8.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A homeless tramp befriends a lovely blind flower seller and convinces her he is a millionaire while he secretly labors to pay for the restoration of her sight.
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Al Ernest GarciaDrama | 100% |
Romance | 33% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.2:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" (1931) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Park Circus. The supplemental features on the disc include an introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson; deleted scene; documentary featuring filmmaker Peter Lord; raw footage from Winston Churchill's visit to the set of "City Lights"; and more. Region-B "locked".
The girl
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Charlie Chaplin's City Lights arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye.
The release has been sourced from the same MK2 master that was available in 2010, which Park Circus accessed. This release presents the film in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 while Criterion's release presents the film in the more accurate 1.19:1 ratio (the Park Circus release also had the film framed in 1.33:1). Clarity is mostly pleasing, but depth can fluctuate quite a lot. The bulk of the fluctuations are inherited, but there are also obvious traces of mild noise corrections. As a result, different parts of the film could look somewhat soft. On the other hand, even on the Criterion release, which is sourced from a recent 4K restoration, the softness remains rather prominent. Still, light grain is noticeable throughout the entire film, but it isn't as well distributed as it should be. Given the nature of the surviving elements, image stability is good, but some tiny flecks and scratches remain. All in all, while far from perfect, this is likely the best presentation Charlie Chaplin's City Lights will see in the United Kingdom. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. The film contains English intertitles.
The music is stable and rather well rounded. Obviously, the range of nuanced dynamic is quite limited, but this should not be surprising. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions. Also, there is no distracting background hiss, but there is room for some touch-up work.
Charlie Chaplin's City Lights is the greatest of all silent comedies and one of my favorite films. I watch it at least once a year. This new Blu-ray release of City Lights is sourced from the same MK2 master which Park Circus accessed in 2010. In the United States Criterion also released the film on Blu-ray, but their release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration and has the film framed more accurately. In addition to the standard release, City Lights will be available as part of Curzon Artificial Eye's upcoming The Charlie Chaplin Collection box set.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Charlie Chaplin
1925
1936
Charlie Chaplin
1957
Charlie Chaplin
1923
Charlie Chaplin: The Collection
1952
1921
1940
1928
Charlie Chaplin
1947
A Song of Two Humans / Masters of Cinema
1927
The Woody Allen Collection
1977
Masters of Cinema
1971
Arrow Academy
1941
Digitally Restored
1943
De rouille et d'os
2012
Masters of Cinema
1928
2012
1990
Charlie Chaplin
1959
1960