Review of City Lights (2014) by Ryan D — 13 Nov 2008

Often hailed as Charlie Chaplin's finest film, City Lights tells the story of a bum who falls in love with a blind flower vendor. The girl mistakes him for a millionaire and Chaplin spends the film trying to portray himself as one often going to great lengths to do so.

Obviously, Charlie Chaplin is the principal actor in this. In addition to acting, Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and scored the film. Chaplin does a fairly decent job in the roles he's given. While this film is a silent film, it was made in the era of talking pictures and from time to time Chaplin makes use of the new technology to bolster the effect of this silent picture.

Of particular importance in this film is the last scene. Often cited as perhaps the greatest scene in any movie, it does not disappoint. Honestly, I was not particularly impressed by the scene at first viewing but I went ahead and rewatched it after reading about it and it is reasonably impressive. I wouldn't say it's the greatest scene I've ever seen, but still rather well done.

While I did find this enjoyable, this is neither my favorite silent film (that would be Battleship Potemkin) nor is it my favorite Chaplin film (that remains The Great Dictator), this is still pretty good. Absolutely a must-see for any Chaplin fan or for anyone looking to get acquainted with silent films.

79/100.

C+.

UP NEXT: To be determined.