The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)

Amazon.com essential video

Charles Spencer Chaplin, the London ragamuffin who became the most popular man of his era, gets his proper due with this deluxe package of four classics. Each two-disc set begins with an excellent new digital transfer of the picture and remastered sound. The Gold Rush, Chaplin's 1925 masterpiece, puts the Little Tramp into the snowy Yukon; it includes such celebrated sequences as the "Dance of the Rolls" and Chaplin's uncanny metamorphosis into a large chicken. Both the original silent version and Chaplin's re-edited 1942 release (for which he added his own musical score and narration) are included. A documentary on "Chaplin Today" looks at the film through the eyes of Burkina Faso director Idrissa Ouedraogo. Modern Times (1936) is Chaplin's peerless take on the machine age; his ballet on the assembly line remains one of the great images of modern man driven mad by mechanization. The DVD extras include a couple of (somewhat extraneous) vintage promotional films about the wonderful world of mass production, the famous Chaplin composition "Smile" performed by Liberace (huh?), and penetrating comments on the film by the Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.

The Great Dictator is Chaplin's comic undressing of Hitler, boldly released in 1940. An absorbing documentary, "The Tramp and the Dictator," details production of the film, and color footage shot on the set provides fascinating behind-the-scenes material. Limelight (1952), in which he plays a fading vaudevillian, is Chaplin's magnificent elegy on his own career. Extras include a deleted scene, the entire Oscar-winning score, and Bernardo Bertolucci on the film's emotional impact: "I don't cry often, but here my tears flow." Each film has a loving introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson--but newcomers to Chaplin should watch the movies first, as the extras give away endings and the best jokes. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

A GREAT ARTIST BEFORE HIS TIME!.......2007-08-18

Charlie Chaplin was a true Genius of His time. He was superb in all his silent films. They each carried volumes of subliminal meassages of wit and reality. He was excellent in the Great Dictator and Modern Times. Charlie Chaplin was a Leader and he set the stage for all that came after him. He is an Iconic figure of Hollywood. These collections are very well preserved for all time. This is a must for all collectors of pantomine and great classic comedy.

The works of a genius who had life-long creative control.......2007-07-21

Although working conditions and terms don't create genius, it sure can inhibit and even destroy its expression. Buster Keaton and his experience at MGM are Exhibit A of that scenario. Chaplin, however, was in complete creative control of almost his entire career. After his early Keystone shorts, Chaplin never again starred in someone else's film production. In short, nobody could ever say "no" to his creative ideas and make it stick. Thus we can look at the films in this collection and lay any blame or applause entirely at the feet of Charles Chaplin, and that circumstance is as unique as Chaplin the artist himself.

It's very hard to describe this excellent set in the context of Chaplin's genius and his evolution as a film maker, because the films are separated from one another by quite large time intervals and interim films that are in volume two, with the exception of Modern Times and The Great Dictator which were sequential projects. "The Gold Rush" shows Chaplin's talent at comedy and pathos set in the heart of the silent era (1925) after he had already had some success making silent feature films. "Modern Times" is perhaps the best film he ever made, again a silent picture, long after silent films had gone out of vogue in Hollywood (1936). If anything, as time passes, Modern Times just becomes more and more relevant. "The Great Dictator" (1940) is Chaplin's first talking picture, and today, given the benefit of the knowledge of what was really going on in Germany during this time, the film almost seems in bad taste. However, even Chaplin admitted that if he had really known the extent of what was happening in Europe at the time he probably would not have made the film. Still, Chaplin turns in a fine performance in a great film where the best parts still involve Chaplin's gift of pantomime. Finally, there is Limelight (1952), which is a very sentimental film that has Chaplin perhaps looking back on his own career and showing what he was truly afraid of having happen - that he would someday be seen as a relic of the past and that only when people were told "who he used to be" would he be appreciated or for that matter even welcome. Thus it is really necessary to watch the films in volume 2 to fill in the blanks between the four movies in this collection and get a true picture of Chaplin the artist. Highly recommended.

great films and a great collection.......2006-12-30

What can i say, If you are a fan of Chaplin, then you cannot go without this collection. for every film you get a whole second DVD with extras. Every film is remastered, and although some are in black and white, still look amazing.

The chaplin masterpiece collection.......2006-12-15

In my view every chaplin movie is good, and if your a chaplin fan like I am then you will love this lovely collection.

You can't do the impossible..........2006-08-05

Although this set tries to do the impossible, it cannot. But it is a very good collection of Chaplin films.

So, to start with, let me cover what is great in this set.

First, the films are as clearly presented as possible, with great sound, pretty good mastering, and good clarity of image. The speed of projection, a subjective topic at best, is quite carefully handled, and seems to be quite good for the most part. (This only affects the silent Gold Rush, btw.)

The restoration of the original silent Gold Rush is excellent, and a welcome addition to the canon. I don't bother arguing over which version is better, silent or sound, because they both exist in our world and such arguments end up amounting to mere preferences.

Which brings me to the first impossibility. It is IMPOSSIBLE to present a "definitive" version of most any Chaplin film, due to the cuts and changes he made in them over the years, and the variation in the editions originally issued. In addition, there are some bits from the original release which simply don't exist in a quality comparable to the quality of the current versions, and which could not be edited in without comprimising the quality.

The Chaplin family made a decision, and stuck to it. They decided to issue the films in the final approved versions, with cuts intact. They also decided to include all cuts as additional material, so that we don't lose what was taken out. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but sometimes a decision must simply be made and stuck with, and the Chaplin family went with this. Not everybody will be satisfied, but the choice has been made.

The additional materials are often good, but equally often pointless. The good stuff includes the Great Dictator documentary, lots of home movies and still, and various sequences from older films that are relevent to the title. The bad stuff includes the truly boring "Chaplin Today" documentaries, which are a great example of material trying to prove a point but instead shooting itself in the foot. I regard these documentaries as another example of doing the impossible - by trying to argue that Chaplin is relevent today (and I think he is), the directors end up proving otherwise. Some things can't be won through argument, but only through experience.

One troubling aspect of this set is that, instead of tranferring the movies fresh from film to NTSC video, the films were transferred from film to PAL video, and then converted. This changes film speed a bit, and introduces unavoidable artifacts and degrades the video quality. While not as bad as the HORRENDOUS "Phantom of the Opera" fiasco, it's a shame that we cannot see these films in their top quality without getting imported dvds from overseas in the original PAL format.

That all said, we have here four (or five) Chaplin films in possibly the best quality possible in a neat package with lots of goodies. There are plenty of quibbles with this set and it's companion, but the fact is that this is as good as it might ever get, until an even better format comes along. The films are wonderful, and it's nice to have a good edition of them again.

The Great Dictator (2 Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

a brilliantly orchestrated dark dramedy (drama/comedy).....
the best parody about the führer :-)
Fabulous
The Great Dictator
Overrated Chaplin

The Great Dictator (2 Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Rudolph Anders , Chester Conklin , Henry Daniell , Carter DeHaven , and Eddie Dunn
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Anti-War Films | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Two-Disc Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000096IBH
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Amazon.com essential video

Since Adolf Hitler had the audacity to borrow his mustache from the most famous celebrity in the world--Charlie Chaplin--it meant Hitler was fair game for Chaplin's comedy. (Strangely, the two men were born within four days of each other.) The Great Dictator, conceived in the late thirties but not released until 1940, when Hitler's war was raging across Europe, is the film that skewered the tyrant. Chaplin plays both Adenoid Hynkel, the power-mad ruler of Tomania, and a humble Jewish barber suffering under the dictator's rule. Paulette Goddard, Chaplin's wife at the time, plays the barber's beloved; and the rotund comedian Jack Oakie turns in a weirdly accurate burlesque of Mussolini, as a bellowing fellow dictator named Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria. Chaplin himself hits one of his highest moments in the amazing sequence where he performs a dance of love with a large inflated globe of the world. Never has the hunger for world domination been more rhapsodically expressed. The slapstick is swift and sharp, but it was not enough for Chaplin. He ends the film with the barber's six-minute speech calling for peace and prophesying a hopeful future for troubled mankind. Some critics have always felt the monologue was out of place, but the lyricism and sheer humanity of it are still stirring. This was the last appearance of Chaplin's Little Tramp character, and not coincidentally it was his first all-talking picture. --Robert Horton

Description

In Chaplin's classic satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double -- a poor Jewish barber--who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

Customer Reviews:

a brilliantly orchestrated dark dramedy (drama/comedy)............2007-08-31

I first saw THE GREAT DICTATOR when I was in grade school, around the time that SCHINDLER'S LIST was released, a far more sober look at the devestating effects of the Holocaust on countless Jews and gentiles alike, as well as the work of Oskar Schindler during that time of such unrest and profound social injustice. THE GREAT DICTATOR is a social satire, directed by and starring "The Little Tramp", himself, Mr. Charles Chaplin. I know it sounds really strange, gruesome and even inappropriate to create a film that is centered on poking fun at the evil commited by the Third Reich and the effect of Hitler, the Nazi regime and how that resulted in the death, torture, and imprisonment of droves of Jews, Gypsies, Jewish sympathizers, Gentiles and many others. I ask that you suspend your imagination and give this film a try anyway.

Charlie Chaplin plays two very opposite men. One is Adenoid Hynkel, a swarthy and short-tempered fascist dictator, based on none other than Adolf Hitler himself. The other man is a very good and courageous Jewish barber who must face the wrath that Hynkel inflicts on his ghetto. What's more, Hynkel is alligned with Benzino Napoloni (Jackie Oakie), an Italian fascist dictator (based on Mussolini). Together, they hope to completely drive out Jews and other groups they feel are standing in the way of the master race.

This film was Chaplin's first "talkie," is brilliant, thoughtful, humorous and provocative. I reccomend that you give this one a try. You won't be sorry and it will really leave you thinking hard about the state of the world when you are done watching it.

the best parody about the führer :-).......2007-07-24

i recommend this classic movie highly ... it is available at last!!! great special edition. if we germans would have seen this movie in the thirties history would have taken another course ... hopefully!

Fabulous.......2007-07-06

This is a great DVD, especially if you can get it for a good price.
The film itself looks like it was made yesterday (in B&W) and clearly a lot of time has been spent restoring it.

We all know the plot, this is a parady of Hitler and its brilliantly done. I've never been a great Chaplin fan but you have to give the man credit - this is a masterpiece. Not only is it funny, but its message, especially the end speech, is deeply moving. The film shoot started 6 days into WW2 and took another 559 days to complete and Chaplin changed the ending completely when he realised that Hitler was even more of a lunatic than he first thought!
The extras are good. There is some colour footage that his brother shot, and a very interesting documentary (thats been on TV) which parallels the life of Hitler and Chaplin. They were born in the same week of the same year.
The DVD packaging is very good, and in truth I can't fault it any way.

The Great Dictator.......2007-06-25

In his first-ever talkie, writer-director Chaplin ferociously lampooned the sadistic politics and fiery rhetoric of Hitler, juxtaposing his mustachioed Little Tramp character with Der Führer himself, whose unintelligible rantings Chaplin plays to hilarious effect. The most political of Chaplin's films, "Dictator" combines slapstick humor and vicious parody; in particular, portly actor Jack Oakie's Mussolini-like incarnation of Napaloni, dictator of Bacteria, is pure genius. Notably, Chaplin's pointed criticism of the Nazis occurred before Hollywood at large was daring to follow suit. (Most brilliant sequence: Hynkel's sublime dance with a balloon-like globe.)

Overrated Chaplin .......2007-05-26

Having heard for many years of this famous film, I finally caught up with this 2 disc set and looked forward to the viewing event with enthusiasm. Why was I so disappointed?

As a piece of film making, it is very ordinary. It plays like a cartoon with cardboard sets, a poorly developed story without much logic and some corny gags, many of which can be seen in the skits of Benny Hill who incidentally Charlie Chaplin admired tremendously. Paulette Goddard is poor and most of the supporting cast have little to do with the notable exception of Jack Oakie who wildly burlesques the famous character he imitates and is quite funny. There are a few jewels like the dance with the globe but most of the humour is pretty basic. By 1940, Hollywood was capable of much more sophisticated satire.

However, the DVD print is excellent and the film really can not be appreciated without an understanding of the context of its release. Accordingly, the DVD contains an excellent documentary which follows the lives of Chaplin and Hitler, who co-incidentally were born within a week of each other. As a result of the documentary, I watched the film again and there is no doubt that it was an extraordinary undertaking by Chaplin to make the film at all. His final speech resonates and is patently sincere. The film opened to controversy and I asked my 89 year old mother if she recalled it. Her reply was enlightening. She said that she was never much of a fan of Chaplin but she specifically avoided this film when it was released because her own world was turned upside down by the events of the day and at the time the uncertainty about her own future was such that she felt Chaplin's film was offensive. I am sure she was not alone.

The DVD contains a few other extras which are variable. There are scenes from other Chaplin films, clearly included to encourage purchase of those DVDs. There is also some rare home movie footage in colour of the making of the film but it quickly becomes boring to watch.

Average customer rating:

Sadly bad film
The last of the truly great ancient epics.....
2025?
EP Copy of The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Fall of the Roman Empire
Starring: Sophia Loren , Stephen Boyd , Alec Guinness , James Mason , and Christopher Plummer
Director: Anthony Mann
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

All Disney Titles | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000055ZFW
Release Date: 2001-02-28

Amazon.com

The second and last of Anthony Mann's historical epics is a smart, handsome spectacle of the decadence, corruption, and intrigue that tears apart the greatest empire the world has seen. The sprawling story spreads itself thin over a number of characters and stories. At the center are handsome but stiff Stephen Boyd as Livius, the loyal soldier and symbolic son of the aging emperor (Alec Guinness), and Christopher Plummer as Commodus, the corrupt heir to the throne--boyhood friends turned enemies when the latter accedes to the throne and sells out the values of his father for greed and hedonistic pleasures. The three-hour running time is filled out with the tales of Sophia Loren (as the beautiful Lucilla in love with Livius but coveted by greedy Commodus) and a gallery of heroes and villains that includes James Mason, Mel Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland, Omar Sharif, and Eric Porter. The film is highlighted with spectacular scenes (a grandiose funeral fit for an emperor, brutal battles in the provinces as the barbarians threaten the empire, and a climactic duel to decide the destiny of Rome), which Mann weaves into the shadowy intrigue of the halls of power. Like his previous epic El Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire remains one of the best of the 1960s epics: well written (and largely historically accurate) with strong performances and a consistently elegant style, but it lacks a central core and the magnetic hero of its superior predecessor. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Sadly bad film.......2006-12-18

Sadly because with all the great sets and the great number of estras and great locations (outside Madrid), etc. the film fails completely. It has a great cast, that's true (except for Boyd): Mason, Loren, Plummer (who is very good playing Commodus), and Guinness in a few scenes. But the drecting is very poor, the cutting of scenes awful with quiet and slow scenes jumping into action takes that happen quickly. These battle scenes have nothing to do with other great movies with war scenes, the best example still is Welles's "Chimes at midnight" (if we look for old movies).

The film can still be salvaged if one only attends to the historical aspects of it, or is a fan of period films with their costumes and traditions.

I can't say that it is totally bad. I watched it thru (and it's very long) twice in my life, and managed to do it by ignoring the ridiculous dialogues, specially in the love scenes, and simply admiring the grandiosity that the whole enterprise conveys.

Of all the superproductions that Samuel Bronston produced in Spain you will surely like best "El Cid". Charlton Heston is just perfect. Loren is at her most beautiful, and the script is more professional.

The last of the truly great ancient epics............2006-07-12

Released one year after "Cleopatra," Anthony Mann's "Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) is not a great film, but is noteworthy for the quality of the production, the assemblege of a splendid cast, and the fact it truly signified the end of an era in filmmaking.

The film was remade, sort of, as "Gladiator" by Ridley Scott, but it is Mann's film that is far superior cinematically. What is immediately striking about "Fall" is the number of historically accurate sets (over 20 in all) depicting the Roman capital at the time of emperor Marcus Aurelius and Commodus all handcrafted by scores or set designers and craftsmen in Spain long before computer animation was ever heard of.

While critics at the time scoffed at the fact that a film could compress Gibbon's opus into a film over 188 minutes, Mann does succeed in capturing really the "beginning of the end" by depicting the frustrations of a philosophical emperor's (Marcus Aurelius) 20-year reign now in its twilight, filled with small but bitter barbarian battles and frontier wars, who leaves behind a spoiled and twisted son (Commodus) who squanders such ideals and leaves the empire in chaos.

Spending much of his $16 million budgeted for the film on sets (an enormous amount of money circa 1964), we see a vision of Mann's Rome (and the Roman Forum), not only architectually accurate but of tremendous breadth and scope. The Temple of Vesta, the Curia, the Arch of Titus, The Temple of Jupiter, are all rendered with tremendous authenticity. Certainly, a Rome even Nero would be reluctant to burn!

Interior sets are also equally impressive decorated with garlands, frescoes, pools, and columns modelled on the Pompeian style. Like the sets, the costume design, cinematography courtesy of Dimitri Tiomkin, and even the stuntwork (overseen by Yakima Canutt), are all first class. Even noted historian, Will Durant, author of the nine volume opus, "The Story of Civilization," was both a consultant and advisor for the film.

All in all, the film authentically captures all the grandeur and decadance that was Rome, so why only four stars? Perhaps the problem lies with the two leads Livius (Stephen Boyd) and Drusilla (Sophia Loren) with a love story that fails to convice and somewhat drags the principal story down. However, they manage to do what they can with these rather bland roles.

James Mason (Timonides) and Alec Guinness (Marcus Aurelius)are both impressive in their respective roles, and Christopher Plummer, plays a Commodus a bit too refined to be that sinister and half-mad, but it all seems to work apparently well in this film. The final scenes are a subtle reminder that great empires do not fall to outside foreign influences before they first fall from within.

A film like this deserves to have a re-release in a special edition DVD complete with interviews, outtakes, and commentaries.

2025?.......2005-10-13

This item will be released Dec. 31st, 2025? Well, I sure hope it's worth the wait. I'd better pre-order now before the price goes up. Hopefully DVDs will still be valid technology. And hopefully I'll still be alive!

EP Copy of The Fall of the Roman Empire.......2005-10-02

This was a dubbing of a damaged original tape with occasional frames streaked by prior playback causing wrinkles in tape that was copied from otherwise good source.

The Fall of the Roman Empire.......2005-09-19

I really enjoy the moview and the quality of the DVD is very good. I received the DVD within 5 days of my order.

Average customer rating:

a brilliantly orchestrated dark dramedy (drama/comedy).....
the best parody about the führer :-)
Fabulous
The Great Dictator
Overrated Chaplin

The Great Dictator
Starring: Rudolph Anders , Chester Conklin , Henry Daniell , Carter DeHaven , and Eddie Dunn
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Anti-War Films | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004S89I
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Amazon.com essential video

Description

In "The Great Dictator," his first talking film, Charlie Chaplin skewers both Adolf Hitler (Adenoid Hynkel) and Benito Mussolini (Benzino Napaloni) on sharp spears of ridicule. "I'm a clown," he said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine shortly before the film's 1940 premiere, "and what can I do that is more effective than to laugh at these fellows that are putting humanity to the goose step?" Chaplin plays both the malevolent dictator and an innocent Jewish barber who is in love with Hannah (Paulette Goddard). The plot turns on the astonishing resemblance of the dictator to the barber. Mistaken for "the Phooey" (der Fuhrer), the barber makes a speech at an enormous rally for the "Sons and Daughters of the Double Cross" that double crosses the double crossers.

Customer Reviews:

a brilliantly orchestrated dark dramedy (drama/comedy)............2007-08-31

the best parody about the führer :-).......2007-07-24

Fabulous.......2007-07-06

The Great Dictator.......2007-06-25

Overrated Chaplin .......2007-05-26

Visions of War, Vol. 2: Hitler in His Own Words

Average customer rating:

Interesting point of view

Visions of War, Vol. 2: Hitler in His Own Words
Starring: Visions of War
Manufacturer: Imavision
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: B00013F2JA
Release Date: 2005-05-24

Customer Reviews:

Interesting point of view.......2004-02-15

Well done video that gives the viewer the point of view of the German Dictator. It illustrates the geographic history of Germany, and explains how it ties into Germany's desire to reclaim land lost in WW1 and expand. This gives more of a political point of view of how political power was obtained and used to lead Germany to war.

Charlie Chaplin Boxed Set (City Lights / The Great Dictator / Modern Times / The Gold Rush)

Average customer rating:

its perl of my collection
An Extraordinary Quartet
Forget "New Comedy" and watch some classics
Treasure Trove of Chaplin
A must for everyone

Charlie Chaplin Boxed Set (City Lights / The Great Dictator / Modern Times / The Gold Rush)

Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004Y2QL
Release Date: 2000-10-03

Description

Four of Charlie Chaplin's greatest films. "The Gold Rush." (1925, 71 min.) - Chaplin's classic comic masterpiece about the hardships of life on the Alaskan frontier, battling blizzards, bears, killers, crazed gold miners, and even gravity. "City Lights" (1931, 87 min.) - The touching story of a young blind woman who believes the Little Tramp to be a wealthy duke, and the series of comic adventures when he sets out to earn the money to pay for an operation to restore her sight. "Modern Times" (1936, 103 min.) - The Little Tramp battles technology, unemployment, jail, burglars, demanding customers, bosses and "The Gamin." Chaplin's last silent film is remarkably unsilent, featuring the only time the Little Tramp's voice was heard on film. "The Great Dictator" (1940, 125 min.) - In his first talking film, Charlie Chaplin skewers Hitler on sharp spears of ridicule, playing both the malevolent dictator Adenoid Hynkel and his lookalike, an innocent Jewish barber.

Customer Reviews:

its perl of my collection.......2002-08-28

everything o.k.,but "golden rush" better be with original
soundtrack without chaplin voice,plus c.c.

An Extraordinary Quartet.......2002-07-04

One way to learn about life is to live it. For a crash course, watch these films. Chaplin understands us human beings, our strengths and our weaknesses as a species. More gripping than any lecture on morality, on love, on technology, on government, on modern society could be. I particularly recommend that young people put aside current fashion and spend time with these films, enjoying them and thinking about them. "City LIghts" is one of those films that ends with you crying and wanting to scream at the screen, "No, don't let it end that way!" but you know there is no other way it could end. Chaplin got it right. He nearly always did.

Forget "New Comedy" and watch some classics.......2002-02-12

I was delighted to get these Chaplin films in sparkling DVD prints. These are some of the greatest comedies ever made, and the ending of CITY LIGHTS is one of the greatest shots in cinema.

The boxed set has fewer extras than I expected. Where is the shot of Chaplin rehearsing one of his scenes from CITY LIGHTS in street clothes? The footage exists, but It's not included here.

I also see no reason for an alternative soundtrack on MODERN TIMES. The original is more moving, surface noise, monaural track and all. The stereophonic sound distracts from the picture.

The only really big disappointment in this set (the other quibbles being very minor) is that they used the 1942 sound version of THE GOLD RUSH instead of the 1925 original, and Chaplin's narration just breaks in and destroys the flow of the story. Thank goodness we still have the Oceana Roll.

I can only give this set a 4 for the above reasons. And Amazon, why not pack DVDS a little better? I have gotten this set with two of the four jewel boxes completely shattered, and it's annoying having to cut up the cheap cardboard covers when transferring the discs to better cases.

Treasure Trove of Chaplin.......2001-01-10

I just finished watching the fourth of the four DVDs in this set, and all I can say is that there is not enough space to do these films true justice. Chaplin is one of the true cinematic geniuses of the twentieth century and "The Gold Rush", "City Lights", "Modern Times" & "The Great Dictator" represent some of his crowning achievements.

"City Lights" (1931)is one my top favorite films of all time--the end sequence has me blubbering like a baby every time I see it--balancing brilliant comedy (ie. the night club & prize fight scenes)w/pathos and never losing balance.

"The Gold Rush" (1925), Chaplin's Klondike epic I would rate right up there w/"City Light" with the exception that the version here is Chaplin's 1942 re-edited sound re-release, with the inter-titles cut & replaced by Chaplin's often overly coy & obvious voice-over. It also has a slightly different ending than the original. It would have been nice to have had both versions one DVD. Oh well, you still have the film itself which retains its brilliance.

When Chaplin began "City Lights" in 1928, sound films had not yet taken over, but by the time he began "Modern Times" (1936)the idea of doing a silent film was thought to be crazy-well with the exception of music, fxs & a gibberish song that's exactly what Charlie did. A farewell to the Little Tramp and a hillarious social satire, "Modern Times" is Chaplin's last masterpiece.

With "The Great Dictator" (1940), a combination of slapstick, satire and overt social commentary, Chaplin made his first venture into sound films. Filled with brilliant sequences (ie. the shaving scene & Hynkel's ballet with the globe)the blending w/the social commentary at time seem awkward. Nevertheless, Charlie's double portrayal of the Jewish barber (a variation of the Little Tramp) and Adnoid Hynkle is alternating touching, hillarious and at time more than a little frightening.

Well that is either too much or not enough, depending on how you read these things. All I can say is watch these movies and see for yourself. And if you like them, be sure to watch Chaplin's Mutual & First National comedies, "The Kid" & "The Circus"--all great film & fun.

A must for everyone.......2000-10-06

I had been wanting to buy Chaplin DVD's for some time and this boxed set provided me with the perfect opportunity. Not only did I save a substantial amount of money, but it had the four movies which are a must for every movie collector. All of them are classics including my favourite City Lights (whose last scene is described as the 'highest moment in cinema'). It's a joy to watch these timeless movies and worth every penny spent and more. The Chaplin repertoire is illustrated vividly and completely in the movies of this set with humour, humanism, feeling and sensitivity combining to form a memorable experience. Even the add-ons are great, like the interview with the person who co-scored the music of the Modern Times. All in all, the best 70 bucks I have spent.

Average customer rating:

The Great Dictator [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VYGG

The Great Dictator - Chaplin Collection (Limited Edition Collector's Set)

Average customer rating:

a brilliantly orchestrated dark dramedy (drama/comedy).....
the best parody about the führer :-)
Fabulous
The Great Dictator
Overrated Chaplin

The Great Dictator - Chaplin Collection (Limited Edition Collector's Set)
Starring: Henry Bergman , Charles Chaplin , Chester Conklin , Henry Daniell , and Robert O. Davis
Manufacturer: Creative Design Art
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Anti-War Films | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000096IB8
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

a brilliantly orchestrated dark dramedy (drama/comedy)............2007-08-31

the best parody about the führer :-).......2007-07-24

Fabulous.......2007-07-06

The Great Dictator.......2007-06-25

Overrated Chaplin .......2007-05-26

Archives of War, Vol. 2 - World War II (The Battles) / The Cold War

Average customer rating:

What was the point of putting this on DVD?

Archives of War, Vol. 2 - World War II (The Battles) / The Cold War

Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Politics | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Archives of War, Vol. 3 - Korea/Vietnam

ASIN: B00005YUOT
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Amazon.com

The third installment of Archives of War focuses on battles of World War II, using newsreel footage, much of it shot by Britain's Pathé News, to show how the war news was relayed to the home front. There's no overarching narrative, but the many segments have an immediacy that is underlined by the dramatic and at times nearly breathless narrations. Considerable footage of the D-day invasion of Normandy is prominently featured, as are the hard-fought battles across Europe, most notably the Battle of the Bulge.

The fourth episode features the cold war waged between the Communist powers and the Western nations, most notably the United States. Some of the most evocative footage concerns the atomic bomb, with what are essentially propaganda films about America's development of the bomb being followed by civil defense films providing tips on surviving nuclear war, including the now-infamous jingle urging schoolchildren to "duck and cover." --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews:

What was the point of putting this on DVD?.......2006-12-24

Without chapter breaks or a menu, why do this at all?
You've given viewers no advantage over VHS by dubbing this off on a DVD!
Shame on me for not taking other reviewers comments to heart...
I am staying away from the other edition in this series.
Too bad, too...because the videos contained are excellent, but wasted on a DVD. It's like driving into Texas without a roadmap!

Charlie Chaplin: Gold Rush (2 DVD Set) [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2,

Average customer rating:

Charlie Chaplin: Gold Rush (2 DVD Set) [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2,
Director: Charles Chaplin
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Chaplin's personal favourite among his own films, The Gold Rush embodies all the trademarks of his mix of slapstick, satire, social commentary and sentiment--a perfect showcase for his ever-popular Little Tramp. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898, the film features a comic reworking of the gruesome Donner Party story, where a group of snowbound immigrants resorted to eating their clothes and then each other to stay alive. It opens with a grand shot of gold prospectors snaking up the side of a mountain. We then see the Tramp, typically estranged from the rest of the group, making his own way across the snow. Seeking shelter in a blizzard, he finds the cabin of the dangerous criminal Black Larson (Tom Murray) and when another prospector, Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain), comes along, the two of them take charge of the cabin and eventually drive him out. Starving on Thanksgiving, the pair decide to dine in style when the Tramp cooks one of his shoes, famously acting as if he's cooking a fine piece of meat; twirling the laces up like spaghetti and savouring every last nibble. When he finally escapes, the Tramp ends up in a local town and falls in love, only to be rebuffed on New Year's Eve. When a chance meeting reunites him with Big Jim, the two go back in search of gold hidden near the cabin. Despite its unlikely origins, the story is shaped into a classic comedy containing many famous set-pieces, including the cabin teetering on the edge of a cliff and the Tramp morphing into a chicken before the starving Big Jim. Ultimately it's Chaplin's endearing and amusing persona that makes this material genuinely enduring. ----------------------DVD Features: Original Silent Version / Sound Re-Release Version /Trailers / Documentary - 1. CHAPLIN TODAY: THE GOLD RUSH / Introduction to THE GOLD RUSH / Scenes From The Chaplin Collection / Stills Gallery / Poster Gallery

DVD:

DVD

DVD