A Burlesque on Carmen (1915)

Too much of everything

Simply A Masterpiece

One of my all time favorites.

Memorable, crazy movie

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors. From his Essanay period after leaving Keystone, 'A Burlesque on Carmen' is not one of his very best but is one of his best early efforts and among the better short films of his. It shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career, from 1914, The Essanay period is something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. Something that can be seen in the more than worthwhile 'A Burlesque on Carmen'. The story is still flimsy and actually one of the most lightweight ones of the Essanay period, there are times where it struggles to sustain the short length, and could have had more variety.On the other hand, 'A Burlesque on Carmen' looks pretty good, not incredible but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.While not one of his most hilarious or touching, 'A Burlesque on Carmen' is still very funny with some clever, entertaining and well-timed slapstick and is one of his first to have substance and pathos after 'The Bank', 'The Night in the Show' and 'The Tramp'. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight. The ending is great fun.Chaplin directs more than competently, if not quite cinematic genius standard yet. He also, as usual, gives an amusing and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, particularly a charming Edna Purviance.In summary, very good and one of the best from Chaplin's Essanay period. 8/10 Bethany Cox

If you look at the whole career of that madcap genius Cecil B. DeMille, his style and preoccupations changed considerably over time, but one thing was evident from day one – his unshakeable pomposity and over-confidence. That is why he was always a ripe target for satire. Getting an early shot in on the heels one of DeMille's earliest successes was Charlie Chaplin, with his farcical yet precisely aimed Burlesque on Carmen.These were the days when people would go to see a popular picture many times over. Chaplin too has clearly studied the original, and played upon the familiarity it would have had with audiences of the time. He has mimicked the sets, set-ups and even copied many of the titles verbatim. He even bases gags around very minor aspects of the DeMille film such as the soldiers and smugglers pushing at the door. All this provides a rich environment for Chaplin to tweak into hilariously disrespectful mayhem.This doesn't appear to be an especially popular or well-known short, perhaps because without the genuine little tramp and modern setting it is not considered kosher Charlie. Personally I feel it is one his best Essanay pictures, for a number of reasons. Virtually the whole of Chaplin's act was satirical on some level, whether he was lampooning the upper class, social norms or modern fads, and generally the bigger the target the bigger the laughs. And simply because of its period trappings it allows him to do funny business with props and situations he would never normally get hold of, such as the numerous gags involving his sword. With his semi-faithful recreation of a contemporary drama, you get to see the considerable straight acting talents of Chaplin and his leading lady Edna Purviance, in a role unlike any other she played, but one she is very suited to. You also have John Rand being very funny in his own right, and Leo White getting the lengthiest and most creative pummelling he ever received from Charlie. Burlesque on Carmen is a unique standout in Chaplin's career, but also great fun to watch.All of which brings us to the all-important statistic – Number of kicks up the arse: 0 (although it does contain practically everything else)

Burlesque on Carmen (1916) is Charles Chaplin's parody of Georges Bizet' famous opera.Chaplin isn't the famous tramp this time but a Spanish officer Darn Hosiery who falls for the beautiful and dangerous gypsy temptress Carmen.Chaplin's number one girl Edna Purviance plays Carmen.One good reason to watch this movie is to see those two working together.Together they created magic.And there's also the fantastic cross-eyed comedian Ben Turpin playing the part of Remendados.Even though Chaplin could do much better than this it still isn't a bad movie.He was incapable to make a bad movie.For me it would be hard, if not impossible to give less than eight stars to a Chaplin movie.Chaplin was not only a fine movie maker but he was also a talented writer of books.I own his autobiography and at the moment I'm reading 'My Trip Abroad (1922)'.So he could do much more than act the clown on films.The ending of this movie is dramatic but I was happily surprised to see Charlie and Edna get up after he's stabbed them both.Like a knife could ever kill Chaplin and his girl!

You gotta be a fan of the little man but I found Burlesque on Carmen dull, unimaginative and totally not funny.Chaplin is retelling the story of Carmen and plays a big role himself as Don Jose. It's a story about men and the women they love, although it's unclear why one would love such a woman as Carmen, as she is playing the men against each other.As I said I didn't think much of it. Chaplin made dozens and dozens of better movies so you can leave this one on the shelve.Oh and I'm curious what the difference is between this movie and the 1915 version... or is it just an IMDB mistake?On the whole: 3/10.