Synopsis
True Blind Love
City Lights is the first silent film that Charlie Chaplin directed after he established himself with sound accompanied films. The film is about a penniless man who falls in love with a flower girl.
1931 Directed by Charlie Chaplin
City Lights is the first silent film that Charlie Chaplin directed after he established himself with sound accompanied films. The film is about a penniless man who falls in love with a flower girl.
Charlie Chaplin Virginia Cherrill Harry Myers Al Ernest Garcia Hank Mann Albert Austin Eddie Baker Henry Bergman Buster Brodie Jeanne Carpenter Tom Dempsey James Donnelly Ray Erlenborn Robert Graves Charles Hammond Jean Harlow Joseph Herrick Austen Jewell Willie Keeler Robert Parrish John Rand W.C. Robinson Cy Slocum Tony Stabenau Mark Strong Tiny Ward Stanhope Wheatcroft Florence Wix Granville Redmond Show All…
Svetla velkomesta, Byens lys, Luci della città, Luces de la ciudad, Charlie Chaplin - City Lights, Les lumières de la ville, Stadslichten, Светлините на града, 시티 라이트, 城市之光, 街の灯, Огни большого города, City Lights: A Comedy Romance in Pantomime
A lighthearted comedy about homelessness, suicide, disability, manic depression, substance abuse, handguns, bipolar disorder, drunk driving, robbery, rheumatic fever, and incarceration.
Ladies and gentlemen.....the 1930s!
“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…
Saw it on Criterion in a video store in California so I decided why not.
Only other Chaplin film I’ve seen is “The Gold Rush” and while it was good, it confirmed that silent film ain’t my thing. Regardless, I decided to check this out because everyone says it’s Chaplin’s best and maybe the best silent film ever made.
So yeah, I liked it a lot. I’m a sucker for something that blends drama and comedy together seamlessly and this is obviously one of those. Lots of scenes that I see myself revisiting in the future just for entertainment. It deals with some heavy subject matter in really interesting ways and when put into a historical context this thing is clearly very significant.
Silent film still isn’t my cup of tea, but this film made me appreciate Chaplin as an entertainer on a whole nother level. Glad I own it.
"you can see now?"
"yes, i can see now."
a farcical and romantic vision of a world where appearances, class and suffering can be overcome by the simplest, clumsiest expressions of kindness... even if only briefly.
Something was wrong with my TV because no matter how high I turned up the volume I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but regardless that Hitler fellow was very entertaining to watch (and just putting this out there....a little thiccc as well)
8.4 / 10
ummm this was so cute wtf?
the comedy holds up surprisingly well, and the orchestration is amazing.
For my 300th film of the year, I decided to check out another Charlie Chaplin film and, once again, I was not disappointed. City Lights is incredibly charming, funny and touching with the kind of heartfelt ending I'll never forget. Brilliant stuff and I really look forward to checking out Modern Times next.
"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…
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…
Chaplin's Tramp character has never really done much for me. This slice of melodrama, with high-precision physical comedy icing, was quite good, though. It did not quite blow me away in the same way that SAFETY LAST did a couple years ago, but the number of tightly-choreographed scenes filmed exclusively in long, unbroken takes is remarkable. Early in the movie, I was impressed by the bit where Chaplin ponders a nude statue as he walks repeatedly across a sidewalk elevator only at the moments it, rather than a fall to his death. But the centerpiece has got to be the boxing match, a five minute sequence with seemingly fewer than half a dozen shots, razor's-edge timing for all three actors…
Finally watched a Chaplin film.
The performances were great. Chaplin is just brilliant so there isn't much to add there. It's crazy how expressive and nuanced the actors were considering the lack of dialogue in silent film.
The writing was good. Just really liked how the film felt so heartfelt in both it's humour and drama. Kinda made me wish there was more comedies like this as opposed to the usual dark ironic humour that seems to be so prevalent today. The ending was heartbreaking.
Visually, the film was good. Was mostly in it for the brilliant set pieces and choreography in the film, which really added to Chaplin's comedy. Also, some nice camera movement and edits throughout that felt so modern.
Need more Chaplin now.
but this is better than anything keaton ever made. wow haven’t seen this since freshman year of college and i’m pretty wrecked tbh
This is my first Charlie Chaplin movie and I have to say this man was extremely talented. Really excited to watch more of his work.
I'm so glad we, as a society, treat poor people better 90 years later!!
While it doesn't quite edge out "The Kid" for my favorite silent Chaplin, it's undeniably a showcase for his talent as both a performer and a director. The ending knocks you out.
A very saddening and poignant picture of Chaplin's career. i liked it! Even though it took me a while to come round to!
This is the first silent film I've ever watched. After it was over I did some light research (it's called Wikipedia sweatie, look it up) and discovered it was one of the last silent films ever made and also arguably the best one ever made. I wonder if I just ruined all other silent films for myself? Like eating dessert before your vegetables.
Going in, I was cautiously intrigued by the "exoticness" of a silent film and by Chaplin's sterling reputation, but also expecting it to feel like homework. I was not expecting to laugh out loud consistently, or to be genuinely moved by it towards the end. Let's just say my expectations were wildly off base. The Tramp has…
My first Chaplin, and also the first silent movie I've really enjoyed. Hilarious, poignant and tightly choreographed, City Lights is a film that revels in the language of the body, scorning, as in the first scene, the sound of mere words. Words here seem only to bring trouble and be wielded by those with power and the lack of intellect necessary to use such power for good.
Of course, few in this film are smart. Each comic episode is built on misunderstanding. Yet despite the Tramp's diminishing luck throughout the film, he ultimately emerges victorious. The ending is poignant, bitter-sweet, utterly real. Of course, it was never going to end in the way we and indeed he had hoped. But…
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