Reviews
...Boasting a staggering breadth of storyboards, on-set photos and letters, this hefty visual and oral history traces Chaplin's pursuit of beauty and how he captured it film by film., ...a treasure trove of valuable Chaplin information not only for fans of the silent film star but also of the cinema., ...a stunning volume complete with 900 illuminating images, primary and supplemental interviews, and an oral history by the comic actor himself., A Day's Pleasure... What really raises the bar in this publication is the oral-history section, which has been pulled together from extensive notes and essays written by Chaplin himself. The reader is so close to the silent star as to practically feel the bristles of his signature moustache., The book of the year is The Charlie Chaplin Archives by Paul Duncan. As is befitting its subject, this huge volume examines the career of the one filmmaker many consider the greatest ever. Drawn from the Chaplin archives and featuring much new material, this remarkable book reveals the process behind Chaplin's cinematic genius through its 900 images which include stills, memos, storyboards and on-set photos, as well as images for unmade films, press clippings which span the length of Chaplin's long career, and interviews with the Little Tramp's closest collaborators. Alltogether, it's an impressive coffee-table type book which could almost double as coffee table., ...this handsome book conveys a true sense of a driven man and the way he shaped a nascent industry of the modern age., ...browsing The Charlie Chaplin Archives is more akin to wondering around a museum than reading a biography. It is an exercise in stargazing and fan worship taken to the extremes, with virtually every aspect of Chaplin's career laid out to be picked over... Chaplin refused to describe his life story as a rags-to-riches tale. This covetable book might claim that title though, alchemically spinning the scraps of Chaplin 's working life into publishing gold., ...560 gorgeous pages crammed with quotes, archive imagery, classic film stills and snippets of Chaplinalia...All in all this a stunning book, and could easily be the centrepiece of any Chaplin fan's collection of memorabilia..., The most un-put-downable movie book of the season is also the most un-pick-uppable one... It's an apt tribute to the filmmaker, whose artistry transcends the cinema and spans world-historical dimensions... a revelation of Chaplin's creative process, even to the furious core of energy, passion, lust, and sheer will that fueled it...
