A brief look back on film history
1. This is Chaplin's first silent feature film. Earlier films before him existed as a recording tool. At the beginning of the birth of the great invention of mankind, film was used to spread theatrical art on a large scale. Compared with traditional indoor stage performances, the advantage of film is very obvious: it can cover some scenes that are impossible in real stage play, such as nature. This gives the "filmed stage play" another broad performance world and a huge audience market. Soon, an unprecedented new role appeared in this new screen world—children and animals, both likable and capable of making people laugh. Therefore, the veteran-level stars in the history of film include: the seal of EMI, the famous dog of Alsace, and the talented young actor Jackie Coogan of the film.
2. Pantomime films have abandoned their lines due to technical limitations, or only give silent prompts where necessary to promote the plot. To make the audience laugh, you must rely on witty and straightforward character expressions, exaggerated action design and clever scene arrangement. Especially the movement must be strong and extensive. Because there were no close-up shots at the time, no detailed emotions were shown. So the cry in the silent film era must be howling vigorously, it can't be a lonely tear slowly flowing from the corner of the eyes of the heroine sitting on the chair in the corner of the dim room.
3. The thick-line action design brought a new art form to the movies at the time, namely "slapstick comedy". This form of comedy was born when the film was still in its infancy. The reason was that the scenes of the movie and the stage play were the same at that time. They were all panoramic. The actors had to use exaggerated gestures so that the audience sitting in the distance could see clearly. Today, comedians would be ridiculed too hard if they performed this way, but at the time, the shortcomings of the early movies (such as silence) became a comedy style due to the comical performance of the pantomime. This style runs through Chaplin's entire film period, especially the early films (such as this film), which can quite see the shadow of "slapstick comedy". To fight, you have to jump up and fight. After being beaten, it is necessary for the magic of in-situ love to go round and round. It looks a lot like watching an animated silent film. The laughter also arises from this.
4. The early movies did not set up complicated plots, and sometimes even added some extraneous points that had nothing to do with the plot in order to show off their skills. For example, in the dream at the end of the film, designs such as "Flying by the Sky" and "Character Disappearing" were added, which made the audience at the time brighten up, and greatly explored the imagination and possibilities of the movie, which reminds people of the early days. The "movie magician" George Meri loves.
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