BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

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Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Richard M Roberts » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:55 am

Hey Gang,

Ivan Shreve Jr reviewed BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE on his THRILLING DAYS OF YESTERYEAR blogsite today. You can read it here:

http://thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogsp ... chase.html

Bravo to Ivan and thanks for the kind words, he has a great blog.

It's also nice to see another review on the DVD set, as BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE seemed to come out in late July, get a smattering of reviews, then it got pretty quiet (although word from VCI is that sales have been pretty brisk). I imagine a few of you out there bought the set, how about a few comments and thoughts?

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Chris Seguin

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Chris Seguin » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:20 pm

Professional obligations keep me pretty quiet these days, so my opinion on BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE can only be summed up in one word: WOW.

That said, screening some of the shorts for friends resulted in two more copies sold, plus a plea for more Snub Pollard! And it finally convinced me to fork out the dough for the two Kino Chase sets, even though I have a good chunk of the shorts on other collections.

Chris

Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Richard M Roberts » Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:13 pm

Chris Seguin wrote:Professional obligations keep me pretty quiet these days, so my opinion on BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE can only be summed up in one word: WOW.

That said, screening some of the shorts for friends resulted in two more copies sold, plus a plea for more Snub Pollard! And it finally convinced me to fork out the dough for the two Kino Chase sets, even though I have a good chunk of the shorts on other collections.

Chris



So the best I get from this group is a "Wow" from Chris Seguin? C'mon you pikers, I know more of you bought this set out there. Pony up to the bar and speak your peace.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Paul Penna
Cugine
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Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:01 pm

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Paul Penna » Sat Oct 10, 2009 12:40 am

I've always had a fondness for Chase, even though my familiarity with his work was limited to the usual: his bit in Sons of the Desert, and a few of the commonly-available shorts. I haven't gotten through the whole set, but of what I've seen so far, the commentaries are great at calling attention to things that increase my appreciation and enjoyment of him. I'm looking forward to the rest. Bravo to all involved!

Ian Elliot
Associate
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:55 am

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Ian Elliot » Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:39 am

“Wow” is right, it’s a whopping great set, beautifully presented, with the extraordinary generosity and dedication of David Kalat and colleagues everywhere in evidence, in the skilful reconstructions and the sharing of rare material and scholarship. Through THE PARROT CHASE and all the commentaries I learned plenty about Chase and his era, and Mr. Kalat’s disquisition on Chaplin and his ringers for A ROLLING STONE makes for a fascinating fresh assessment of Billy West’s work. I watched and listened raptly through the interview with June Chase Hargis, I’d love to see more of it.

The Jimmy Jumps, of which I’d seen little before, are gem after gem... Especially enjoyed PUBLICITY PAYS, THE RAT’S KNUCKLES, TOO MANY MAMAS, and the Langdonian FIGHTING FLUID. I’ve known a few serious bibliophiles, and BIG RED RIDING HOOD doesn’t exaggerate the behaviour. I’ll confess to getting a lump in the throat toward the end of NO FATHER TO GUIDE HIM, maybe owing to the poignancy of the situation, or Mr. Roberts’ astute reflections on Chase’s sixteen years of consistent achievement as a comedy star-creator, or from knowing it’s the last Chase comedy in this terrific collection.


Ian Elliot
(hoping to be forgiven for not posting his meager thoughts earlier, it’s been a heck of a week)

Chris Seguin

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Chris Seguin » Sun Oct 11, 2009 1:12 pm

Richard Roberts wrote: "So the best I get from this group is a "Wow" from Chris Seguin?"

Gee, that makes me feel inadequate on a whole lotta levels... :(

Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:38 pm

Chris Seguin wrote:Richard Roberts wrote: "So the best I get from this group is a "Wow" from Chris Seguin?"

Gee, that makes me feel inadequate on a whole lotta levels... :(



Awwwww Chris, now c'mon. As one word reviews go, "Wow" is a nice one, but one should always be suspicious of one word reviews (just like the movie ads where they take the word "terrific" out of Roger Ebert's saying "This film gave me a terrific headache and you should avoid it at all costs", but it will read" "----terrific----" says Roger Ebert" and get away with it legally).And getting a "wow' out of one as respected and informed as yourself is always a heartening thing (hows that for diplomatic schmoozing?), but hey folks, we're trying to sell some DVD's for David Kalat here, so I'm hoping for a bit more discussion to keep the set in the Public (well, Community perhaps) eye for a bit. Heck, I'd be happy for a few whiners and nitpickers we could slap down just to keep the conversation going.

I guess part of the problem is that so many of the folk here actually worked on the set, they'd feel like they were blowing their own horn if they came out and praised it. And, since this site is made up of the good and knowing folk in the Silent Comedy Community, they also know better than to complain about trifles. So we end saying little? Ah, the dillemma!

Hey, we shook a few more good words out of some of you, there's gotta be some more out there. get your fingers typing!


RICHARD M ROBERTS

Chris Seguin

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Chris Seguin » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:55 pm

Awwww, my feelings weren't really hurt, Richard. I'm just in the unfortunate position of having started a new job, with very little time for the things I really enjoy! (And those who correspond with me with any consistency have become accustomed to my three-sentence-long-at-best blackberry missives...)

I actually did get to spend about an hour last night (it's Canadian Thanksgiving!) with Disc Two, and enjoyed it immensely. The strength and confidence of these early efforts is really astounding; Charley is already the Charley we'd come to know and love, and there's a great deal of sophistication and ingenuity woven through these ten-minute efforts.

The musical scores are stellar (especially loved Snark's work on POWDER AND SMOKE), and it's amazing what one can still learn from the commentary tracks. With no offense to anyone, I particularly enjoy the "one man" commentaries of Mr. Roberts and Mr. Kalat...they seem a bit more focused and I don't think anybody can dig up more opinionated ephemera than Mr. Roberts, and nobody can go off on a mindbending tangent than Mr. Kalat! (Only David can make me say "I never thought about it that way" with so much regularity!)

And trust me, my participation in the project is no cause for blowing one's own horn...! I'm easily outshone by my esteemed company.

Anyway, over the past few years there have been relatively few DVD projects that have really blown my mind. They've been (in no particular order)...
Becoming Charley Chase
Harry Langdon: Lost & Found
Weiss-O-Rama
Industrial Strength Buster Keaton
The Forgotten Films of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
American Slapstick
American Slapstick 2
And finally (and if nobody has it, it's an absolute must-have!):
Der Kleinen Strolchen 1927-29 - silent Our Gangs from the MGM era...truly remarkable films! One day I hope to get around to a review of those. "WIggle Your Ears" is some sort of avant garde masterpiece!
http://www.kinowelt.de/dvd/kleinen_stro ... stummfilme

Paul F Etcheverry
Cugine
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:52 am

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Paul F Etcheverry » Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:46 pm

Note the following Becoming Charley Chase reviews from Amazon. The first was written by Paul Mular, who is as conversant with silent and early sound comedy films as anyone I know in my neck of the woods (Northern California).

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Charley- ... iewpoints=

Have yet to see everything on the 4 DVDS, and am going through the set two or three films at a time. The big surprise: how much I enjoyed the early 1920's films directed by Chase but starring other comedians (on disk 4).

Uli Ruedel
Capo
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 2:47 am

Re: BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE Review

Postby Uli Ruedel » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:08 pm

So far, I've made my way through disc 1 only (blame welcome distractions as a certain wonderful festival in Italy in the beginning of October!), and am intrigued to finally see how Charley was there from early on in American Slapstick history. Given the extra "directed by Chase" shorts, I expect it's like providing a guided tour through much of slapstick history. Of course, though fascinating, early Keystones sans Arbuckle or Chaplin can be a bit challenging to truly "enjoy," but thanks to David's insightful commentary, I at least don't feel too ignorant about that anymore! A fine documentary too, and really looking forward to work (and enjoy!) my way through the remaining majority of material. Availability note for fellow Old World residents: Axelmusic still lists this for an incredibly economic 18 Euros. The previously announced Allday/Facets release is still listed there as well though, inviting confusion or never-to-be-fulfilled orders. Hope that doens't discourage anyone from obtaining this seminal slapstick set!

Uli


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