SCFZ

Polling the films of director Charlie Chaplin

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Chaplin-directed films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Friday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: brian d, greennui, ofrene, kanafani, bure, greg x, oscarwerner, silga, dt, umbugbene, roscoe, rischka, wba, thoxans, mesnalty, caracortada

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

The Immigrant
One AM
City Lights
Modern Times
The Great Dictator

seen >20, but most so long ago i'm just kind of guessing when i rank them, might rewatch some though

The Gold Rush
Modern Times
Limelight
The Kid
City Lights

Seen 23, but yeah, most of them ages and ages ago.

seen 14

the gold rush
modern times
easy street
the immigrant
city lights

Seen 26:

1. Modern Times
2. The Great Dictator
3. City Lights
4. The Kid
5. Monsieur Verdoux

I've seen eleven features and over a dozen shorts. He was brilliant in combining humor with social and political issues. His Tramp is the most recognizable movie character, always protecting the weak and mocking the powerful.

1. Modern Times
2. The Great Dictator
3. The Gold Rush
4. Limelight
5. Monsieur Verdoux

The Kid and City Lights don't even make my top 5, but they're also classics.

seen none

The Gold Rush
A Woman of Paris
One A.M.
The Great Dictator
The Floorwalker

Haven't watched one of his features in a long time. I generally think more of them right after watching, then the little things start to bug me about them and the liking fades a bit. Not sure how to account for that overall. His persona and how he relates with women is often a troubling area, but for The Kid it's nothing so much to do with the movie itself as how damn frequently I see stills from that movie used as sign post for all sorts of bathetic crap making for bad associations with the movie.

Seen 11.

1.City Lights
2.Modern Times
3.The Kid
4.Limelight
5.Monsieur Verdoux

City Lights
The Gold Rush
The Kid
Modern Times
Monsieur Verdoux

thoxans wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 3:24 pm seen none

GTFOH

<https://youtu.be/d31R9-G4OyM>

Seen 14... even that is too few!

1. Monsieur Verdoux
2. Modern TImes
3. City Lights
4. A Day's Pleasure
5. The Great Dictator

THE GOLD RUSH
THE IMMIGRANT
THE ADVENTURER
THE CURE
A DOG'S LIFE

And of course when I cite THE GOLD RUSH, I mean the brilliant original cut of the film, not the sliced and diced abomination that Chaplin released with a voiceover narration in what has to be the surest sign of the decline of his abilities and the most horrific attack of a great artist upon his own work since Gogol reached for the matches. After the RUSH, the comedy becomes unfunny and the pathos gets mawkish -- CITY LIGHTS is damn near unbearable, redeemed only by that final sequence that somehow gets me lumpy-throated everytime. Likewise MODERN TIMES, but the good part is the opening factory sequence. GREAT DICTATOR is a lead-pipe one-joke bore with a big speech, and I have no room whatsoever for the appalling VERDOUX, in which Chaplin utterly forgets everything he ever knew about anything except easy speechifying.

Joks Trois wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 3:39 pm Seen 11.

joks3, you can pick the director we poll next if you want!

1. City Lights
2. Monsieur Verdoux
3. The Circus
4. The Great Dictator
5. The Gold Rush

i have 16

city lights
modern times
the gold rush
the circus
the immigrant

18 i think, but like many people here i haven't seen the films in ages; wonder what i'd think on revisit.

shoulder arms
the circus
a woman of paris
a countess from hong kong
the gold rush

Goldurn it, my post disappeared. Like everyone else, there are only a few I like/remember well enough to vote for.

A Woman Of Paris
Monsieur Verdoux
Shoulder Arms
The Circus

seen only 7 and not a single short one..

1. City Lights
2. Modern Times
3. The Kid

watch the immigrant!~ it's on youtube

https://youtu.be/ycLOeCLJ9V0

it's anti-trump

Seen 20

City lights
The circus
Modern times
The pilgrim

The Gold Rush
City Lights

Not really my favorite director, but when he's great he's great.

City Lights
A Woman of Paris
The Gold Rush
The Circus
Monsieur Verdoux

flip wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 5:57 pm

Joks Trois wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 3:39 pm Seen 11.

joks3, you can pick the director we poll next if you want!

Verhoeven?

Joks Trois wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2019 3:14 am Verhoeven?

we did verhoeven a couple of months ago, results are here:

https://letterboxd.com/fliptrotsky/list ... -poll-106/

umbugbene has been compiling links to all the past polls in one place, so you can easily check here if a director has been polled before:

https://letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/i ... tor-polls/

Tony Scott

interesting choice, i've seen 10 from t-scott, so i'm sure he'll meet the criteria.

Yeah, Scott works I've seen 15. He was a subject of lots of talk back on Mubi.

^There was one really big thread that went on forever. Months.

I picked him for several reasons. One of them being that it's slim pickings at this point (i.e finding a director who meets the criteria) and also because I genuinely like him and feel he was one of the better and more distinctive studio directors of the last 35 years.

He successfully changed his style in late career too, which doesn't happen that often.