FM-C025-1915

Chaplin Collection, The \: City Lights

Video

DVD

F&MS

No

Available

City Lights (1931), subtitled "A Comedy Romance in Pantomime," is generally viewed as Charlie Chaplin's greatest film - a "silent film" released three years after the start of the talkies era of sound. The melodramatic film, a combination of pathos, slapstick and comedy, was a tribute to the art of body language and pantomime - a lone hold-out against the assault of the talking film. It was well known that Chaplin preferred the silent art form to the advent of sound films. Chaplin was responsible for the film's production, direction, editing, music, and screenplay (although assisted by Harry Crocker, Henry Bergman, and Albert Austin). The episodic film includes a complete musical soundtrack and various sound effects - but no speech or dialogue. Incredibly, Chaplin's film was not nominated for a single Academy Award - to the pro-talking film Academy members, it must have appeared to be reversing the trend toward talkies and advanced sound films. The tale of blind love again presents the famous Little Tramp character - an outcast, homeless man with his baggy pants, tight coat, cane, large shoes and small hat who first appeared in 1914 (and gave his final appearance in Modern Times (1936)). This 'silent' film is the quintessential Chaplin film - with superb examples of Chaplin's (the Tramp's) acting and artistic genius. Director: Charles Chaplin. Actors: Charles Chaplin. Black and White. Country: USA. No Subtitles.