*Includes pictures of Chaplin and important people, places, and events in his life. *Includes Chaplin's own quotes about his work, politics, and more. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "I remain just one thing, and one thing only - and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician." - Charlie Chaplin Only a select few actors become international stars in their time, but none had as unique a career as Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was the first true film star, and he managed to do so even when films were still silent. He has been honored with too many awards to count, and the fact that his name remains instantly recognizable nearly a century after his first film is a testament to his influence. Even today, Chaplin's films are arguably more recognizable than those of perhaps any other actor or director; everyone is familiar with the famous "Tramp" costume and persona, and even the casual film enthusiast has likely seen films such as City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936). Chaplin is known for the singular blend of pathos and humor evinced by his films, and it is not uncommon for audiences to laugh and cry at alternate points of a Chaplin film, a trait that continues to endear audiences even to this day. For this reason, in his review of Stephen Weissman's biography of Chaplin, Martin Sieff noted, "It is doubtful any individual has every given more entertainment, pleasure, and relief to so many human beings when they needed it most." As Sieff's comment suggests, Chaplin's career coincided with the two World Wars and the Great Depression, but while Chaplin the actor was popular, Chaplin the person became controversial in the final decades of his life. In fact, there is a wide discrepancy between the almost uniformly enthusiastic praise of Chaplin today and the subversive identity he cultivated toward the latter part of his career. Although accusations of being a communist sympathizer and Chaplin's confrontation with the House Committee on Un-American Activities have mostly become a footnote in the storied career of a man best remembered as an acting pioneer, it forced Chaplin to spend the last 15 years of his career working as an artist in exile, and the shifting viewpoints of Chaplin were instrumental in forcing people to evaluate the way in which they viewed celebrities, as well as what it means to be entertained. Indeed, it is impossible to substantiate the belief that Chaplin's later films are poorer in quality than his earlier ones, yet the public largely rejected his later directorial efforts. In the end, it must be acknowledged that, more than any other figure who had come before him, the public was aware of Chaplin's personal life in ways that were often upsetting and inconsistent with the persona effected through his films. Due to the way Chaplin was vilified, relatively little is known about the final chapter of Chaplin's life, and one of the prevailing tensions concerning Chaplin is the way in which he is incredibly famous on the one hand but also a particularly mysterious and even unknown figure on the other hand. After Chaplin's body was stolen from his grave, Kenneth Schuyler Lynn pointed out that "the image of his empty gravesite came to symbolize his historic elusiveness, as a person no less than as a performer." How is it that a director who is arguably more famous than any other also held such an "elusive" sensibility? British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Chaplin comprehensively examines Chaplin's life and films, exploring the controversies and the ways in which his life and works are mutually informative. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Charlie Chaplin like you never have before, in no time at all.

本作は、喜劇王チャップリンという不世出のアイコンが抱える「光と影」の深淵に迫る一冊です。単なる成功譚に留まらず、放浪者という記号の裏に隠された芸術家の政治的苦悩を克明に描き出しています。笑いと哀愁を融合させた彼の美学が、激動の時代といかに共鳴し、乖離したのか。その矛盾の解明こそが、本書の文学的な醍醐味です。 また「街の灯」等の名作と、本書が綴る歴史的背景との対比は圧巻です。映像の雄弁な身体表現に対し、本書は追放という「沈黙の真実」を突きつけることで物語に深い奥行きを与えます。銀幕の向こう側に潜む、捉えがたい男の正体に迫る知的な興奮は、映画を愛する全ての読者の鑑賞体験をより豊穣なものへと昇華させてくれるでしょう。