Limelight (1952)
A fading comedian and a suicidally despondent ballet dancer must look to each other to find meaning and hope in their lives.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Charles Chaplin
Written By: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Geraldine Chaplin, Nigel Bruce, Claire Bloom, Frank Hagney, Norman Lloyd, Cyril Delevanti, Sydney Chaplin, Billy Curtis, Andre Eglevsky
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Where to Stream
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Limelight belongs to 43 collections
1. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 165 stars)
2. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
3. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 38 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
5. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
6. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
7. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
9. Based on a Book (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 21 stars)
10. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 20 stars)
11. The Story of Film: An Odyssey (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 20 stars)
12. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)
13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
14. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
15. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 13 stars)
16. Sight and Sound 2002 (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 9 stars)
17. Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive Art (collaborative: moderated by edsu - 8 stars)
18. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
19. Best of criticker: Comedy (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 7 stars)
20. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
21. Best of Classic Old Hollywood (pre-70s) (collaborative: moderated by 90sCoffee - 6 stars)
22. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)
23. London (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
24. Director/star combination (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
25. Films referenced in Histoire(s) du cinéma (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 5 stars)
26. Triple Threat (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 4 stars)
27. Oscar: Original Music Score (collaborative: moderated by cagedwisdom - 4 stars)
28. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
29. Coheed's Films I Need To See Or Try To Track Down (public: Coheed - 3 stars)
30. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)
31. NBR Top 10 Films (collaborative: moderated by xacviant - 1 star)
32. Music by director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)
33. About comedy and/or comedians (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 1 star)
34. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
35. Silent to Sound: In real life and in art (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky)
36. Piero Scaruffi's list of great films (collaborative)
37. zae's DVDs & Blurays (public: zae)
38. My DVD Collection (public: balseiros)
39. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 19 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
40. Films I watched in 2010 (public: jal90)
41. Mark Kermode's Oscars diet (public: rannydoscoe)
42. Bakış Büyüteci (public: Ozancan)
43. Watchlist (public: Panunzio)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 3 |  |
jeff_v | 45 6th |
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It's a film about a famous comedian who is past his prime and who has lost touch with his audience, made by a director who is a famous comedian past his prime and who has lost touch with his audience. The film's protagonist, played by the screenwriter-director, feels isolated and is self-pitying and prone to moralizing. The film itself feels isolated and detached from reality. It's also confessional and frequently embarrassing. Calvero's death is so steeped in self-pathos that it's grotesque.
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| 3 |  |
Rufam | 45 9th |
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An epic gesture of self-pity. Aged Chaplin, with no audience left, makes up a gorgeous young heroine who worships him and tells him he's a genius -in turn, he saves her life by offering his trite life philosophy, while the film grows progressively bloated in length and in melodrama. Hardly a gifted verbal comedian and with the glimpses of his old physical skit being tacked-on, Chaplin alternates, in dead seriousness, between self-loathing and self-glorification -but it's always about himself.
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| 3 |  |
lisa- | 3 30th |
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TSPDT #504. basically, chaplin creates his own mythology. once young and famous, he gradually fades into the limelight, as audiences move on and up while he falls in stasis. but in his old age, he grows warm with wisdom, and with this knowledge and kindness is able to touch hearts and rekindle minds, passing on his past glory to that one inevitable woman enraptured by his spirit. bittersweet drama and elegant comedy indeed, but ultimately old charles reveals himself to be an insufferable wanker.
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| 2 |  |
MartinTeller | 12 0th |
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I may be no fan of Chaplin's brand of physical comedy, but I find it infinitely preferable to the unbearable narcissism of Limelight. What a load of pretentious piffle. I watched most of it at double, or quadruple, speed. Even the Keaton-Chaplin collaboration disappoints. Poor Buster is given little to do except fiddle endlessly with his sheet music and trod on a violin. What a waste.
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| 2 |  |
Icarus | 92 93rd |
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A brilliant late-career piece from Chaplin which effectively honors the old while celebrating the new. That he does this with a significant contribution from his work during the silent period (including a joyous cameo from Buster Keaton) makes the film all the more personal and heartfelt. Teresa's ballerina is a fully realized character alongside the aging comedian, and offers a lively counterpoint to his wise and broken character.
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| 2 |  |
Yiannos | 78 89th |
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No doubt sentiment overwhelmed Chaplin with age, and many of the criticisms against Limelight contain more than a grain of truth. It IS sappy and mawkish and self pitying, but it's also a very bold and personal work for Chaplin where he laid his emotional cards (i.e.wounds) on the table for the world to see. Some moments of overwrought dialogue don't spoil the effect, and there is something touching in watching this despondent character find meaning and joy in a cold and unforgiving world.
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| 1 |  |
schnofel | 24 8th |
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An older Chaplin still keeps looking after these helpless young women who miraculously endure his unchecked mugging.
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| 1 |  |
Dorkovsky | 2 11th |
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For over 2 hours, Chaplin is basically pissing and moaning because his one narrow brand of comedy isn't aging well, and when he's not doing that he's failing miserably at attempting profound realizations. Oh and it's really boring too.
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| 1 |  |
KasperL | 40 20th |
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Bah. Annoyingly conceited and very, very long.
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| 1 |  |
Limelight | 95 99th |
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The simplicity in this movie is amazing! Felt in love with every single scene!
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| 1 |  |
paulofilmo | 78 97th |
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The depiction of the temporal nature of Chaplin's preferred medium and life. His inability to competently stretch out to other mediums whilst being this self-referential is his paradox; it reinforces his Holism and the sad loss of the silent-era. We are left with a broken shell, and the film reflects this, but the subtext remains profound. The film's vast, superficial imperfection makes it greater than itself; it is a sacrifice, as was his life. This significance will resonate and endure.
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| 1 |  |
Eldred08 | 90 81st |
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It is difficult not to see in the face of Calvero the face of the Chaplin himself. I liked the movie in this aspect, since I could notice sincerity. Meantime, in spite of the quite appreciable joint being, some parts of the movie are too sweet for my taste, but even so, a great movie...
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| 1 |  |
glumpy_99 | 94 88th |
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Might this be Claire Bloom inventing the MPDG archetype? Definitely a self-indulgent piece of melodramatic self-pity, but seen in the context of Chaplin’s unequalled fixture as an icon of his time, it’s a worthy and justifiable tribute, with Chaplin himself turning in a masterfully emotional performance for the ages, matched by Bloom who invests her admittedly contrived character with a genuine and believable pathos. Nice support work from Bruce, and the Keaton/Chaplin match-up is a highlight.
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| Average Percentile 70.11% from 746 Ratings |  |