“You can see now?” “Yes, I can see now.”

Life was hard for the Blind Girl (Virginia Cherrill). Lacking vision was difficult enough without scraping by on the meager earnings from selling flowers on the sidewalk. It was barely enough to pay the rent on her Spartan tenement. Her Grandmother (Florence Lee) was old and frail and could not be a breadwinner, nor did the Great Depression give most people the wherewithal to keep her canary fed and her Grandmother warm. She was daydreamy and not without her limitations, but it was hard not to hope for something better. Yet when confronted with her sightless gaze and simple flower basket, people saw someone blind and poor and alone—someone on whom…

In a time when film industry was making its transition to talkies & silent films were becoming obsolete, Charlie Chaplin's City Lights entered into the theatres as a late example of its era yet in the long run, it didn't just turn out to be the greatest achievement of silent filmmaking but has endured the test of time so well that it still remains the quintessential romantic comedy.

The penultimate silent feature from Charlie Chaplin, City Lights chronicles the adventures of The Little Tramp who falls in love with a beautiful blind girl who sells flowers for a living. His desire to make her life better becomes a possibility when he saves a suicidal, drunken but wealthy man from killing himself…

"Live life! Be brave!"

Charlie Chaplin makes pure cinematic comedy. Silent (or "pantomime") comedies like this deserve an incalculable amount of respect for being able to deliver jokes without the crutch of dialogue. They truly utilize all the tricks available from film.

During the eight decades since City Lights was released, the comedy genre seems to have forgotten how to do this entirely. Modern comedies rely almost exclusively on funny dialogue, and often on improvised dialogue at that, and while I can appreciate the talent behind these types of performances, they utilize only a very small amount film's potential. Jokes have to be told in flat, close-up shots of actors because the unpredictable nature of that sort of comedy demands…

A delightful film through and through, full of laughter, awe, and heartwarming goodness. I only wanted the best for Chaplin's character The Tramp. His character had such a good heart, and he kept finding himself a victim of circumstance, for better and worse. I had a smile plastered on my face nearly the whole time, with the exception being when I was feeling awful for The Tramp when he was walking around looking forlorn, utterly miserable, and ill treated. Virginia Cherill was so cute, and was great at playing blind. I was eager to see her and The Tramp find love together.

There is a lyrical quality to the film that used the perfect choreography of movement and wonderful musical…

As someone with a background in theatre, Chaplin's films fascinate me. The silent auteur borrows more than anyone else in film history from classical theatre, specifically Commedia dell'arte. The Tramp's moves are big, oafish, and awkward in order to tell his stories somatically. Characters and storylines are simple and direct, making them easy to understand. His scenes each involve theatrical shticks known as lazzis, which are essentially just repeatable short-form comedic "bits" (think hitting people when turning with a ladder or accidentally smacking someone when trying to hit a fly). All of these elements come together to make something fresh and exciting, yet wistfully nostalgic at the same time.

City Lights cements Chaplin's place as one of my favorite directors.…

The delightful Charlie Chaplin produced, wrote, directed, composed, and acted in this film.

Read that one more time, and then go watch this movie. That one man could give so much to a single piece, and that piece be of such great quality, is remarkable.
Here are just two observations, one negative and the other positive.
Negatively, a few scenes feel worthless. These scenes (like Chaplin and Harry Myers driving madcap through town) feel like they have no purpose as you watch them, and that is confirmed even before the credits roll. In a similar vein, a few comic gags last a moment or two too long. The boxing match (while overall an excellent scene) and Chaplin nearly stepping into…