City Lights (1931)

One of the most beautiful films ever

City Lights is regarded by many as Chaplin's best film. It is a serio-comedy that will make you laugh and make you cry. November 9, 2008

These lights shine brighter than most...

Recently I had the privilege of catching part of a Charlie Chaplin marathon on TCM and I have to say that I am blown away with the man's genius. I've desperately wanted to get my hands on Chaplin's work since watching `Chaplin' starring Robert Downey Jr. but I've not had the opportunity or the time to really sit down and give him his due time. Thankfully I had the time to watch a few of his films last month, among them was `City Lights', the film for which Chaplin's title of genius is hinged on. Many regard this film as his finest film, and many even consider it one of the greatest films of all time. Now, I must admit that I personally adored `The Kid' and consider that the better of the two, but there is no denying that both films are leagues ahead of most films churned out by Hollywood these days.

The film follows Chaplin's character of the Tramp as he meets and falls in love with a blind flower girl. Upon meeting her he is moved to try and raise enough money to pay for her to have a surgery on her eyes to restore her sight. The film follows his pursuit of this money, from meeting and swaying an eccentric millionaire as well as trying his hand at a few rounds of prizefighting with an overzealous stranger.

In the end the story is a story of love, and Chaplin marvelously displays this to the audience. Charlie Chaplin proves without sound or color that there is so much more to an actor than the convenience of modern technology. The fact that Chaplin at this point could have made the film with sound but chose not to was truly a stroke of genius for this film proves that real film, that a real story transcends the boundaries of sight and sound. Chaplin and company say more with their eyes and actions than most actors can convey today.

The picture is crisp despite its lack of color, and the story is beautiful and very easy to follow. One may shiver at the idea of watching a silent film, hesitant, feeling as though the experience may be a waste of time, but how wrong they would be. My wife is one that refuses to watch a silent film, calling me stupid for even bothering, but I say that it is her loss, for these films are so much deeper richer than most of the films handed to us today. Now that I have stolen a taste of all that Chaplin can deliver I am heavily anticipating my next sampling.

I'll take Chaplin over Sadler any day. August 25, 2008

Cute as a button.

City Lights directed by Charlie Chaplin and also stars in is such a cute and timeless silent film classic. In College, I took a film class and our professor said to watch one silent film so I chose City Lights not knowing what to expect. To my utter delight, I fell head over heels in love with this film, the music, pace, and physical comedy is 100% charming. Charlie Chaplin will captivate your heart, I highly recommend it! Enjoy. April 27, 2008

"City Lights" enlightening screenwriters all over the world.

City Lights, as well as all Chaplin masterpeices, is shear genius. For any human being who ever dreamed of writing and directing a film, whether personal or intended for a large audience, City Lights is the text book to consult. Watch Chaplin's moves, gestures, facial expressions with special emphasis on his eye brows, and it wont be hard to discover the secret of great storytelling. The secret is not dialogue but action. In these times of action adventure and special effects, it is refressing to see action in its purest sense. It is worth mentioning that City Lights has the best ending ever filmed in the history of the film. These timeless Chaplin classics are the structural foundation of the art of film. December 19, 2007

Moved me to tears!

I had never seen a Chaplin film in full, nor ever heard of "City Lights", however I had seen the bio-pic "Chaplin" with Robert Downey Jr., and was aware that Chaplin was considered a genius. so one morning when I stumbled across "City Lights" while channel surfing, I was very interested to watch the film and finally get to see some of Chaplin's work.

I found myself enjoying the movie much more than I anticipated, I got very absorbed in the story, and found myself actually laughing out loud. I could indeed see that this man was special.

As the film was coming to an end, I got closer to the television, and tears poured down my face. I cannot remember being so completely moved by a single scene in any film ever.
It really took a few minutes for me to come back to reality.

As soon as the film ended, I sat at the computer, and found out that City Lights is considered Chaplin's masterpiece - and that many people were as moved by the last scene as I was.
I consider myself very lucky to have chanced upon this movie, and am anxious to see more of his work. (and learn a bit more about him as well)

I hope to share this movie with more people, as I'm sure that there are many people of my generation who are as ignorant to this movie (and Chaplin) as I was (am).

This movie has moved to my top ten list - and the last scene - well, for me - it was the single most profound moment in film that I have ever seen. November 1, 2007

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