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| Charles Chaplin | The Tramp |
| Virginia Cherrill | The Blind Girl |
| Harry Myers | The Millionaire |
| Allan Garcia | The Millionaire's Butler |
| Hank Mann | The Boxer |
| Florence Lee | Blind Girl's Grandmother |
| Albert Austin | Street-cleaner |
| Eddie Baker | |
| Henry Bergman | Janitor, Mayor, Mayor/Janitor |
| James Donnelly | Foreman |
| Jean Harlow | Guest |
| Robert Parrish | |
| John Rand | Tramp |
| Jack Sutherland | Party Guest |
| Stanhope Wheatcroft | Man in Cafe |
| Charles Chaplin | Director, Score Composer, Editor, Producer, Screenwriter |
| Albert Austin | Asst. Director, Screenwriter |
| Henry Bergman | Asst. Director, Screenwriter |
| Harry Crocker | Asst. Director, Screenwriter |
| Carl Davis | Musical Direction/Supervision |
| Charles Hall | Art Director |
| Alfred Newman | Score Composer |
| Roland H. "Rollie" Totheroh | Cinematographer |
The golden years of Charlie. Unsurpassed by any other comedian. Silent makes it one of a kind.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
After watching this film, I realized I had just experienced one of the most remarkable moments of cinema at its finest. This is absolutely Charlie Chaplins finest hour and one of my favorite films of all time. It is one of the greatest comedies I have ever seen in my life. The end was heartbreaking and sad. This is one of the greatest American films ever made.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Let me join the consensus and call Charlie Chaplin¿s ¿City Lights¿ a masterpiece. It¿s only 81 minutes long, but they are among the best 81 minutes you could spend at the movies, and the last five minutes are simply exquisite. Simply keep your Kleenex box at arm¿s length as I doubt if there has been a more honest heartbreaking scene captured on film. When the formerly blind girl gives the Little Tramp a flower and ultimately says ¿Yes, I can see now¿, the scene takes on such emotional gravity as to defy explanation. Chaplin was at his zenith in 1928 when he took more than two years to develop and film this story, and the Little Tramp had already been a familiar character to audiences for over a decade. He had already made ¿The Gold Rush¿ (1925) and ¿The Circus¿ (1928) starring his character, both classics, so it¿s obvious he felt a need to take a somewhat different direction and explore an opportunity to deepen the character this time. The advent of talkies didn't stop Chaplin from making this ¿Comedy Romance in Pantomime¿ (as he subtitled it), as he knew giving the Little Tramp a voice would limit his character¿s appeal as a universal character. What I particularly enjoyed in this film is how the Little Tramp fancies himself as a well-mannered gentleman in spite of all the circumstances that bring him down, even going to prison for love. It is this self-delusion and his subsequent mistaken identity as a millionaire that leads him to the blind flower girl, played in an effectively plaintive manner by Virginia Cherrill. Her performance is a greatly underrated element in this film, as she displays the right amount of vacant innocence to make the last minutes so memorable. Simply compare her to the screen test shown of Georgia Hale, Chaplin¿s leading lady in 'The Gold Rush' and an obviously more experienced actress than Cherrill, who struggles to show the right balance between condescension and beatific revelation when she realize the Little Tramp is the ¿wealthy¿ gentleman who paid for the restoration of her sight. Of course, this would not be a Chaplin film without the brilliance of his comedy routines and there is a treasure trove of classic scenes ¿ the rising and lowering of the street elevator, the shifting musical chairs scene at the nightclub, the mock suicide at the canal and especially the boxing scene, which has been imitated so many lesser filmmakers (and was according to the footage included as a DVD extra, inspired by an earlier Chaplin short ¿The Champion¿ from 1915). Even a simple moment like when the Little Tramp mistakes a piece of thread from his vest for a ball of twine is impressive for the sheer delicacy of the moment. And special mention needs to go to Chaplin¿s musical score, where he beautifully interweaves José Padilla¿s 'La Violetta' as his love theme. The transfer to DVD is very good, and the 2-DVD set also has plenty of extras, though they are of variable interest. The Serge Bromberg documentary is quite interesting, as is the footage of Chaplin from a Vienna press tour since it captures the long-forgotten worldwide frenzy he created back then. The aforementioned Georgia Hale screen test is very interesting but runs on a bit too long. The 10-minute home movie of his trip to Bali has a certain anthropological interest but seems rather pointless otherwise. Regardless, the movie itself is rewarding enough and an exquisite jewel that completely justifies Chaplin¿s reputation as one of the world¿s leading filmmakers.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Not only did Chaplin star in this film, also wrote, directed and composed the music. The story is so perfectly developed in silence that the first two times I viewed it, I couldn't see the final five minutes through my tears, even though I knew what was going to happen.
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Posted September 2, 2002
This is not Chaplin's best film, but it is definitely up there. It is heartwarming, but still one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The ending is one of the best ever caught on film.
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Posted January 5, 2010
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Posted July 5, 2011
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Overview