Product Details

• Actors: Billy Armstrong, Agnes Ayres, Arthur W. Bates, Robert Bolder, Charles Chaplin
• Directors: Charles Chaplin
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Silent, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Run Time: 136 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JWWZ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #107,553 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #85 in	Movies & TV > Classics > Silent Films > Comedy

• For more information about "Chaplin's Essanay Comedies, Vol. 01" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In Chaplin's Essanay Comedies, made in 1915, cinema's greatest comedian was first able to build his screen work around his performance style rather than forcing himself, as before, into Mack Sennett's frenzied Keystone comedy matrix. With this freedom Chaplin evolved in a year from the gag comedian of "His New Job" to the brilliant pantomimist of "A Night Out," "The Champion," "The Tramp" and "Shanghaied" to the profound satirist of "Police." Volume 1 includes: "His New Job," "A Night Out," "The Champion," "In the Park," "A Jitney Elopement" (all 1915).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another nicely restored set of Chaplin films!, December 22, 2002

By	Mark Pollock "educator" (Davis, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay, this review is for the Image dvd of the Chaplin Essanay Comedies, Volume 1. If this review appears on any other product, with the exception of a Kino product, then know that this review has NOTHING to do with whatever you are looking at. If you are looking at Madacy or Koch videos, then just go away now, and look for a good video, because Madacy and Koch videos of Chaplin are garbage.

ANYWAYS...

I give this five stars, because the restoration, music, and presentation are awesome. The films are the most complete they have been in over 80 years, and are mastered from the best available materials. David Shepherd worked on these for a decade or so, and some of the films come from as many as five different sources. This can be a little odd sometimes, as the picture will change in quality and framing every so often, which is a bit of a jumpy sensation, but it's either that or just miss the footage altogether.

As far as the films go - well, this is not Chaplin's best work. "His New Job", "A Night Out", and "In the Park" are slight, derivative, and not terribly interesting. "A Jitney Elopement" is fascinating for the fact that Chaplin relies on a lot of tracking and racing shots for the chase, which all happens in cars. "The Champion" is a very good film, and is the best of this lot.

Chaplin made better films than these for Essanay, which can especially be seen on Disc 2 of the series.

This is NOT a good disc for the person who is just getting interested in Chaplin or silent films. You would be better of with the later features, such as City Lights, The Kid, The Gold Rush, or The Circus, which should all be reissued in 2003 in gorgeous quality - I can't wait!

But if you are acquainted with Chaplin, and have read a good book or two about his career and development, then this is a fine dvd to get.

Enjoy!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL DONE, January 15, 2000

By	James Horvath (South Bend, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This is a must have for an avid Chaplin fan.Great restoration by David Shepard and musical score by Robert Israel and Eric James.I highly recommend this and Vols.2,3 for your collection.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chaplin at a furious creative pace, November 11, 2004

By	Robert Morris (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This first volume in the set of 1915 Essanay shorts presents Chaplin's first experiments with the gags and situations that he will refine over the years in his mature films. Although in 1915 he had only been in the movies for one year, he is clearly fully confident of his talents as a comedian, and he is unafraid to test new ideas at a furious pace. Watching these films is like listening to Louis Armstrong's early "Hot Five" sessions -- a non-stop flood of mostly completely new ideas, not all of which work, but enough do to make the experience enjoyable. Unfortunately, we are somewhat burdened in not being able to fully appreciate the freshness of this work -- we have seen the humor either repeated by Chaplin in later films or by other comedians. Still, even today it's possible to sense the spontaneity, the improvisational nature of these scenes.

Part of Chaplin's creative spurt is no doubt the result of suddenly being endowed with more freedom than he was able to achieve at Keystone, the studio he had recently left. In fact, the first film in the set, "His New Job", is a thinly disguised poke at his old employer, about working as a movie actor in the "Lodestone" Film Company. This film shows how Chaplin's approach to comedy differs significantly from the Keystone formula -- the pace in the action is noticeably slower. By slowing the pace, Chaplin can better mine each scene for more comic gold, and he characteristically bases the humor more on pantomime than on pure slapstick. Even a simple act such as changing into a costume he wears to shoot a scene in "His New Job" provides a wealth of material for comic invention. In these movies, people and things supply a continuous supply of props for Chaplin's creativity.

Along with the flurry of new ideas, the character of the tramp is still under development in these early films. This tramp character is still closer to the Keystone tramp -- quite simply, a nuisance. There is no heroism toward the down-trodden, no sense of the hopelessness of poverty, no resentment towards the oppression of authority here. The tramp of these films is driven purely reactively by his senses, flirting with every hour-glass figure he encounters, fighting with anyone who looks at him the wrong way, and willing to do anything, honest or otherwise, for immediate gain. Even when he gets the girl, he has already won her, as in "A Jitney Elopement". Really the only moment in this collection when the character shows an inclination towards something more noble is in the opening scenes of "The Champion" where he shares a humble meal with his lowly dog.

One final word: the quality of the films is superb, which is especially important in appreciating the flood of new comic ideas that emerge from the mind of the master.