City Lights
City Lights, the most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin, is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle. The writer-director-star achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dramatic poignancy, with this silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street (a magical Virginia Cherrill) and mistakes him for a millionaire. Though this Depression-era smash was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin remained steadfast in his love for the expressive beauty of the pre-talkie form. The result was the epitome of his art and the crowning achievement of silent comedy.
Film Info
- United States
- 1931
- 86 minutes
- Black & White
- 1.19:1
- English
- Spine #680
Special Features
- New digital restoration from a 4K film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
- Chaplin Today: “City Lights,” a 2003 documentary on the film, featuring Aardman Animations cofounder Peter Lord
- Chaplin Studios: Creative Freedom by Design, a new interview program featuring visual effects expert Craig Barron
- Archival footage from the production ofCity Lights, including film from the set, with audio commentary by Chaplin historian Hooman Mehran; a costume test; a rehearsal; and a complete scene not used in the film
- Excerpt from Chaplin’s short filmThe Champion (1915), along with footage of the director with boxing stars at Chaplin Studios in 1918
- Trailers
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Gary Giddins and a 1966 interview with Chaplin
New cover illustration by Seth
Cast
- Virginia Cherrill
- A blind girl
- Florence Lee
- Her grandmother
- Harry Myers
- An eccentric millionaire
- Allan Garcia
- His butler
- Hank Mann
- A prizefighter
- Charles Chaplin
- A tramp
- Victor Alexander
- Superstitious boxer
- Tony Stabenau
- The tramp’s opponent
- Eddie McAuliffe
- Eddie Mason
- Eddie Baker
- Fight referee
- Emmett Wagner
- The tramp’s second
- Tom Dempsey
- Other boxers
- Willie Keeler
- Joe Herrick
- A. B. Lane
- Cy Slocum
- Ad Herman
- Jack Alexander
- Albert Austin
- Street sweeper/Burglar
- Henry Bergman
- Mayor/Blind girl’s neighbor
- Robert Parrish
- Newsboys
- Austen Jewell
- Joe Van Meter
- Burglar
- Stanley "Tiny" Sandford
- Man on street elevator
- Jean Harlow
- Extra in cabaret
- Florence Wicks
- Woman who sits on cigar
- T. S. Alexander
- Man who throws away his cigar
- Harry Ayers
- Cop
- Mrs. Hyams
- Flower shop assistant
Credits
- Director
- Charles Chaplin
- Produced and written by
- Charles Chaplin
- Assistant directors
- Harry Crocker
- Assistant directors
- Henry Bergman
- Assistant directors
- Albert Austin
- Cinematography
- Roland Totheroh
- Second camera operators
- Gordon Pollock
- Second camera operators
- Mark Marlatt
- Second camera operators
- Eddie Gheller
- Production design
- Charles D. Hall
- Music composed by
- Charles Chaplin
- “La violetera” composed by
- José Padilla
- Musical arrangement
- Arthur Johnston
- Musical direction
- Alfred Newman
- Editors
- Charles Chaplin
- Editors
- Willard Nico
- Sound
- Theodore Reed
- Casting
- Allan Garcia
- Script supervisor
- Della Steele
- Production manager
- Alfred Reeves
- Press agent
- Carlyle Robinson
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