Will was rightly rather scathing about the new scenes William Goldman was commissioned to write after the project was refinanced by Carolco, saying they were almost in the league of 'how not to write' - telling, not showing. So we thought it would be fun to edit out all the 'new' scenes (those involving aging Chaplin clarifying the story with biographer Anthony Hopkins), and the remining bits of voiceover really are unnecessary (you know, 'the depression was hard on lots of people' sort of thing). Will's version is much cleaner and actually stronger, as he examines Chaplin the man - his genius in film making, but his 'feet of clay' involving younger women, his bad marriages and his politics, which had him in hot water with the FBI and J Edgar Hoover (who, we are reminded - though not in this film - was himself a closet 'daffodil').
It's one of John Barry's best later scores, Sven Nykvist's camera work is suitably melancholy, and Annie Coates' editing is invisible.
Paul Rhys makes an impression as Sidney Chaplin, as does Kevin Kline as Fairbanks.
"She's really not that bad."
" 'Not that bad?' Spoken like a man desperately in love."
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