I didn't enter the world until almost 6 years after Chaplin's death, long after his heyday as one of the world's biggest stars, but such was his legacy that I feel like I grew up with his work. In 1983, the year I was born, Unknown Chaplin, a three-part documentary on Chaplin, was broadcast on ITV here in the UK. It was a success and coincided with a time when British television began to show more films from what was deemed the 'golden age' of popular cinema. This meant that during my childhood I was able to watch films by the likes of Chaplin on TV. My dad and my nan especially were big cinephiles and happy to indoctrinate me with these classic movies from an early age, some of which they themselves had grown up watching.

So, these films mean a lot to me, as a reminder of my childhood, as a connection to my family, and just because of the sheer enjoyment I've garnered from them over the years. I've previously watched the majority of Chaplin's work, some films numerous times, but he was incredibly prolific, and there will certainly be gaps present, with some entries in his filmography likely having escaped me...until now. This seems an appropriate place for me to start with my first List on Letterboxd, going back almost to the start of cinema itself.