Review of City Lights (2014) by Daren F — 16 Dec 2008

I feel as if this film has aged somewhat, but I think most comedies of this time period just do not translate as well but Chaplin certainly made a film that despite its age is still hilarious and touching.

The story of the Tramp and his love for a blind women is one of the great romances of the 20th century, even outside of film, and the humour that Chaplin pulls from this is amazing. It is obvious that Chaplin did not like the introduction of the talkie, this film was made 5 years after [i]The Jazz Singer[/i] and mocks the idea of speaking in a movie in the first scene.

However, Chaplin uses music (that he wrote) and sound effects like a whistle and other non diegetic sound to add to his comedy. Chaplin loved using all he could to bring out a laugh but he never saw how dialogue could bring that laughter, and in a way his form of comedy is the purest and most loving.

The film proves to anyone with a heart and soul that dialogue is pointless because the Tramp and his love never speak a word on screen and yet every emotion is conveyed with grace and beauty. The last scene is one of such heart and raw emotion that it is hard to fault Chaplin for his reluctance to move to sound, the look the two share is one of the purest and happiest moments I have ever witness on screen and it comes from the purity that Chaplin brings to his films through his grace and his talent.