The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 [12 Discs]The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 [12 Discs]

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MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

    This lavishly-appointed box set features six feature films and a collection of short subjects from one of the screen's undisputed masters of comedy, Charles Chaplin. The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 includes the films The Circus, City Lights, The Kid, Monsieur Verdoux, A Woman of Paris and A King in New York (the latter two appearing on a single disc), all written and directed by Chaplin, as well as the short subject compilation "The Chaplin Revue" and a feature-length documentary, Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin. All titles have been transferred to disc in their original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The audio on each disc appears in its original monophonic form in Dolby Digital Mono, as well as in new remixes for Dolby Digital 5.1. Dialogue and title cards appear in English, with optional subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai, and Korean. All titles include a rich variety of bonus materials, including introductions from Chaplin biographer David Robinson, deleted scenes and alternate takes, home movies, historic newsreel and behind-the-scenes footage, screen tests, photo and art galleries, and much, much more. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:
  • Region: 1
  • Number of Discs: 12
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
  • Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
  • Screen: Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV
  • Features:
    • cc
    • Introductions by biographer David Robinson
    • Deleted scenes
    • All-new documentaries
    • Exclusive Chaplin Family home movies
    • Photo galleries
AWARDS
  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  •     Won Honorary and Other Awards - 1927- (Charles Chaplin)
  •     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1947 (Charles Chaplin)
  •     Nominated Best Actor - 1927- (Charles Chaplin)
  •     Nominated Best Comedy Direction - 1927- (Charles Chaplin)
  • American Film Institute
  •     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998
  • Library of Congress
  •     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1990
  • National Board of Review
  •     Won Best Picture - 1947
  •     Won Best Picture - 1931
  • Telluride Film Festival
  •     Film Presented - 1998
  •     Film Presented - 1981
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
REVIEWS:
  • A King in New York is a work of spellbinding genius, functioning on so many levels -- personal, political, and artistic, all interwoven so carefully and elegantly -- that it's a delight simply to appreciate what Chaplin is doing as one watches it, as well as the particulars of what he does. His final starring film, it manages to sum up all of the best elements in his work from the silent era on, and combines them in a work that is consistently comical, yet piercing in its satirical edge and savage in its commentary -- a sweetly sentimental yet fiercely angry film that was so open and honest in what it was saying that it wasn't allowed to be released in America until 1973, 16 years after it was made. The basic plot of A King in New York was rife with comic possibilities, which Chaplin exploits brilliantly in the first half -- his encounter with the rock & roll generation is funny, graceful, and quietly sophisticated; and the scene in which filmmaker Chaplin's king encounters CinemaScope for the first time as a filmgoer is a more savage comment on that elongated film format than anything ever uttered by the likes of filmmaker-critics such as George Stevens, as well as being excruciatingly comical. Lest anyone think that A King in New York is too much of a "message" film, however, amid his jaundiced, skeptical look at the advertising and television business, Chaplin also manages to work in a libidinous side to the movie, in his cavorting with Dawn Addams in a comical scene of seduction (and Chaplin the director makes sure that Addams is one of the most cheerfully sexy characters seen on the screen in all of the 1950s). And then, just when it seems as though A King in New York is shaping up as a multilevel comedy, Chaplin adds another twist, suddenly (yet not awkwardly) confronting the Red Scare of the 1950s and, all at once, revealing its tragic and absurd sides for all to see. Chaplin himself was more than a little familiar with the anti-Communist hysteria of the era, having been driven into exile from the United States over it, and this is his answer to those who drove him out of the country. He presents his case with an astonishing degree of grace given the passions that must have been driving him, making it seem easy -- sweetly sentimental (almost in the manner of his silent era work such as The Kid) and searingly angry in the very same shots and scenes. A King in New York is one of Chaplin's least-known talking films, owing to the 16-year delay in its opening in America, and that is a tragedy, because it is arguably not only his final masterpiece, but perhaps his greatest, most ambitious, and personal film, and the movie that best presents his art developed to its highest level of purpose and sophistication. Satirizing Hitler and the Nazis in The Great Dictator was brave but not difficult -- they were absurd figures on their face (lethal but absurd); satirizing Red-baiting American politicians was a tougher job, because they had an audience and did present some justification that swayed reasonable people, or else they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without force of arms. Moreover, A King in New York is a film with a great deal of heart as well as sentiment -- the king's wistful farewell to the United States not only reflected Chaplin's own relationship with America, but resonates in a manner similar to the closing lines of Shakespeare's The Tempest, as the author's adieu. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
  • A Woman of Paris is a startlingly effective drama, and not at all what one expects from a Charles Chaplin film. Granted, Chaplin is not a performer in the film (a tiny cameo appearance aside), but he did write, direct, produce and even score the film, and it is a treasure. Granted, the passage of time has made portions of it somewhat melodramatic; most viewers have seen "wronged woman" tales many times since this one appeared in 1923. But Chaplin's handling of the material is still so expert that most will overlook the excesses of the story. Chaplin, working with cinematographers Rollie Totheroh and Jack Wilson, has created a beautiful visual palette. It's simple in its cinematic flourishes, but has a visual consistency and an unerring eye for camera placement that is as surprising as it is lovely. Chaplin is also blessed with an incandescent performance from his leading lady, Edna Purviance, and an irresistible one from Adolphe Menjou as the roue who "keeps" her. Purviance's work is delicate and surefooted, nuanced yet still capable of filling the screen in the "silent movie" manner. Her range of emotions and the sense of subtext that she conveys is invaluable to Woman's success. As her true love, Carl Miller is a bit wan, but not damagingly so. The ending, with Purviance and Menjou passing each other by and not knowing it, is remarkably satisfying and demonstrates Chaplin's exceptional skill in this film. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
  • Charles Chaplin's first feature-length film pairs his Tramp character with an orphan boy, forging a life together in a slum reminiscent of Chaplin's childhood London home. Finding humor in the extreme harshness of the Tramp's impoverished existence with his plucky adopted foundling, Chaplin turns the pair's survival into a series of comic set pieces depicting such events as their scheme to sell windows and their daily breakfast rituals. Coordinated in their movements and well-matched in their temperaments, the Tramp and the Kid are the perfect pair, underlining the potential for tragedy when the child welfare authorities step in. Still, having revealed the Tramp's paternal devotion in a bravura chase scene and a whimsical dream sequence, Chaplin reunites the redefined family for a happy ending. Chaplin overcame First National's resistance to his desire to make a dramatic comedy, and he wrote, directed, and starred in a major success. Shot over nine months and accompanied by a score composed by Chaplin himself, The Kid became an critically hailed international hit, launching Jackie Coogan as a major child star. With a blend of social realism and finely tuned physical comedy, Chaplin infuses The Kid with a pathos and sweetness that would later mark one of his greatest features, City Lights (1931). ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
  • Charlie Chaplin puts the Little Tramp into the circus, and the result is his most underappreciated feature. Like many of Chaplin's films, The Circus blends the hilarious with the sentimental, and at the core is Charlie's destiny to watch from the sidelines as his love falls for someone else. The very naivete and sentimentality of Charlie's scenes with Merna Kennedy are what make them so strangely affecting and sincere. But it is the comedy that makes this film priceless. Among the best sequences are: Charlie's pursuit by the police, which takes him through the house of mirrors and includes the famous gag of Charlie turning himself into a sort of robotic figurine to elude the police; Charlie's failure to successfully audition for the circus, because it involves being intentionally funny; Charlie's disastrous introduction as a prop man; Charlie getting stuck in the lion's cage; and, of course, the flawless climax in which Charlie attempts to perform Rex's high wire act. Throughout, there are smaller, more subtle, moments that flesh out the characters and give the film its heart, and as always with Chaplin, there is the essential aspect of Charlie's personality: the Little Tramp who tries to maintain his dignity in the face of ridicule and defeat. Chaplin's pitch-perfect comic timing and his ability to convey the Tramp's personality through the subtlest of gestures and expressions are what make his creation so endurable. In fact, he is so smooth that he makes it easy to take for granted the amount of work involved in making the film seem so effortless, but the very fact that the shooting for the picture spanned an amazing two years underscores just how much sweat and experimentation went into Chaplin's work. The Circus will probably always exist in the shadow of Chaplin's better-known efforts, but it deserves to be fully appreciated on its own terms. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, Rovi
  • Many critics consider City Lights to be Charles Chaplin's finest film, no small accomplishment considering his long string of great films. The film is a Chaplin tour-de-force, as he has his hand in almost every aspect of its production. He co-wrote, produced, directed, scored and edited the film. Unwilling to bend to the winds of change, which saw the introduction of the spoken word in movies three years earlier, Chaplin's is a silent film. However, he does use music and sound effects cleverly throughout, even employing them pointedly to satirize "the talkies." Other familiar targets are the hypocrisy, prissiness, and arrogance of wealthy "polite society" and cruelty to society's less fortunate, lovable outcasts like The Little Tramp himself. Of course, Chaplin's physical comedy is riotously funny. He dances along the highwire between hilarity and disaster with aplomb. All the while, Chaplin's Little Tramp maintains his dignity and sense of fair play. City Lights's parallel plot lines unfold effectively, as the storyline involving The Little Tramp and the suicidal millionaire presages themes developed more fully in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. The pathos-ridden love story with the blind flower girl plays on universal themes, such as the intoxicating blindness of love and the rejuvenating power of selflessness. A graceful, athletic artist of pantomime, Chaplin's Little Tramp moves effortlessly between figures of destitution and wealth, aiding and abetting all around him. City Lights is a paean to our best impulses, a plea for humanitarianism and justice. Most important, it is the work of a master craftsman, in full control of his craft. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi
  • Monsieur Verdoux was a box-office failure on its release in 1947. Conventional wisdom has it that writer/director/star Charles Chaplin was in disfavor from paternity suits and alleged Communist sympathies. However, it is difficult to find any film like Monsieur Verdoux in or near 1947 that was a box-office success; most likely the film would have flopped commercially no matter what Chaplin's personal situation. The story is a darkly disturbing allegory that contrasts the horrific acts of an individual with the horrific acts of society at large. In his own mind, the title character feels that his acts of murder are justified: they are simply a matter of business. As Chaplin's story challenges the conventional view of war as valiant and necessary, there was little chance that American audiences of 1947, still celebrating U.S. victories in World War II, would flock to see the movie. Similarly, Chaplin's visual style here is reminiscent of his fixed location work in the silent era, a style that seemed outmoded and dull to 1947 audiences. While current-day viewers may enjoy Monsieur Verdoux for its trenchant audacity, the film was largely unloved in its own time and a significant setback to Chaplin's career. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

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