"A comedy romance in pantomime"--Title frames. Originally released as a motion picture in 1931. Special features: Commentary (by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance); Chaplin today: "City lights" (a 2003 documentary on the film, featuring Aardman animations cofounder Peter Lord); Chaplin Studios: creative freedom by design (a new interview program featuring visual effets expert Craig Barron); From the set of City lights: The tramp meets the flower girl, Stick stuck in the grate, Window-shopping rehearsal, The duke (archival footage from the production of City lights, including film from the set, with audio commentary by Chaplin historian Hooman Mehran; a costume test; a rehearsal; and a complete scene not used in the film); Chaplin the boxer: The champion (excerpt from Chaplin's short film The champion (1915)), Boxing stars visit the studio (footage of the director with boxing stars at Chaplin Studios in 1918); Trailers. Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Allan Garcia, Hank Mann.
Summary:
The most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle. The writer-director-star achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dramatic poignancy, with this silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street and mistakes him for a millionaire. Though this Depression-era smash was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin remained steadfast in his love for the expressive beauty of the pre-talkie form.
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