Capital Celluloid - Day Three: Jan 3, 2011

It is high time for a reappraisal of the work of Charlie Chaplin, whose late masterpieces Monsieur Verdoux and Limelight have been cruelly underrated. His earlier works such as City Lights and The Gold Rush have long since vanished from Sight & Sound's all-time greatest films list but were at No2 and No3 respectively in the magazine's 1952 poll and are still highly regarded by some of the world's leading film makers. Indeed, as unlikely as it may seem Michael Haneke included The Gold Rush in his top ten list when the voting was last compiled in 2002.
Monday's choice of the pick of films in London is The Gold Rush in a special performance at the Royal Festival Hall at 7pm. Carl Davis, the celebrated composer and conductor, will lead the Philharmonia Orchestra in a live accompaniment to Chaplin's famous silent movie. Read what Davis had to say in the Guardian about the experience of reconstructing the original scores here.

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