Stage spring and autumn
Text / Yang Daxia
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > a silent film that enters history</h1>
In 1926, the world's first sound film "Don Juan the Swordsman" was released in the United States, and silent films began to enter history.
Seeing more and more directors going to make sound films, Charlie Chaplin scolded:
"There were a few people on set sitting there with headphones on, dressed like warriors from Mars; several microphones hung above the actors like fishing hooks. The scene is so complex and frustrating. Surrounded by this pile of garbage, who can be creative? ”
He insisted on shooting silent films such as "Circus" and "City Lights", and although it was well received, it also suffered a lot of criticism. The new generation that grew up watching sound films shook their heads at Chaplin's silent films: "Why do they only gesture and not speak?" ”
In 1940, Chaplin abandoned his insistence on silent films and made The Great Dictator, his first sound film. A few years later, he made Monsieur Verdou. He had such a deep hatred for sound films, but he eventually became a part of sound films; his persistence finally lost to the ruthlessness of film history.
Charlie chaplin
In 1952, Chaplin's third sound film, Spring and Autumn on the Stage, was released in the United Kingdom. Although he also made two films in the later period, there is no doubt that "Stage Spring and Autumn" is his last greeting and the curtain call of his stage career.
"Stage Spring and Autumn" is Chaplin's autobiographical film, in which he plays a clown actor, showing the scenery of his early years and the embarrassment of his later years.
Although this is a sound movie, the most exciting part of it is the silent scene of the clown on the stage without saying a word.
That was Chaplin's last insistence on silent films.
Sound film is an unstoppable countercurrent of film development, and it is the indescribable sadness of silent film directors.
And Chaplin showed that even if he can't stop the world from changing, at least don't let the world change himself; a person can make concessions for life, but he can at least choose to be loyal to his last stubbornness.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the deported tramp</h1>
In 1952, after the filming of "Stage Spring and Autumn", Chaplin took his family to a boat to hold premieres in European countries.
One day, when the ship was traveling somewhere in the Atlantic, he received a statement from the United States government that Chaplin was not allowed to enter the United States again; once in, there was no reason to arrest him.
"Stage Spring and Autumn" was filmed in the United States, but it could not be released in the United States. It was not until 20 years later, in 1972, that the United States lifted the ban on Chaplin, and "Stage Spring and Autumn" was released in Los Angeles and other cities.
For 20 years, Chaplin was like a tramp, driven out of hiding by the U.S. government.
In fact, as early as 1920, Chaplin became the subject of investigation by the US government.
At that time, the United States was experiencing a wave of unemployment rising, and the streets were full of homeless people.
Chaplin had just come to the United States. He came into contact with something called "communism" and said excitedly:
"I want every kid to have enough food, shoes on their feet, and a roof over their heads. Communism will change everything and eliminate poverty. ”
At that time, Chaplin had already made several silent films, such as "The Tramp", whose theme was invariably sympathy for the poor masses and criticism of capitalism. He said: "I am like a person who is always troubled by a spirit, a spirit of poverty, poverty. ”
At that time, "in the far corners of the world, there were men and women who had never heard of Jesus Christ; however, they knew and loved Chaplin." ”
To this end, the FBI began to investigate the "tramp" with communist tendencies, but Chaplin was not a member of the Communist Party, and the FBI did not find anything.
After escaping the FBI investigation, Chaplin began a new round of speeches. In 1942, as a "comrade," he said to the masses: "The Communist Party is an ordinary person like us who loves beauty and loves life. ”
Asked if he knew the Austrian communist musician Hans Eisler, he replied:
"Eisler is my friend and I'm proud of that fact."
A few months later, Eisler was deported from the United States.
Chaplin's good days also came to an end soon.
Chaplin's "Spring and Autumn on the Stage"
In 1947, his second sound film, Monsieur Verdou, was released in the United States.
In the film, Chaplin plays Verdun, an exploited bank clerk who worked sincerely for 30 years but was fired from the bank. Verdun embarked on the path of crime in order to live. After his arrest, he was sentenced to death. Verdou said:
"Killing one person says the man is a criminal, killing millions of people says he's a hero." In this world, as long as you have the power, you can succeed..."
This communist phrase became a weapon for the U.S. government to fight back. "Monsieur Verdeau" was banned in the United States, and Chaplin was banned from working in Hollywood.
Disgruntled, he published an article in a Parisian newspaper titled "I Declare War on Hollywood" lamenting the repression he had suffered; but what awaited him was a statement that had been banned for 20 years.
"Stage Spring and Autumn" was made by Chaplin after being suppressed by the government and before his expulsion. The film has lost its sharpness, its political leanings, and its submission to sound films, and its submission to the U.S. government.
However, he still said in the film, borrowing the joker's mouth: "I am the tramp." ”
He is still the "tramp" who is troubled by the spirit of poverty and poverty.
In front of the US authorities, he is small and pitiful, like a leaf fluttering in the sea, coming and going without any evidence, life and death can not help himself.
He could not choose the era in which he lived, but he chose to do something for it, something for the poor masses.
He could not change the fate of being expelled, but he chose to burn the determination and poetry of ephemera crossing the sea in his wandering heart.
Buster Keaton
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > three meet and laugh and hate</h1>
As the saying goes, one mountain does not allow two tigers.
During Chaplin's time, he had a strong nemesis named Buster Keaton.
By 1920, Chaplin was already famous worldwide; Keaton had just entered the film and television industry. Because Keaton had been a wrestler since he was a child, the film company Paramount put him in action comedy.
In those two years, Keaton made 19 comedy short films, and he quickly conquered American film fans with his juggling skills. In 1923, Paramount decided to let him make feature films, funded the establishment of the Buster Keaton Film Company, and granted him all autonomy.
At that time, Chaplin had just established his own film company. Due to his lack of experience, Chaplin's company encountered many problems in the early days, and several films were either not completed or could not be reviewed. In three years, he completed only one work, "A Woman in Paris".
After Keaton owned his own company for free, he quickly occupied the screen of the American cinema comedy genre at an average rate of two films a year. His masterpieces such as "Hospitality" and "Sherlock Holmes II" were completed during that time.
Unlike Chaplin's clown makeup, Keaton is a natural cold-faced smilemer; unlike Chaplin's humanistic feelings, Keaton shows a difficult action interpretation and a rather advanced use of special effects. If watching Chaplin's movies makes you cry, then watching Keaton's movies is to make you break into a cold sweat, your heart stops beating, Jackie Chan's action comedy, many ideas, are applied to Keaton's movies.
This refreshing way of performing comedy, in Chaplin's absence, made Keaton the most popular comedy star of the 1920s.
Keaton and Chaplin, who were once bright, became sworn enemies of comedy films, never allowing each other to enter their own film world, each in their own field, making their works reach the pinnacle. Chaplin once said in public: "Keaton's talent makes me jealous. ”
Keaton (left), Chaplin (right)
But in "Stage Spring and Autumn", two rivals for many years are on the same stage.
The clown played by Chaplin and the pianist played by Keaton, on the stage of the last scene of the movie, you come and go, you fight for me, although there is only a short ten-minute confrontation between the two males, but it makes people laugh forward and backward, becoming a classic scene in film history.
Why did decades of "enemies" finally reconcile?
It turned out that at the peak of Keaton's career, his movie "The General" suffered box office Waterloo at the box office, and Paramount regained his autonomy and suggested that Keaton join MGM.
After entering MGM, Buster had no technical team and no full support from the company; at the same time, MGM did not know how to use this highly skilled action actor; worse, the arrival of sound films, film shooting strictly required a complete script. Keaton's previous silent films were mostly improvisations, and as a silent film actor, it was difficult to complete a script full of lines.
The superb action ultimately lost to the touching humanistic feelings; Chaplin was still striving on the road of freedom and film, and Keaton became a drunkard.
Keaton and Chaplin
But the true hero always feels sorry for each other; the true master will never really hate another master. Looking at Keaton's downfall, Chaplin was relieved of his previous grievances - having a strong enemy is not terrible, what is terrible is the loneliness of the master.
Therefore, he invited Keaton to participate in "Stage Spring and Autumn", and they were all over half a hundred years old to build this unprecedented glory.
Chaplin and Keaton, neither of them could be friends in this life, they both had their own dignity, their own arrogance.
But they chose to meet each other and smile and hate each other, this choice is the hero cherishes the hero, the admiration and reverence for each other, the emotion of friendship is not lost, and it is the most perfect curtain between the masters.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > and make the audience laugh, which is a very happy thing</h1>
"It's a lot of fun to make the audience laugh." This is a line from the "clown" Chaplin in "Stage Spring and Autumn", and it is also his life.
In 1914, when Chaplin put on a black top hat, a gray dress, a bow, and a mustache for the first time, he appeared in front of the camera of his debut film "Making a Living", and the original intention of "making the audience laugh" never changed, just like his dress.
In "Looking for a Son and a Fairy", he wants to convey his father's love, but let the audience laugh from the beginning to the end.
In "The Gold Digger", he turned the north wind whistle on the gold rush road into a laughter in front of the screen.
In City Lights, he fills the poignancy of the tramp with a hilarious plot.
In The Great Dictator, even for Hitler, who kills people like a man, he tries his best to turn him into a witty character.
In "Stage Spring and Autumn", his body was blessed, his skin was rough, his face was loose, and he also took off two beards; but when he appeared on the stage as a clown, his mustache reappeared, and his vitality was restored, just like the style of his youth, and every move was unbearable.
The most moving scene in the film is when the Joker and the pianist played by Keaton are finished fighting, and the Joker suddenly has a heart attack.
At that time, he was stuck in a big drum, his body was hurting, and his heart was even more painful. The staff told him to heal immediately, but he asked the staff to carry him to the stage - he was going to go to the curtain, the final curtain of his life.
He sat in the drum and said to the audience with a smile:
"I still want to keep acting, but... I was stuck. ”
The audience burst into laughter.
The clown who died on stage
When the curtain was closed, the Joker was moved to the backstage bed.
At this time, his wife is going to perform on stage. With his last breath, he asked the staff to lift the bed to a corner where he could see his wife.
He lay in bed and watched his wife jump the stage. He smiled and closed his eyes forever.
The life of the clown is actually chaplin's life.
When Chaplin was young, every silent film was a box office guarantee; when he was old, his works were disliked even by children.
When the clown was young, he was like the stars holding the moon and the Luoyang paper was expensive; when he was old, he became a dragon swimming shoal and a tiger falling in Pingyang.
Chaplin moved from the United States to Switzerland because of the repression of the authorities.
Because the clown was no longer popular, he went from spending money to renting a house.
Chaplin didn't have many friends, and the circle was full of sworn enemies.
After the clown passed, he was also replaced by a new person.
These are force majeures that neither the Clown nor Chaplin can resist.
But no matter how hard life is, whether they're in a swamp or in the clouds, they choose to "make the audience laugh" and burn it until the last moment of their lives.
Behind "Making the Audience Laugh" are the countless tears of comedians, and also the hardships and pains that life gives to everyone.
But ah, even if life and fate have given us more ruthlessness and blame, even if illness and death are entangled with us like gangrene, at least we can laugh.
Maybe we have fought all our lives, but we have lost a lifetime, but those persistence in the dark night, laughter in despair, and reconciliation reached in the years of despair have made life meaningful, life has color, and the night has light.
Even if we are born to cry and start, at least we can make a big fuss while we are alive and leave laughing before we die.
Years later, when you are dying of old age, you look back at this life and you will find that —
Your persistence, your reconciliation, your laughter, have written the most perfect story for you in this life.
（END）