Product Details

• Actors: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Albert Austin, Henry Bergman
• Directors: Charles Chaplin
• Writers: Charles Chaplin, Maverick Terrell, Vincent Bryan
• Producers: Charles Chaplin, Henry P. Caulfield, John Jasper
• Format: Black & White, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kino Video
• VHS Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305226113
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,046 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Charlie Chaplin entered a period of tremendous artistic freedom and creative growth when he embarked on his 12 films for Mutual Studios in 1916. As he neared the conclusion of his contract, he became increasingly more ambitious and mixed his tried and true comic formula with social commentary for two of his most enduring works. The Immigrant finds the promised land less than rosy for peasants herded like cattle on the ship and wandering the streets of New York looking for work and food, but the Tramp's ingenuity and resilience make him into a symbol of hope for the future as well as a comic riposte. Easy Street is Chaplin's most successful mix of social issues and slapstick comedy. As a rookie cop in the city's toughest neighborhood, a slum overrun with bullies, drug addicts, and gangsters, the goodhearted Chaplin isn't above a little unconventional policing--when his billy club proves ineffective on gargantuan Eric Campbell's thick skull, he resorts to gassing him with a compliant street lamp. The balance of the tape emphasizes lighter fare: The Adventurer finds Charlie as an escaped convict who hides out in a high society party crawling with cops. When the Tramp decides to take The Cure, he comes prepared with a trunk full of alcohol, which quickly inebriates the guests and staff of the sanitarium. The revolving door becomes a comic centerpiece (like the escalator in The Floorwalker), which befuddles the inebriated Chaplin and infuriates gout-stricken nemesis Eric Campbell. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Chaplin, October 6, 1999

By 

"bjornam" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 1 (DVD)

These are the last four of Charles Chaplin's twelve two-reelers for Mutual, and they are all top Chaplin entertainment. Made in 1916-17, they demonstrate Chaplin at his most inventive and funniest. The films are all about 25 mins long. Visually, this DVD is an excellent transfer, and it has newly scored music which fits quite well. Recommended to all fans of silent comedy, or generally all people who could need a good laugh. And besides, noone can impersonate a floor lamp like Chaplin could...

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In Defense of the Little Fellow . . ., April 28, 2003

By 

C. Johnson (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 1 (DVD)

I too found that the reviewer's comment on these Mutual shorts being "uninspired" and "unfunny" were extremely ill thought out. I've seen the Mutual films before, and just recently purchased the DVDs and enjoyed them all over again. (the quality of the prints are very good!) The Immigrant is a great example of his mastery of the pantomime (the restaurant scene is just plain charming) and in Easy Street, well, I can't find how someone could call it "crude". And what's funny about a Chaplin's getting people drunk in a rehab center? If you knew anything about history, this was a direct smack at the upper classes since alcoholism was a huge problem with the working class during this time. Charlie was poking fun at the upper crust: and to the working people that is ALWAYS funny.

There is nothing at all "uninspired" about Charlie's work in these four shorts. Especially since, in 1917, Charlie was creating the template for comedy that comedians would imitate for decades--Nearly one-hundred years on, people are still using many of the techniques debuted here for the first time by Chaplin (along with the National shorts). It is interesting that the "basher" (as I've called this reviewer) mentioned the revolving door sequence in The Cure to be maddening: to a modern audience, that gag can appear recycled-but that is only because countless comedians have copied what Chaplin created for the FIRST TIME here.

Now, I'm a huge fan of Lloyd and **especially** the inimitable Buster Keaton, but the earlier comment that "Until the late 20's, any Keaton, Lloyd, or Langdon film was infinitely better than the stuff that Chaplin turned out at the time" is really, quite frankly, silly. Keaton didn't even begin to appear in shorts until the very year of these Mutual films and here was Chaplin writing, directing and acting on his own!! Not to mention that, within two years, he would help to form (along with Mary Pickford and Doug Fairbanks) a little something called United Artists which was a huge step forward for filmmakers and is still a force in the Industry. And by the way, in 1921 Chaplin released his feature length, The Kid, which is widely acclaimed as one of the best films of the silent era and it also proved for the first time that a comedy could be funny as well as touching to the heart. (I don't know anyone who can watch the final scene of the Kid without getting a tug at the heart). That same year of 1921, Keaton released his first feature film, The Saphead.

Enough said.

I'm not bashing Keaton because he is an unbelievable genius (Sherlock Jr. is one of my favorite films of all time! =o) but I just think that one should give credit where credit is due. And every single comedian coming after Chaplin **including Keaton, Lloyd and Langdon**--right down to this day--is reminded to tip their derby to Charlie.

He isn't called a genius just for the hell of it, you know.

(Anyway, four stars to this charming collection of Chaplin full-speed ahead on his way to becoming a legend.)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chaplin has NOT dated!, December 5, 2002

By 

Jimmy Silver "jimmysilver" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 1 (DVD)

I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer who bashes Charlie for being dated. Humour doesn't date only the context that surrounds it. This DVD contains some supremely witty and charming comedy. Anybody who is looking to buy it must already be a silent film fan so is familiar with the medium. The film quality is superb and I thoroughly recommend it!