City Lights

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Al Ernest Garcia, Hank Mann
Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
Rating: G
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
1931

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A tramp (Charlie Chaplin) falls in love with a beautiful blind girl (Virginia Cherrill).

Review:

Tim: City Lights is often called Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece and is routinely considered one of the greatest films of all time. I'm pretty embarrassed to say that this is only the second Chaplin film I've seen (the first was The Gold Rush). While I thoroughly enjoyed both movies, I struggle to love this film as much as many other people. Orson Welles, for example, said this was his favorite film of all time. I thought it was really good, but it felt too similar to other silent films of this era. I didn't see quite enough to differentiate it.

Now, I'm obviously going to try and explain why I didn't rate this as a great movie, but I want to hit the positives- remember, I really enjoyed this movie. Chaplin's Tramp character is really enjoyable. He's funny and we grow to care about him as he finds himself in one crazy situation after another. Chaplin's dedication to his craft is admirable. While many of his pratfalls were humorous, I didn't see anything that truly boggled my mind. It might be unfair, but I always compare silent films to The General and Buster Keaton's shockingly good performance. Chaplin is good here- he's funny and entertaining, but it felt not significantly better than his performance in The Gold Rush. I liked it, I didn't quite love it.

It's fascinating that this film achieved such success when it did. By 1931, it was obvious that the day of the silent film was over. Talkies were all the rage and it wasn't a fad that would ever end. Despite the clear writing on the wall, Chaplin was comfortable and familiar with the old world, not the new one. He put out a film that should have felt obsolete the moment it came out, and yet people loved it. That is fascinating to me. In some ways, it probably felt like the final breath of the silent film era.

The story here is good, but the journey the Tramp takes is a zany one. The heart of the story is that he falls in love with a beautiful blind girl. Most of the film is him trying to help her. Eventually, that takes the form of paying for surgery so she can see. This takes him on the aforementioned journey, to an alcoholic millionaire's home, to the boxing ring, and all around the city. It's fun to see all the crazy moments and situations the Tramp finds himself in. This gives rise to great visual moments- like he and the millionaire trying to help each other climb out of the water while continuing to fall back in, or the loony boxing match. The silent film is obviously a very visual medium, and Chaplin manages to create some memorable moments. Now, one struggle that I had is that while memorable, none of these feel like true masterpieces. The best moments of the silent film era are when you almost can't believe your eyes- you just marvel at the choreography, the way a visual gag was prepared and executed. I actually thought The Gold Rush featured superior visual gags. This movie certainly tugged the heartstrings more, but I still wanted that moment where you sit up and feel a sense of awe for the physical gag you see on screen. This movie didn't have anything to rival the cabin scene in The Gold Rush, for example. Still, there are very good moments, just not truly classic ones.

So, while I wouldn't put City Lights on my best films of all time, I still thoroughly enjoyed Chaplin's creation. The focus on romanticism felt unique and powerful. This is a memorable movie and an entertaining one. I love what this movie meant to Chaplin and it makes me smile when I read that it was his favorite film. I can definitely see why.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Gold Rush