Chaplin said it was The Gold Rush by which he wanted to be remembered, but a lot of folks think City Lights is his best work.
The humor in the film is amazingly gentle, and, as usual with Chaplin, a little of it goes a long way. A scene where the Tramp swallows a whistle, for example, should never have lasted the time it does and comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome. But most of the comedy is priceless, the drunk sequence and the boxing match, especially, bringing out the best in Chaplin's sense of timing, grace, and acrobatic skill.
Which brings us to the movie's celebrated, ambiguous, and understated ending. What can I say? Watch it. Be moved by it. You'll have no choice but be moved by it if you watch it. You'll not forget it.
Video:
The video in this restored, 1.33:1 ratio, standard-screen print is quite good. It betrays almost no signs of age whatever beyond the occasional flicker of light. The black-and-white photography holds up well, too, and the transfer is largely free of grain, moiré effects, or other digital artifacts. Of course, there is a small degree of softness to the image, but the contrasts more than make up for it.
Audio:
The disc makes available both the film's original 1.0 monaural soundtrack and a new Dolby Digital 5.1 remix. In DD 5.1 the sound is slightly more open and spread out than it is in mono, but it's still a tad bright and, of course, limited in the bass. Fortunately, it has only to reproduce a few sound effects and string music, so it does its job commendably well.
Extras:
Disc one of this two-disc, special-edition set contains the movie, the two soundtracks, and twenty scene selections. English is the only spoken language available for the picture, but there are subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai, and Korean.
Disc two is where the extras are found, starting with a brief introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson, followed by a twenty-six minute documentary, "Chaplin Today: City Lights." The documentary was made by Serge Bromberg, who describes the Chaplin film as "a story of love and hope between two lost souls," and it features an analysis of "City Lights" by Peter Lord of "Wallace & Gromit" and "Chicken Run" fame.
The rest of the items on the second disc are brief but of interest to the Chaplin fan. There's a seven-minute outtake scene involving the Tramp attempting to remove a piece of wood from a sidewalk grate that is quite wonderful, but Chaplin removed it from the finished product because it impeded the film's narrative flow. It really doesn't fit into the story, true, but it's fun on its own. Then, there's a ten-minute excerpt from Chaplin's 1915 film "The Champion" that shows us his inspiration for the boxing match in "City Lights." Next, a "Documents" section contains a number of short pieces: (1) "Shooting," on the set during the meeting scene. (2) Georgia Hale screen test (Chaplin actually fired his leading lady, Virginia Cherrill, and intended to replace her with his costar from "The Gold Rush," Georgia Hale; but he soon realized he too far along in the shooting and rehired Ms. Cherrill). (3) "The Dream Prince," another discarded idea. (4) Rehearsal. (5) Chaplin boxes with professional boxers visiting the set. (6) Winston Churchill's visit. (7) "Chaplin Speaks" for the first time on film, Vienna, 1931. (8) "Trip to Bali," footage of Charles and his brother Sidney's visit to Bali. After the "Documents," there are film posters, a photo gallery, about two minutes' worth of various trailers for "City Lights," and theatrical trailers for other films in "The Chaplin Collection."
Parting Thoughts:
Chaplin said it was "The Gold Rush" by which he wanted to be remembered, but a lot of folks think "City Lights" is his best work. On their list of top 100 films, the American Film Institute placed "City Lights" at the #76 spot, just behind "The Gold Rush" (#74) and just ahead of "Modern Times" (#81). I wouldn't argue. "City Lights" is sentimental, to be sure, but I doubt that we would want it any other way.
"City Lights" is available on its own or as a part of a big boxed set, Volume Two of "The Chaplin Collection" from Warner Bros. and MK2. The seven-disc set includes "The Circus," "City Lights," "The Kid," "Monsieur Verdoux," "A Woman of Paris" and "A King in New York," "The Chaplin Revue" (seven of Chaplin's best comedy shorts), and "Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin," movie critic Richard Schickel's tribute to the comic filmmaker.
Which brings us to the movie's celebrated, ambiguous, and understated ending. What can I say? Watch it. Be moved by it. You'll have no choice but be moved by it if you watch it. You'll not forget it.
Video:
The video in this restored, 1.33:1 ratio, standard-screen print is quite good. It betrays almost no signs of age whatever beyond the occasional flicker of light. The black-and-white photography holds up well, too, and the transfer is largely free of grain, moiré effects, or other digital artifacts. Of course, there is a small degree of softness to the image, but the contrasts more than make up for it.
Audio:
The disc makes available both the film's original 1.0 monaural soundtrack and a new Dolby Digital 5.1 remix. In DD 5.1 the sound is slightly more open and spread out than it is in mono, but it's still a tad bright and, of course, limited in the bass. Fortunately, it has only to reproduce a few sound effects and string music, so it does its job commendably well.
Extras:
Disc one of this two-disc, special-edition set contains the movie, the two soundtracks, and twenty scene selections. English is the only spoken language available for the picture, but there are subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai, and Korean.
Disc two is where the extras are found, starting with a brief introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson, followed by a twenty-six minute documentary, "Chaplin Today: City Lights." The documentary was made by Serge Bromberg, who describes the Chaplin film as "a story of love and hope between two lost souls," and it features an analysis of "City Lights" by Peter Lord of "Wallace & Gromit" and "Chicken Run" fame.
The rest of the items on the second disc are brief but of interest to the Chaplin fan. There's a seven-minute outtake scene involving the Tramp attempting to remove a piece of wood from a sidewalk grate that is quite wonderful, but Chaplin removed it from the finished product because it impeded the film's narrative flow. It really doesn't fit into the story, true, but it's fun on its own. Then, there's a ten-minute excerpt from Chaplin's 1915 film "The Champion" that shows us his inspiration for the boxing match in "City Lights." Next, a "Documents" section contains a number of short pieces: (1) "Shooting," on the set during the meeting scene. (2) Georgia Hale screen test (Chaplin actually fired his leading lady, Virginia Cherrill, and intended to replace her with his costar from "The Gold Rush," Georgia Hale; but he soon realized he too far along in the shooting and rehired Ms. Cherrill). (3) "The Dream Prince," another discarded idea. (4) Rehearsal. (5) Chaplin boxes with professional boxers visiting the set. (6) Winston Churchill's visit. (7) "Chaplin Speaks" for the first time on film, Vienna, 1931. (8) "Trip to Bali," footage of Charles and his brother Sidney's visit to Bali. After the "Documents," there are film posters, a photo gallery, about two minutes' worth of various trailers for "City Lights," and theatrical trailers for other films in "The Chaplin Collection."
Parting Thoughts:
Chaplin said it was "The Gold Rush" by which he wanted to be remembered, but a lot of folks think "City Lights" is his best work. On their list of top 100 films, the American Film Institute placed "City Lights" at the #76 spot, just behind "The Gold Rush" (#74) and just ahead of "Modern Times" (#81). I wouldn't argue. "City Lights" is sentimental, to be sure, but I doubt that we would want it any other way.
"City Lights" is available on its own or as a part of a big boxed set, Volume Two of "The Chaplin Collection" from Warner Bros. and MK2. The seven-disc set includes "The Circus," "City Lights," "The Kid," "Monsieur Verdoux," "A Woman of Paris" and "A King in New York," "The Chaplin Revue" (seven of Chaplin's best comedy shorts), and "Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin," movie critic Richard Schickel's tribute to the comic filmmaker.
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[release]11861[/release]