The Gold Rush (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charlie Chaplin, Georgia Hale, Henry Bergman, John Eagown, W.S. DobsonBrand: Warner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Silent, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 69 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-07-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 37643
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- A lone prospector ventures into Alaska looking for gold. He gets mixed up with some burly characters and falls in love with the beautiful Georgia. He tries to win her heart with his singular charm.Running Time: 69 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?COMEDY Rating:?NR Age:?085393764326 UPC:?085393764326 Manufacturer No:?37643
Movie Reviews of The Gold Rush (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Movie Review: Immortal Chaplin Classic is one of the Great Films of all time.
Summary: 5 Stars
Timeless Comedy about Little Tramp arriving in the Yukon as a prospector looking for Gold and finding hilarity, success and romance. Classic sequences abound from the unforgettable Shoe eating scene to the dance of the dinner rolls and the Cabin teetering over the cliff.
Chaplin is brilliant in this picture as the lonely and courageous Tramp. His story in this one is somewhat simpler than his later films but perhaps that's what makes this his best. This is a simply told tale that is brought off incredibly well. Chaplin's film and character is the most miraculous combination of slapstick and sentiment ever seen. We relate to this tramp and empathize with his plight and we feel joy when he finds purpose.
The cast adds immeasurably, particularly the unforgettable Mack Swain as the burly prospector, Big Jim Mckay who so memorably chases Chaplin through the cabin as he mistakes him for a chicken. The actor and Chaplin play off each other incredibly well and there friendship is one of the film's highlights.
Georgia Hale is a gorgeous lead. Independant and yet, vulnerable, her character is probally Chaplin's best developed female lead with the possible exception of Paulette Goddard in "Modern Times(1935)". Hale's character is in need of fullfillment and redemption, just as much as Charlie is and the conclusion where both end up with each other romantically, we feel that she has won just as much as he has. She is better off with earning the love of this good man. It should be noted that thsi ending is probally one of the only REAL happy endings in Chaplin's career. There's no ambiguity or message. Things just work out and that's the way it is.
Chaplin's film strikes a chord with it's emotional complexity. The film has several funny stand out moments but it's the warmth that forms the center of the film. Chaplin dervies most of the humor through the darkest means. Alot of the ideas were found from his own childhood and the theme of Starvation and the importance of food plays a large role in the film. Even taboo subjects like CANNIBALSIM play a large role in the Comedy. Several films have used the concept of starvation making one mistake another for a food, but it's Chaplin that made it his own. Chaplin as the Chicken from Big Jim's imagination is one of the great comic images. Chaplin himself performed inside the suit.
There are no standard villians in the role, only catalysts. There is a villainous character named "Black Larsen" but he is killed off halfway through and the true "bad guy' is the elements themselves. In a way this may seem more Keaton than Chaplin but it works immeasurably and is more relateable for Chaplin in his general battle against adversity. The world may be seemingly against Chaplin but he'll battle it and we the audience are convinced that he'll come out on top. It's a wonderful, enpowering message that few but Chaplin could make so uterly believable.
This film was my introduction to the Little Tramp properly. I had first seen the film as part of a Comedy Triple Feature Video that my grandmother had bought for me. The other two films were Laurel and Hardy's "The Flying Deauces" and the Martin and Lewis vehicle, "At War With the Army". The Chaplin film was last on the video and it mesmerized me. Rarely did a film amaze me enough that I found myself watching immediately after it had finished, but that's exactly what I did. I watched the film numerous times over the years until this wonderful DVD release became available.
Despite the price tag the DVD is completely worthwhile. The film has never looked better and the set is filled with extras. They include the 1940 reissue version with Chaplin's narration and the 1925 Original, restored and remastered as well as being rescored with Chaplin's original score. Both are VERY different versions with alternate takes and extended scenes in the 1925 version and an abridged ending in the 1940 version.
The DVD also includes an informative documentary on the film's impact and an introduction to the film that serves as a making of feature. Also several photos and posters are included as well.
This is simply put one of the greatest motion pictures of all time and essential viewing for the serious film buff and Comedy afficionado alike. If you have not have had the pleasure of meeting Charlie yet, it's about time to make your first meeting via this imperishable Classic.
Enjoy.
Summary of The Gold Rush (Two-Disc Special Edition)
A lone prospector ventures into Alaska looking for gold. He gets mixed up with some burly characters and falls in love with the beautiful Georgia. He tries to win her heart with his singular charm.After the box-office failure of his first dramatic film, A Woman of Paris, Charlie Chaplin brooded over his ensuing comedy. "The next film must be an epic!" he recalled in his autobiography. "The greatest!" He found inspiration, paradoxically, in stories of the backbreaking Alaskan gold rush and the cannibalistic Donner Party. These tales of tragedy and endurance provided Chaplin with a rich vein of comic possibilities. The Little Tramp finds himself in the Yukon, along with a swarm of prospectors heading over Chilkoot Pass (an amazing sight restaged by Chaplin in his opening scenes, filmed in the snowy Sierra Nevadas). When the Tramp is trapped in a mountain cabin with two other fortune hunters, Chaplin stages a veritable ballet of starvation, culminating in the cooking of a leathery boot. Back in town, the Tramp is smitten by a dance-hall girl (Georgia Hale), but it seems impossible that she could ever notice him. The Gold Rush is one of Chaplin's simplest, loveliest features; and despite its high comedy, it never strays far from Chaplin's keen grasp of loneliness. In 1942, Chaplin reedited the film and added music and his own narration for a successful rerelease. --Robert Horton
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