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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We're not worthy!, March 4, 2004
This review is from: The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin) (DVD)
After the first Chaplin Collection, I expected a terrific second set, but this far surpassed my expectations. My sole concern for the set as announced was that all the First National shorts would not be included, and that only the three which Chaplin compiled into the feature, THE CHAPLIN REVUE, would be present. But lo and behold, THE CHAPLIN REVUE is now a two-disc set which includes the four additional First Nationals! True, the other three are presented in Chaplin's 1959 compilation format, but still, it's all here. CITY LIGHTS, THE KID, and THE CIRCUS are all given two-disc presentations with tons of extras, while MONSIEUR VERDOUX, A WOMAN OF PARIS, and A KING IN NEW YORK receive one disc apiece, in which there are still some dandy bonus features. Add to the pot a widescreen version of the over two hours long CHARLIE, Richard Schickel's recent and acclaimed documentary, and you've got an amazing wealth of Chaplin material that will keep enthusiasts busy for weeks. The visual and audio quality is stunning, and the packaging quite attractive. When you divide the cost of the set by these twelve well-packed discs, it seems a financial pittance for a fortune's worth of Chaplin. I could have paid three times the amount for this material and not felt cheated. Unconditionally recommended.
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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The good, the bad and the ugly, July 4, 2004
This review is from: The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin) (DVD)
The Good: I'm not a complete Chaplin aficionado but I believe if you pick up this DVD set and the first Chaplin DVD collection, you'll have all his films with the exception of his early Essanay and Mutual films and his 1967 film "A Countess From Hong Kong" which Chaplin directed and features a brief cameo. Besides the films themselves, this set contains photo galleries, trailers, brief documentaries, deleted scenes, some brief but fascinating introductions by Chaplin biographer David Robinson, and other related materials - all of them presented in pristine, and in most cases stunning, condition by restoration artists MK2. The Bad: Chaplin re-released many of these films in the '60s and '70s and the Chaplin family obviously considers these as the final word since they've included them here. I'm assuming this is a good thing because it would allow MK2 to work from newer prints rather than the old film masters from the '20s and '30s. Unfortunately, Chaplin also added new music in many cases and made some minor scene deletions. I haven't seen the earliest versions to be able to compare musical scores. And the scores used here worked fine for me. Still, it would've been nice if they included the original film instead of tacking the brief deleted scenes on separately. This was done perfectly with "The Gold Rush" set in the first Chaplin DVD collection which includes the original film and the reworked modern version with Chaplin's narration. There are several spelling mistakes on the packaging of "The Kid" - the title has dropped out somewhere along the line in its production - an error which should've been caught, considering all the care they've put into this package. There are also some isolated spelling mistakes in the title cards during "The Chaplin Revue" shorts they could've easily caught. The "Woman" disc lists that it includes movie posters on the box's contents - however, they've forgot to include them here. The box is also rather flimsy paperboard. I recently bought the Monty Python boxed set which comes in a hard cardboard box. This is another minor point but it would've been nice to get a solid housing considering the cost of this set and care put into the materials. In addition, the FBI warnings on all the movies and documentaries appear for about five minutes in several languages - which is fine - but unfortunately, you can't fast forward through any of them. The only thing you can do is stop the DVD and reboot to get back to the main menu or wait the warnings out until the menu comes back. This inconvenience could've been corrected as well. The Ugly: In their haste to put this thing out, possibly to coincide with the current Jeffrey Vance coffee table book "Chaplin - Genius of the Cinema," they've made a few glaring errors. In the case of the A King in New York / A Woman of Paris two disc set, both discs work properly - but they've been mislabelled. (Disc One is actually Disc Two and vice versa.) I purchased this set in Canada at HMV so this is not strictly an issue with the sets Amazon are selling. What's worse is they've also made the same mistake with "The Chaplin Revue" two disc set. Again, both discs play fine but are mislabelled. These sloppy errors will probably be corrected in future print runs. But it's such a bonehead mistake - particularly making them twice in one collection - they really should've caught them. But all in all, even these minor points still can't obscure the fact this is a really phenomenal DVD set with all the prime, sublime glory of Chaplin. You just wish they hadn't been asleep at the switch with all these careless little errors.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chaplin's True Genius Shines Through In This Set, February 23, 2004
This review is from: The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin) (DVD)
You owe it to yourself, at least one in your lifetime, to sit down in a comfortable chair, turn off the cell phone, turn off the lights, send the kids outside, and watch "CITY LIGHTS". And be sure to have a box of tissues close by. Released as a "silent film" when the rest of the studios were into sound, Chaplin proved once again that no amount of words could covey the range of emotion the Little Tramp could exhibit with a simple smile, and that love and laughter are universal. The film is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, from hysterics to dispair to hope to joy, and as the ride comes to an end, you'll be left with a moment that will remain with you for the rest of your life. I first saw this film when I was 24. I am 50 now, and just picturing the last image of this film in my mind as I am writing this, is sending tears streaming down my cheeks. Sorry, I can't help it. Likewise, "THE KID", one of Chaplin's earlier masterpieces, is filled with gushing sentimentality, as were most of the great silent films of the time, but in Chaplin's hands, IT WORKS. His anger, dispair, triumph, and playfulness are go genuinely emoted that you forget your watching an 80+ -year-old black-and-white movie with no dialogue. And 6-year-old Jackie Coogan, who grew up to be TV's Uncle Fester, matches Chaplin's range of emotion like a seasoned verteran. He is the most amazing child actor I have ever seen, possibly with the exception of "I Am Sam"'s Dakota Fanning. DO NOT PASS UP THESE FILMS. "American Pie" is funny, but anyone can fart on-screen and get a laugh. Chaplin makes you laugh, cry, hold your breath and howl, all at the same time. These are ageless, timeless masterworks.
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