The most influential director of all time, according to Federico Fellini: “From whom we are all descended”
If you’re going to let any filmmaker tell you who the most influential director of all time is, Federico Fellini is a pretty safe bet, having made many masterpieces in his time, like La Dolce Vita and 8½, the latter of which reflects on the very art of filmmaking itself.
Poetic, nostalgic, romantic, and anchored in dreams, Fellini was a master of his craft, but he couldn’t have gotten there without studying those who came before him, and in particular, he deeply admired a silent movie legend, believing him to be (via The New York Times) “a sort of Adam from whom we are all descended”.
Of course, he was referring to Charlie Chaplin, whose tenure as a screen legend was buoyed by his role as a director, often of his own films, to allow himself the freedom to bring his characters to life as he wanted to, most notably his beloved Tramp.
On paper, it looked like Chaplin was doomed to a short life of intensive labour and illness, having been born into a troubling family situation marred by poverty, malnutrition, workhouses, his father’s alcoholism, and his mother’s mental health struggles, but by some miracle, he found success on the stage, becoming a young performer and vaudeville star, and there was no look back after.
By the time cinema started to become a storytelling medium, not a mere gimmick but an art form that was firmly here to stay, Chaplin began appearing in films, starring in his first movie, Making a Living, in 1914. From there, his career took off, and he began performing as the Tramp, soon becoming the director of countless films, with his biggest, such as The Kid, The Gold Rush, Modern Times, and City Lights, changing cinema in a way that turned slapstick humour into a useful narrative device, imbuing his movies with equal amounts of poignancy and consideration.
He wasn’t just falling about and getting into humorous scrapes in these films but was digging deep into the heart of the human condition, using comedy as a universal torch to guide audiences into his cinematic world. Fellini truly thought that Chaplin was the most important figure to emerge from the early days of cinema, paving the way for everyone else who came after him.
Once, while discussing his admiration for the silent star, he highlighted him as being in a league above everyone else, telling Oriana Fallaci, “Of course I’ve seen Chaplin’s films. What a fabulous artist! But for people in their 40s like me, Chaplin belongs to the mythology of our lifetime: father, mother, schoolteacher, priest, Chaplin.”
Fellini even reflected on meeting him once, which left him feeling weird, for suddenly, a screen legend, someone who seemed like a bit of a myth, was in front of him, and he’d seen one of Fellini’s own films, too.
“Chaplin… I met him once in Paris. He had seen La Strada; in a low voice, he complimented me, I think. He struck me as very, very small, with two tiny, tiny hands. I couldn’t understand his French, he couldn’t understand my English. I felt ill at ease, overawed…”: Maybe it’s best never to meet your idols.
