Customer Reviews

Charlie Chaplin Special Featuring "The Kid" "A Day's Pleasure" "Sunnyside"

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The "official" DVD release of Chaplin's THE KID is currently out of print but this budget dvd (which slightly predated the major release) is still around. The legendary silent movie comedy genius stars in one of his most famous feature films (which introduced the adorable toddler Jackie Coogan who went on to become the most popular child actor of the day) coupled on one disc with two of his best later comedy shorts. The print quality is excellent with THE KID a bit soft at times but still very clear; Chaplin's major works have always been lovingly preserved so it's not hard to find really nice prints of most of her later titles that have fallen into public domain. The musicial "score" to the two shorts consists of jazz instrumentals from the period fairly well matched to the film action; THE KID's score is uptempo classical music. You might be able to find this release at a dollar store as I did a few years ago, if not "new and used" dealers at Amazon have it generally much cheaper than the "list" price Amazon is asking. Obviously the most serious of Chaplin buffs will prefer to get the official release but this budget release is a fine introduction of The Little Tramp to new fans in the 21st century.

A Day's Pleasure:
Although Chaplin hadn't yet perfected his cinematic timing and pacing, that doesn't detract much from the joys of this Chaplin short. A few sequences go on a bit long but the opening sequence in particular is a gem.

Sunnyside:
A "routine" Chaplin short. Which means a lot of clever bits but without the snappier editing and attention to story of his best films.

The Kid:
This may be my favorite Chaplin film. It doesn't have the depth of his later films but the brilliant timing and trust in the audience to understand subtle cues already infuses Chaplin's first feature film, a film which also catapulted Jackie Coogan to preeminence as cinemas first child star. And Coogan set the bar very high for the child stars who followed.

The cinematic purity of this film, which simply tells a touching story superbly well without trying to shoehorn in a message or statement, is something I find refreshing 90 years later.