June 2022 - Chaplin & Keaton
Summer is in full swing, which always reminds me of escaping the relentless heat by catching the latest Hollywood entertainment offerings in overly air-conditioned movie theaters. As a nod to that grand escapist tradition we are going back to Hollywood's earliest days and screening classics from two silent movie icons: Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin!

This Monday we will be showing the Buster Keaton short One Week along with Charlie Chaplin's full-length Modern Times. Keen observers will note that Modern Times is technically not a silent movie because Chaplin makes notable use of sound, but it is still mostly silent and features all the hallmarks of his famous Tramp character. We think you'll be surprised how funny both movies remain all these years later. There are still seats left so consider joining us if you aren't already registered. We'd love to see you.

Reminder: Cinema Club meets in the Aspen Drive Library Meeting Room in Vernon Hills. Masks optional.

Here's a few articles to skim beforehand.
Taste of Cinema posted this very good analysis of the film styles of both men. The first page is all about Chaplin, the second is all about Keaton.

"The difference between them is just immense... these are just circumstantial facts that one shouldn’t use to distance them and see which one is better but instead use these facts to conclude that both were pioneers in understanding the potential of film."
Whenever there is a Criterion essay it is a safe bet we will feature it in our newsletter. They are always so well written and insightful. This essay about Charlie Chaplin and Modern Times by Saul Asterlitz is no exception.

"To make a silent film in 1931, four years after The Jazz Singer, was to buck the trend in a film industry rapidly divesting itself of silence. To make another in 1936, nearly a decade after the advent of sound, appeared downright perverse."
There's been a resurgence of interest in Buster Keaton with new restorations of his work, two well reviewed biographies, and a Keaton documentary directed by Peter Bogdanovich all released within the past few years. This New Yorker article explores Keaton's career and what it is about his style that is reigniting the public imagination.

"In a modernist way, Keaton’s movies very often are about the movies, which was a natural outgrowth of his single-minded absorption in his chosen medium."
Next Movie: Johnny Guitar
July 18, 2022
Aspen Drive Library Meeting Room

1954 | Not Rated | 1h 50min
After helping a wounded gang member, a strong-willed female saloon owner is wrongly suspected of murder and bank robbery by a lynch mob. With Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge

REMINDER: You must register for each Cinema Club screening. Receiving this newsletter is not an indication you are registered for next month's showing.