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Building on the essential DVD library begun with Volume 1, this wide-ranging eight-disc set adds a whopping 16 films to The Chaplin Collection. Spanning Charles Chaplin's career, the highlight films here include his debut feature film, The Kid (1921), featuring a noteworthy turn by Jackie Coogan, who went on to TV sitcom fame four decades later as Uncle Fester on The Addams Family. Also here is the Little Tramp's masterwork, City Lights (1931), widely regarded as the definitive Chaplin silent comedy, and certainly his most romantic. The underrated A Woman of Paris (1923) also stands out, if only for its noticeable lack of Chaplin and lack of comedy, while the later sound films Monsieur Verdoux (1947) and A King in New York (1957) give evidence of Chaplin's filmmaking range. These later films may disappoint passing fans of the Little Tramp, but their combined autobiographical and satirical value cement Chaplin as an artist and lead well into the remainder of the set, a vault of treasures for the collector and the curious alike. Richard Schickel's 2003 feature documentary, Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin, is a welcome springboard to the six Chaplin two-reelers -- including the 1918 gem A Dog's Life. "Chaplin Today" featurettes accompany each film and offer insight on Chaplin's genius and influence from a wide array of modern filmmakers. A plethora of other featurettes, documentaries, deleted scenes, and assorted Chaplin ephemera round out the set, which pays perfect tribute to the actor-filmmaker's innumerable talents.

All Movie Guide

The Circus is generally considered to be a lesser Charlie Chaplin effort, coming as it does between two unquestioned masterpieces, The Gold Rush (1925) and City Lights (1931). To be sure, the film is not one of Chaplin's best, but it has a lot going for it. Director Chaplin casts star Chaplin in his traditional "Little Tramp" role, who when first we see him is on the lam from the law. He takes refuge under the tent of a failing circus. Unintentionally, Charlie disrupts the show's big clown act, and the crowd roars. The ringmaster decides to hire Charlie as a clown, building the whole circus around him. Charlie has many an adventure and close shave while performing under the Big Top, the best of which involves a tightrope, a broken support wire, and a playful monkey. The standard Chaplin pathos rears its head when Charlie falls in love with pretty tightrope walker Merna Kennedy. When sweet Merna chooses handsome Harry Crocker, Charlie is left alone once more--but, with a characteristic shrug, he shuffles into the horizon and onto his next adventure. The Circus has several gaping logic holes which tend to pull the film down (we're supposed to believe, for example, that Charlie is unaware that he's a sensation as a clown, even after several weeks of performing before appreciative audiences), but the film contains several excellent setpieces, including a Hall of Mirrors sequence which anticipates Orson Welles' more serious Lady From Shanghai climax by twenty years. The Circus won Chaplin a special Oscar in 1928, then lay unseen for forty-two years; it was reissued in 1970, with a new musical score by Chaplin himself (who can be heard singing the theme song in the opening scenes). Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

Charles Chaplin was deep into production of his silent City Lights when Hollywood was overwhelmed by the talkie revolution. After months of anguished contemplation, Chaplin decided to finish the film as it began--in silence, save for a musical score and an occasional sound effect. Once again cast as the Little Tramp, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill), who through a series of coincidences has gotten the impression that the shabby tramp is a millionaire. A second storyline begins when the tramp rescues a genuine millionaire (Harry Myers) from committing suicide. When drunk, the millionaire expansively treats the tramp as a friend and equal; when sober, he doesn't even recognize him. The two plots come together when the tramp attempts to raise enough money for the blind girl to have an eye operation. Highlights include an extended boxing sequence pitting scrawny Chaplin against muscle-bound Hank Mann, and the poignant final scene in which the now-sighted flower girl sees her impoverished benefactor for the first time. Chaplin's decision to release the silent City Lights three years into the talkie era was partially vindicated when more than one critic singled out this "comedy in pantomime" as the best picture of 1931. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

The Kid was Charles Chaplin's first self-produced and directed feature film; 1914's 6-reel Tillie's Punctured Romance was a Mack Sennett production in which Chaplin merely co-starred.

The story "with a smile and perhaps a tear," begins with unwed mother Edna Purviance leaving the Charity Hospital, babe in arms. Her burden is illustrated with a title card showing Christ bearing the cross. The father of the child is a poor artist who cares little for of his former lover, carelessly knocking her photo into his garret fireplace and cooly returning it there when he sees it is too badly damaged to keep. The mother sorrowfully leaves her baby in the back seat of a millionaire's limousine, with a note imploring whoever finds it to care for and love the child. But thieves steal the limo, and, upon discovering the baby, ditch the tot in an alleyway trash can. Enter Chaplin, out for his morning stroll, carefully selecting a choice cigarette butt from his well used tin. He stumbles upon the squalling infant and, after trying to palm it off on a lady with another baby in a carriage, decides to adopt the kid himself. Meanwhile Purviance has relented, but when she returns to the mansion and is told that the car has been stolen, she collapses in despair. Chaplin outfits his flat for the baby as best he can, using an old coffee pot with a nipple on the spout as a baby bottle and a cane chair with the seat cut out as a potty seat. Chaplin's attic apartment is a representation of the garret he had shared with his mother and brother in London, just as the slum neighborhood is a recreation of the ones he knew as a boy.

Five years later, Chaplin has become a glazier, while his adopted son (the remarkable Jackie Coogan) drums up business for his old man by cheerfully breaking windows in the neighborhood. Purviance meanwhile has become a world famous opera singer, still haunted by the memory of her child, who does charity work in the very slums in which he now lives. Ironically, she gives a toy dog to little Coogan. Chaplin and Coogan's close calls with the law and fights with street toughs are easily overcome, but when Coogan falls ill, the attending doctor learns of the illegal adoption and summons the Orphan Asylum social workers who try to separate Chaplin from his foster son. In one of the most moving scenes in all of Chaplin's films, Chaplin and Coogan try to fight the officials, but Chaplin is subdued by the cop they have summoned. Coogan is roughly thrown into the back of the Asylum van, pleading to the welfare official and to God not to be separated from his father. Chaplin, freeing himself from the cop, pursues the orphanage van over the rooftops and, descending into the back of the truck, dispatches the official and tearfully reunites with his "son". Returning to check on the sick boy, Purviance encounters the doctor and is shown the note which she had attached to her baby five years earlier. Chaplin and Coogan, not daring to return home, settle in a flophouse for the night. The proprietor sees a newspaper ad offering a reward for Coogan's return and kidnaps the sleeping boy. After hunting fruitlessly, a grieving Chaplin falls asleep on his tenement doorstep and dreams that he has been reunited with the boy in Heaven (that "flirtatious angel" is Lita Grey, later Chaplin's second wife). Woken from his dream by the cop, he is taken via limousine to Purviance's mansion where he is welcomed by Coogan and Purviance, presumably to stay.

Chaplin had difficulties getting The Kid produced. His inspiration, it is suggested was the death of his own first son, Norman Spencer Chaplin a few days after birth in 1919. His determination to make a serio-comic feature was challenged by First National who preferred two reel films, which were more quickly produced and released. Chaplin wisely gained his distributors' approval by inviting them to the studio, where he trotted out the delightful Coogan to entertain them. Chaplin's divorce case from his first wife Mildred Harris also played a part; fearing seizure of the negatives Chaplin and crew escaped to Salt Lake City and later to New York to complete the editing of the film. Chaplin's excellent and moving score for The Kid was composed in 1971 for a theatrical re-release, but used themes that Chaplin had composed in 1921. Chaplin re-edited the film somewhat for the re-release, cutting scenes that he felt were overly sentimental, such as Purviance's observing of a May-December wedding and her portrayal as a saint, outlined by a church's stained glass window. Phil Posner

All Movie Guide

"Von Clausewitz said that war is the logical extension of diplomacy; Monsieur Verdoux feels that murder is the logical extension of business." With his controversial "comedy of murders" Monsieur Verdoux, Charles Chaplin makes his final, definitive break with the Little Tramp character that had brought him fame and fortune. Verdoux (Chaplin), a mild-mannered family man of pre-war France, has hit upon a novel method of supporting his loved ones. He periodically heads out of town, assumes an alias, marries a foolish, wealthy woman, then murders her for the insurance money. He does this thirteen times with success, but wife #14, brassy Martha Raye, proves impossible to kill (nor does she ever suspect what Verdoux has in mind for her). A subplot develops when Verdoux, planning to test a new poison, chooses streetwalker Marilyn Nash as his guinea pig. She tells him so sad a life story that Verdoux takes pity on her, gives her some money, and sends her on her way. Years later, the widowed and impoverished Verdoux meets Nash once more; now she is the mistress of a munitions magnate. This ironic twist sets the stage for the finale, when Verdoux, finally arrested for his crimes and on trial for his life, gently argues in his own defense that he is an "amateur" by comparison to those profiteers who build weapons for war. "It's all business. One murder makes a villain. Millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify..." Sentenced to death, Verdoux remains calmly philosophical to the end. As the condemned man walks to the guillotine, a priest prays for God to have mercy on Verdoux's soul. "Why not?" replies Verdoux jauntily. "After all, it belongs to him." The original idea of Monsieur Verdoux originated with Orson Welles, who'd wanted to make a picture about notorious modern "Bluebeard" Landru. Welles wanted to cast Chaplin in the lead; Chaplin liked the idea, but preferred to direct himself, as he'd been doing since 1914. It is possible that Chaplin might have gotten away with the audacious notion of presenting a cold-blood murderer as a sympathetic, almost lovable figure. Alas, Monsieur Verdoux was released at a time when Chaplin was under a political cloud for his allegedly Communistic philosophy; too, it came out shortly after a well-publicized paternity suit involving Chaplin and Joan Barry. Picketed in several communities, banned outright in others, Monsieur Verdoux was Chaplin's first financial flop. Today, it can be seen to be years ahead of its time in terms of concept, even though the execution is old-fashioned and occasionally wearisome. Monsieur Verdoux doesn't always hit the bull's-eye, but it remains one of Charles Chaplin's most fascinating projects. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

Charles Chaplin's first, long-awaited, independent production for United Artists begins with an only partially true caveat from its creator: "To The Public -- In order to avoid any misunderstanding, I wish to announce that I do not appear in this picture. It is the first serious drama written and directed by myself. Charles Chaplin", -- Chaplin does appear in a walk-on as a train-station porter. It is indeed a serious drama but it is much more than that. It is a film that set new standards in silent dramatic acting and directing. It influenced other filmmakers so deeply that many of its innovations seem outdated only because of their constant imitation in films by others. It is a study in the psychology of the vagaries of love.

Marie St. Clair (Edna Purviance), a simple girl living in a small French town, plans to elope with her lover, artist Jean Millet (Carl Miller), even though her suspicious stepfather attempts to stop her. Jean brings her to his home, but they are also scorned by his father. Jean and Marie resolve to leave for Paris that night. They go to the railroad station, where Jean leaves Marie with money for tickets, while he returns home to pack. A final parting with his parents brings on a fatal stroke to his father, and when Marie calls to find out why he's late, Jean tells her that he must stay. Taking this as a rejection, Marie boards the train by herself.

A year later in Paris, Marie is a kept woman, and her keeper is Pierre Revel (Adolphe Menjou), the richest bachelor in town and one of the slimiest. When a magazine article announces Pierre's engagement to an equally wealthy woman, Marie tries to react coolly, but her body language shows she is clearly upset. Later, Marie confronts him about the engagement and is told that it will make no difference in their relationship, that "we can go on just the same," but Marie refuses to go out with Pierre. Later, she is invited to a wild party in the bohemian Latin Quarter, and she gets the address wrong, accidentally arriving at the studio where Jean and his mother now live. The two are glad to see each other, but the passage of time has made them formal and they conceal their real emotions. Observing their penurious condition, Marie hires Jean to paint her portrait.

As the days pass and the portrait nears completion, Jean again falls in love with Marie, but when he professes his love, Marie is noncommittal. She confronts Pierre with her desire for marriage and children, and he chides her, pointing to her pearl necklace as evidence of her happiness. Pierre in turn confronts her about the artist and she admits that she loves and will marry him, news that he takes coolly and dubiously, telling her that he'll see her for dinner the next evening. In the artists garret, Jean and his mother argue about Marie, and, browbeaten by his disapproving mother, he finally declares that he has reconsidered his proposal. He is overheard by Marie, and she coolly confirms that the proposal was a mistake. Later as he sets out to stalk Marie in hopes of re-establishing their relationship, the desperate Jean is seen loading a revolver. At the fancy restaurant where Pierre and Marie dine that night, Jean confronts the couple. Phil Posner

All Movie Guide

King Shadov (Charles Chaplin), the newly deposed monarch of a small European country, arrives in New York to face a life in exile. No sooner does he get here, however, than he discovers that his prime minister has stolen the entire royal treasury and departed for parts unknown. Stranded in New York in a luxury hotel without any money, the king tries to adjust to life in America and elicit interest in his plan for the peaceful use of nuclear power. He finds America in 1957 to be too noisy for his taste, however -- a run-in with some rock & roll dancers leads to some slapstick antics, and he doesn't take much to modern movies or the blaring entertainment that goes with them. He meets a pretty young lady (Dawn Addams) in a slightly risqué slapstick encounter in which he is trying to "rescue" her, and she maneuvers him into helping to plug a deodorant on television. The king proves so beguiling on the small screen that he is deluged by offers from advertising agencies, which he rejects at first. But the king soon finds that advertising may be the only thing he can do to earn enough money to keep him living like a king in exile, and he tries to work the system to his advantage, his earnings from television enabling him to remain in the country and push his peaceful nuclear plan. He soon finds the true dark side of life in the United States, however, when he crosses paths with an unhappy little boy (Michael Chaplin, the star/director's own son) whose parents are about to be jailed as part of the anti-Communist hysteria of the period. In the end, the king provides a shelter to the boy but compromises himself in the process, and while he does make the Congressional committee investigating him look foolish, he sees that he has done all of the good that he can do for now in the United States and leaves. Bruce Eder

Product Details

• UPC: 085393796723
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: B&W, Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español, Portugais, Thai, Korean
• Time: 15:49:00

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• The Circus
• City Lights
• The Kid
• A King in New York
• A Woman of Paris
• Monsieur Verdoux
• Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
• A Day's Pleasure
• Sunnyside
• The Idle Class
• Pay Day
• A Dog's Life
• Shoulder Arms
• The Pilgrim
• How to Make Movies
• The Bond

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