The Gold Rush Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Gold Rush Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 1, 2015

Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original French trailer for the film; short introduction by David Robinson; the documentary feature "Chaplin Today:The Gold Rush"; and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

On the edge

The early days of the Klondike gold rush, 1898. The Tramp is an ambitious prospector wandering around the snowy hills of Alaska, trying to figure out which way to go. Cold and tired, he ends up at the remote cabin of a man with a price on his head, Black Larsen (Tom Murray), who immediately kicks him out. Fortunately for the Tramp, there is a strong blizzard that literally blows him back into the cabin.

Meanwhile, a new prospector, Big Jim (Mack Swain), who has found gold, appears. Like the Tramp, he is cold, tired, and looking for a place to spend the night. Black Larsen attempts to kick him out too, but Big Jim proves stronger. The Tramp, Big Jim and Black Larsen decide to share the cabin until the weather gets better.

Soon, the prospectors agree that one of them must go out and find food. They draw cards and Black Larsen gets the lowest one. While wandering around, he meets and kills two policemen. Later on, Black Larsen stumbles upon Big Jim’s gold stash, which he decides to keep.

Back in the cabin, Big Jim begins hallucinating - his brains tells him that the Tramp as a giant chicken, which he attempts to kill. The Tramp quickly realizes that the most effective way to help Big Jim get rid of the hallucinations is a strong meal - which is why he cooks one of his shoes and serves it to him. Eventually, the weather improves, and the Tramp and Big Jim part ways. Big Jim goes back to his gold stash, but out of nowhere Black Larsen appears and hits him with a shovel, causing him to lose his memory. Black Larsen escapes with a load of Big Jim's gold but dies in an avalanche.

The Tramp ends in a town full of gold diggers. He befriends a mining engineer who allows him to stay in his cabin while he is away on business. While wandering around, the Tramp ends up in the town’s saloon where he sees Georgia (Georgia Hale), a beautiful dancer; he instantly falls in love with her. Georgia is unaware of the Tramp’s existence until an obnoxious bully, Jack, tries to force her to dance with him. The Tramp confronts the bully and earns Georgia’s respect. Later on, Georgia and her girlfriends visit the cabin where the Tramp lives and promise to celebrate New Year’s Eve with him. For the next couple of days, the Tramp works hard to save enough money to buy food and presents for Georgia and her friends. On New Year’s Eve, however, he ends up being alone.

Big Jim reappears looking for the Tramp. When they meet, he tells the Tramp that if he takes him back to his cabin he will make him a rich man. The two embark on a treacherous journey and nearly lose their lives but manage to find Big Jim’s gold. The Tramp and Big Jim become millionaires. On the ship that will take them back home to the land of milk and honey, the Tramp once again meets Georgia.

Written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, The Gold Rush has had a number of different reincarnations – the original silent version (95 min) (1925); the preferred by Chaplin American rerelease version, which is the version included on this Blu-ray disc (72 min) (1942); as well as an edited American version (81 min) (1925).

The rerelease version is also narrated by Chaplin. The overwhelming majority of the lines the legendary actor utters are short descriptions of the conversations the Tramp has with various characters. They are appropriate for some scenes but not all. More often than not, Chaplin and Max Terr’s wonderful music score is a lot more illuminating than the narration.

The Gold Rush contains some of the funniest scenes Chaplin did throughout his career. Yet it remains one of his saddest films - effectively showing the corrosive effects greed could have on people’s lives and personalities.

In 1943, the rerelease version of The Golden Rush earned Oscar nominations for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Max Terr) and Best Sound, Recording (James L. Fields).

The Gold Rush Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye.

The release has been sourced from the same MK2 master which Park Circus accessed when they prepared their release of The Gold Rush in 2010. (Criterion's release was sourced from the same master). Unsurprisingly, the same source limitations that were present on the previous release can also be seen here -- there are shaky transitions, some minor contrast fluctuations and various density fluctuations. Still, the film looks quite healthy. Some minor scratches and blemishes remain, but there are no large cuts and badly damaged/torn frames. Generally speaking, detail and clarity are pleasing, but the density fluctuations are quite obvious. There are traces of grain management, but grain is visible throughout the entire film. There are also some traces of light sharpening adjustments. Finally, the encoding could have been better. There are select sequences where some light chroma-effects sneak in, though they never become overly distracting. (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).

The Gold Rush Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 (Dual Mono) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional SDH subtitles have not been provided.

I viewed the film with the LPCM 2.0 track. Dynamic intensity is quite limited, but the narration and the music are well balanced. There are no audio dropouts or distortions, but during a couple of sequences I did detect some extremely light buzz in the high-frequencies.

The Gold Rush Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Chaplin Today: The Gold Rush - an excellent documentary, produced by MK2TV, in which director Idrissa Ouedraogo discusses the impact the Tramp had on him while he was growing up in Burkina Faso. The documentary also focuses on the production history of The Gold Rush. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• Introduction by David Robinson - a short introduction in which Charlie Chaplin biographer David Robinson quickly notes a few interesting facts from the film's fascinating history as well as the legendary actor's career. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• French Trailer - original French trailer for The Gold Rush. In French, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Chaplin ABC - a large collection of segments from various Charlie Chaplin films. A for Animals, B for Bed, C for Clown, D for Dance, etc. Music. (35 min).

• The Visitors - archival footage from Charlie Chaplin's studio. Silent. (13 min).

• Extracts from the Films in The Charlie Chaplin Collection - (11 min).

The Gold Rush Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Gold Rush was initially released on Blu-ray by Park Circus. This new Blu-ray release of the preferred by Charlie Chaplin American rerelase version of the film from Curzon Artificial Eye is sourced from the same MK2 master that Park Circus and Criterion accessed. The original 1925 silent version of the film isn't included, but on the out of print release it was only included as a bonus on a separate DVD. (In 2011, the original silent version was restored by Criterion and Cineteca di Bologna and it is included on the American release). Finally, there are some new and exclusive supplemental features. If you have only seen the film on DVD, do not hesitate to upgrade. RECOMMENDED.