There are some artists that are not only instantly recognizable by their last name, but their association with work immediately indicates that it will be of exceptional and undeniable quality, regardless of what the project entailed. Few individuals are more iconic, both visually and in terms of artistic impact, than Charlie Chaplin – with the…

Except for love, death and identity, one of the most common themes to find in fiction is that of friendship. Whether looking at the mere platonic companionships between individuals or those that become something more, literature tends to emphasize the importance of connections between individuals, particularly in the joy that comes in finding a kindred…

The concept of family means something different to everyone – for some, it’s the people to whom we are related biologically, while for others it takes on a deeper meaning, referring to those we choose to have as our closest confidantes. The point is that every family is different, and they usually change from person…

It seems that within every generation, there is at least one comedic voice that defines the humour, being the definitive voice of comedy during this period. The 1930s had some of the most exceptional, and we were truly spoiled for choice, with the likes of The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Mae West and Laurel and…

When a director has been working for more than half a century, and has made over fifty films and television shows, there are bound to be a few duds scattered throughout their career. If you asked one of them what their worst film is, they would usually find one particular film that they feel is…

There’s a very narrow boundary between paying homage to a genre of film, and fully becoming part of it in itself – and when it comes to The Woman Chaser, the distinction has never been more clear. A relatively underseen (some may even say obscure) dark comedy produced in the late 1990s by a director…

Crime doesn’t pay, but it certainly does make life a lot more entertaining – this seems to be the principle that Jean Lucas uses as motivation for his day-to-day life, and after being released from prison for the fourteenth time, decides that he is going to go straight – until he accidentally walks straight into…

Sheer cinematic perfection does exist, and it comes in the form of The Circus, which is quite simply one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever produced. My reverence for Charlie Chaplin has been well-documented, and in both my personal and professional life, I tend to draw a lot of inspiration from his work. His…

Throughout the history of literature, there are few characters quite as iconic as Sherlock Holmes, who has been the source of many productions in every conceivable medium for well over a decade, with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic creation becoming a part of the cultural vernacular in a way that very few other characters could…

If you are looking for pure entertainment, you can easily find it by choosing any of the several comedies produced by major studios in the 1960s – the Swinging Sixties was not only influential when it came to music and fashion, with the humour that was brought along with it being quite remarkable, even if…