Charlie Chaplin

By the time the curtain came down on the silent era, Chaplin was the most heralded filmmaker in the world: from America to Stalin’s Russia, he was universally recognised as an undisputed genius of an art form that he had helped become the most popular in the world. If the word “masterpiece” has been overused to the point of being almost spurned in the history of cinema, it resurfaces every time one of his most famous films is mentioned. Everything has been said, everything has been written about this consummate artist (from the outset he was granted absolute control over his films, from concept to theatrical release, a rare thing for his time), and yet much more remains to be said about his outstanding oeuvre, so deeply ingrained in our collective memory. Something to savour during this festive period like no other.