Episode 1.3 - The Circus: Chaplin's Sad Take on His Place in Cinema

It's time for the first deep dive episode of season one! This time around, I'm discussing the 1928 Charlie Chaplin film The Circus, a film that was mired in difficulties during the production process and ultimately landed in theaters nearly two years after it should have. This put a wonderfully fun, yet tenderly sad, silent film in cinemas soon after the dawn of the talking picture.

I also bring on a special guest interview in this episode. Take a listen to find out who!

There are a number of resources I mention in the episode including reviews and critical articles about the film. I have included them below for reference if you want to dig into the history of the film even further. I have also included the YouTube copy of the film that I used when watching it. The film is also available to purchase from Amazon or stream through Amazon Prime. (Affiliate links)

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References

Wikipedia: Articles on The Circus and Charlie Chaplin
Silent Era: The Circus
Charlie Chaplin Official Website: The Circus
David Bordwell in Film Comment: The Circus
Little White Lies: Revisiting The Circus: Charlie Chaplin's troubled comic triumph
Silents Are Golden: The Circus commentary

Music for this episode from https://filmmusic.io, "Onion Capers" and "Breaktime" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)