a boxcar that stretches away from camera. I like the idea that there's a big walking path that goes right down the middle. That way you get to see people do funny walks up to and away from camera. You also get to see people make their funny entrances into the room before they walk down to the tables.
I also like the way the center path divides the room in two. This suggests plenty of gags where people on one side of the path get mad because the waiter (Chaplin) is giving all his attention to the people on the other side. It gets a kind of rivalry going. And the line going crudely down the middle is just plain ignorant, a quality that all comedies should try to cultivate.
It seems to me that too many animation backgrounds lack this precious quality of ignorance. A good, ignorant background is more than just a backdrop. It suggests gags and even story ideas. A good background artist is a kind of co-writer.
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11 comments:
Hi, Eddie!
Excellent post, my friend, excellent!
Happy week
Holy Cow! The Revver version of "The Rink" triple- printed and even blotted out text on the sidebar. Attempts to fix it just made the problem worse. Revver's software doesn't seem to work well with Blogger, at least on my computer. Sorry about that.
YouTube has a version of The Rink but it's speeded up for some reason, so I'm stuck with using Revver. Thanks to Aaron for providing the link, which I'm still grateful for, regardless of the problems.
I love the angry obese guys that frequent silent comedies. Nothing is quite as hilarious as a fat guy with a giant moustache throwing a tantrum. You also can't beat the diner who lustily twirls his moustache at the "Flirty Mrs. Stout".
I wish the silent comedy mindset had stuck around.
All you say is true, Uncle Eddie, but the astounding thing I can never get past in "The Rink" is Chaplin's astounding ability as a skater.
Classic stuff-can't have too much Chaplin, though I hate the overdone sound effects someone added to that print.
You know, I think that there were quite a few eateries of this period that actually were "split down the center" this way; I saw some laid out like this in Paris(obviously very old-probably at least 100 years old) even more severely, and have a 1910 photo postcard of a lower-Broadway restaurant, "Childs Cafeteria" that has a huge center part (I'd read about it in Mary Pickford's memoirs; she'd go there while working for Griffith in her first film job to save money every morning for breakfast-all she'd eat was bananas in milk to save money.).
It makes sense for waiters carrying large trays back & forth to have the aisle like that. But certainly Chaplin is using the layout for the maximum effect as he did everything.
Oh, Chaplin had the best people working for him, Henry Bergman - a comic actor of many parts, the fulsome Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell - the great comic villain portrayer of all time and the eternally flustered Albert Austin - all great comic actors and writers, along with Chaplain's brother Sydney. Genius that Chaplin is, it doesn't hurt that he had equally devoted and talented people working for him.
The score and performances on Unknown Chaplin is probably the best music ever set to Chaplin films, but that's my ever biased opinion.
G'day Eddie,
Chaplin got me thinking about 'Lano and Woodley',
well actually your post on 'New talent' did.
They're a coupla aussie comedians, kinda modern day slapstick.
I love 'em.
I was trying to track down a scene where they have a campfire in their appartment, couldn't find it but this is just as funny-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j6e3gd30us&feature=related
Story: Colin(Lano) pretends he has a girlfriend.
also worth checking out diving pool for Woodleys own stunts.
The laugh track can be a little annoying though.
Last: i can't believe Henry Bergman ever had a funnier role than the fat lady in this film. I didn't know Chaplin used his brother here. Which actor was he?
Jenny: I'm envious! I wish I could have seen real restaurants that were like this.
Josh: Fat is funny, no doubt about it. So is skinny. I'm guessing that the cook and the tall skater in this film are same talented skinny actor.
Hryma: Thanks for turning me on to that! I saw the video you mentioned and I'll watch the others over the next few days!
You mentioned this short at John's so I dug it up and watched it the next afternoon - I'm glad I did!
Interesting observation about the set designs helping the comedy. Restaurants are such great locations for funny business.
The scene I laughed hardest at is when Chaplin is shaking a drink(?) and he's sort of turning the activity into a mambo dance or something. I also like when he's cooking in the kitchen - it's so precise and theatrical and physical.
Great pick for favorite silent comedy!
I also whole-heartedly agree with your deviation-friendly story philosophy.
Marc: Thanks! Probably we'd both agree that comedy shouldn't be anarchic, just that it should be flexible enough to allow for improvisation within the story.
David, Josh, Anon: Thanks!
Why do so many people confuse Chaplin with Keaton? I've never understood.
To me, it's like comparing the three Marx Brothers ( the main ones ) with the Three Stooges.
Sorry it's off-topic, but I can't watch the video from my office's computer for some reason.
- trevor.
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