Front Office Football Central - View Single Post

sabotai · 02-20-2018, 10:24 PM

City Lights (1931)

Directed By: Charlie Chaplin
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
Length: 87 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Ah...a silent movie. I never thought I'd actually miss watching them, but I do. Especially after watching the first 'talkies'. Silent movie were never actually silent. They were filled with music, and in some cases sound effects, through the entire movie. Since the beginning of silent movies in the 1890s, it was expected that the movies would be shown with live music being played.

Ironically, it took the 'talkies' to appear before we actually got actual silence in movies. In many of these first sound pictures, there's a lot of silence in between dialog and what little sound effects were used. It's very off-putting. Watching one of these old movies with sound, you can just feel something is off.

Anyway...back to City Lights.

Rated by many as Chaplin's best movie, it's everything you'd expect from a Chaplin movie. The Tramp meets and falls for a blind flower girl. He also becomes friends with a suicidal, alcoholic millionaire who never remembers the Tramp when he's sober. They get into a lot drunken hijinks, much to the chagrin of the millionaire's butler.

My favorite scene in the movie was the boxing scene. The Tramp finds himself in need of money, gets recruited into a boxing match and has to fight someone who looks (and demonstrates that he's) much tougher than the Tramp. Hilarity ensues.

I really enjoyed the movie, but I'd say The Gold Rush still ranks as my favorite Chaplin movie.

My Rating: 8/10
IMDB User Rating: 8.6/10 (127k votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% critics (43-1), 96% Audience (26k votes)

02-20-2018, 10:24 PM	#218
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	City Lights (1931) Directed By: Charlie Chaplin Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers Length: 87 minutes Genre: Romantic Comedy Ah...a silent movie. I never thought I'd actually miss watching them, but I do. Especially after watching the first 'talkies'. Silent movie were never actually silent. They were filled with music, and in some cases sound effects, through the entire movie. Since the beginning of silent movies in the 1890s, it was expected that the movies would be shown with live music being played. Ironically, it took the 'talkies' to appear before we actually got actual silence in movies. In many of these first sound pictures, there's a lot of silence in between dialog and what little sound effects were used. It's very off-putting. Watching one of these old movies with sound, you can just feel something is off. Anyway...back to City Lights. Rated by many as Chaplin's best movie, it's everything you'd expect from a Chaplin movie. The Tramp meets and falls for a blind flower girl. He also becomes friends with a suicidal, alcoholic millionaire who never remembers the Tramp when he's sober. They get into a lot drunken hijinks, much to the chagrin of the millionaire's butler. My favorite scene in the movie was the boxing scene. The Tramp finds himself in need of money, gets recruited into a boxing match and has to fight someone who looks (and demonstrates that he's) much tougher than the Tramp. Hilarity ensues. I really enjoyed the movie, but I'd say The Gold Rush still ranks as my favorite Chaplin movie. My Rating: 8/10 IMDB User Rating: 8.6/10 (127k votes) Rotten Tomatoes: 98% critics (43-1), 96% Audience (26k votes) Last edited by sabotai : 05-25-2018 at 06:03 PM.