In the late 1920s, while Charlie Chaplin meticulously tweaked the storyline for his next project, Hollywood's film industry experienced a sizable quake, a 10 on the Richter scale, as talkies (movies with dialogue sound) spilled through the Valley and into theater houses everywhere.
With the pressure on to conform with sonic development, Chaplin, much to the chagrin of fans, abstained from such a drastic step, strenuously creating "City Lights" — a film now regarded by many to be his finest achievement — perfecting his visual and (ironically) auditory mastery.
And he did this the way he knew best, and now for all to see on a two-disc DVD release.
"City Lights" sees Chaplin's Little Tramp — that classic caricature of lovable, laughable, and emotionally stirring fiber — once again on the down-and-out, wandering about the city streets and into hilarious misunderstandings with fellow urbanites when his eyes meet a blind flower girl (20 year old non-actor Virginia Cherrill) who's convinced her charming jokester is rich.
Concurrently, he stumbles into a millionaire, who drags him around town throwing money and drinks the Tramp's way only to, with a Jekyll and Hyde-like ease, ignore him when out of his drunken stupor.
The master of detail, Chaplin winds this rather simplistic tale of comical situations into a natural narrative with skilled camera work and direction, shooting his feature for two-and-a-half years. (The Tramp's first encounter with the flower girl took over 200 takes, an extreme even for Stanley Kubrick, and apparently much frustration over the scene left Chaplin contemplating at home while his personally funded crew waited on standby.)
Enhancing the seamless transitions from gleeful to gutting is the picture's score, also written by Chaplin. The opening notes are set to a blank screen, and then the camera reveals the bustling cityscape. (Woody Allen — who, in his early career came off as a talking Little Tramp — paid homage to this moment in the opening of "Manhattan" and more recently cites the filmmaker's influence in an interview from Richard Schickel's biography.)
Even with the music and the occasional sound effect, "City Lights" holds to the conviction that film is fundamentally and most importantly a visual experience.
And with his last shot of the flower girl (now able to see) recognizing the humiliated man in rags before her as her charming wealthy lover, Chaplin may just be right. Critic/writer James Agee wrote of it as "the highest moment in the history of the movies," a classic tearjerker for any age.
Like the many directors influenced by his work, the "City Lights" DVD two-disc special edition takes an in-depth look at the auteur, his influence and his craft, with an interview with animator Peter Lord, a biographical featurette, outtakes, film notes, excerpts from other films and visits with other notables ( including one with Winston Churchill), among others.
After viewing the historically interesting package, his laborious inventiveness in both directing and acting are made clear along with his iconic status throughout the world, and Chaplin's humanity outside the Little Tramp shows.
For an artist that's been analyzed and researched to death, the second disc is still a great supplement and investigation of Chaplin's career and ongoing presence in today's film culture.
Remarkably, the remastering of "City Lights" doesn't feel like a historical revisit, but instead like a movie that can stand on its own, as perfect now as it ever could've been, a wonderful blend of art and entertainment. Simply put … cinematic bliss.
"City Lights:" A
DVD features: A