Well, what negative reviews Chaplin may have, this is confirmed by Kinopoisk. Many paintings, as it often happens, eventually cease to please the public, and some simply dissolve in hundreds of other films and only real masterpieces are remembered and loved, despite the date of their production. This movie is called “The Lights of the City.” To be honest, I don’t really like black and white movies because a lot of things get lost without color, and my eyes get tired more after watching than after a color movie. But for the sake of films like “City Lights” you can be patient. Yes, and the film is so good that you do not have to endure anything in the tape. Firstly, because there is everything for everyone: drama is mixed with comedy so competently that people with different taste preferences will like the film. The film is both touching and funny, not only directing, music, but primarily acting.
Yes, the second is the acting of Chaplin. Having created a unique image of a vagrant, Chaplin made him so cute with his clumsiness and kindness that a teddy bear comes to mind. All actresses are distinguished by natural beauty, and not as it is now fashionable in the cinema with shortened skirts and necklines. If I had my will, I would have painted several portraits with each, but unfortunately, I am not gifted with the talent of an artist. But Chaplin is gifted, this is for sure, and not only by the fact that he found such actresses sometimes in amazing places, so with Virginia Cherrill, the lead actress in this film, Chaplin met at the stadium during a boxing fight, but also directing.
The third is directing. The film features chases, fights, comic and dramatic moments. I was especially touched and at the same time mocked, almost a knightly fight in the ring, for the happiness of a beautiful lady. And the final scene, where the main character saw a flower on the pavement, I generally thought for a second of color. It has a good social connotation, saying that sometimes the poor value life more than the rich, and nobility does not depend on the social class of a person. There are other big and small moments in the film that make the film what it is. In general, not for nothing in my hometown, he put a monument. Big bow to you Chaplin, and the rest of the advice: watch his films, in any case, you will not regret.
I’m glad that my first review comes from this film. A film that deeply impressed me and aroused the most Christian feelings. This film is about true love, about true humanity, about a big heart. Moreover, this is the first Chaplin film I watch at a conscious age. Despite the bright, exciting, dynamic modern movies, this one, I think, is the best thing I've seen, the best thing that gets to the heart, as well as Robert Benigni's Life is Beautiful. How do you think to watch a movie in our time without dialogues that explain everything and give the finished idea of the director? This film proves that the fewer words, the more it reaches us, right through the heart.
There is nothing to say about the magnificent acting, there are only emotions that overwhelm after watching. The film “Big City Lights” is really a masterpiece that fills our soul with something bright and kind, and we want to give up all material goods and go do good, and please people like Chaplin’s hero. The film is a must-see.
I can see the headlines of the 30s: Charlie Chaplin’s studio has prepared a new surprise for the audience! The idol of millions Charlie Chaplin, under the watchful guidance of Charlie Chaplin himself, directed the romantic comedy “City Lights” based on the script by Charlie Chaplin. The main role was played by a friend and part-time permanent actor of Charlie Chaplin’s films – Charlie Chaplin. Musical accompaniment was performed by the famous composer Charlie Chaplin. See all the cinemas in the country! It's a joke, but still... Charles Spencer Chaplin almost single-handedly was able to do what a whole team of specialists can very rarely cope with - to make a brilliant film.
Of course, I have always respected Chaplin. How else? He considered him an icon of cinema, an untouchable actor, whom he simply must love, even if he is not familiar with his work. Moreover, a couple of years ago, with genuine interest, I read a magazine about his life, but ... I could not get together and watch at least one of his films. Frankly, for a long time I did not let go of the fear that such humor could please and laugh only viewers of prehistoric times of cinema, and for people like us – enlightened in all the charms of filming – this is a kindergarten. After all, now you can shoot absolutely anything you want – any dreams that are impossible in real life. Where is Chaplin and his Tramp if we have seen everything?
But it was worth a try. Given the unfortunate experience with the Oscar-winning “Artist”, I decided to start with the sound picture of Chaplin – “The Great Dictator”, in which Charlie mocked the policy of Adolf Hitler. Of course, the film is funny, at times just gorgeous (for example, the scene with a balloon), but at the same time sad. Of course, Chaplin himself did not realize in 1940 that Hitler was even more terrible than it seemed at first glance, but now, knowing what horrors were happening during the Second World War, the film did not turn out to be perceived as a masterpiece.
It was over a month ago and it was quickly forgotten. Until last night, which can safely be called a revolution in my attitude to cinema. It all began with a fleeting thought, quickly turned into an idea, to look at the picture of Richard Attenborough about the life of the great comedian with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. It is worth noting that Downey coped with the role, but the picture did not live up to expectations due to the not quite successful way of narrating and the looseness of the plot. But still played a huge role - the story of Charlie Chaplin made a lasting impression on me. The movie wasn’t over yet, but I already knew I’d be watching.
The fear that silent movies weren’t my thing disappeared as soon as Tramp appeared on the screen. It is amazing how with the help of clumsiness and acceleration of the frame you can achieve such an effect and cause strong positive emotions. Chaplin was right when he said that his character does not need to say words to convey his feelings - it will only ruin the exquisite style of the character. Of course, in the same verbal “Great Dictator”, the barber was funny, but this does not compare with the chic impressions that the “dumb” left. Tramp.
The plot of the film is not surprising now, but that does not prevent me from calling the film perfect. It is not about the most uncomplicated story, but how sincerely and beautifully it is shown. The love of the Tramp for a blind girl cannot leave indifferent - it is incredibly pleasant to see how he tried to help her, and what difficulties he had to overcome to make her happy. And all this with great humor — I can’t imagine why a person has so much imagination, when even the smallest detail or action causes laughter. Not to mention the big scenes! The same boxing match without hesitation would have taken one of the leading places in the ranking of the funniest scenes in the history of cinema, if I had such a rating. Like all the scenes with a drunken millionaire. It is impossible to describe my delight in words.
Musical accompaniment, successfully and accurately emphasizing any action of the characters, also at the highest level. The truth is that a talented person is talented in everything. But for the first time in my life, I was convinced that there are times when all talents are equally masterpieces. And, of course, the ending. How sweet and beautiful. Tears flow in a stream, and in the head only pleasant thoughts. It became a little sad, but only for one reason - I terribly did not want this wonderful spectacle to end.
Such masterpieces should be seen by everyone who is interested in cinema.
10 out of 10
One of the greatest films in the history of cinema. But what can you write here, if this picture has been admired for 82 years? Such a film is a vivid example of how great a person can be, who can organize almost everything in the production of a picture. I mean Mr. Charles Spencer Chaplin, whose name is a symbol of cinema, because he was one of the first people to raise and cement the American film industry indisputable authority. This is a universal master, you just have to think about what titanic work he did: directing, writing a script, musical design, acting. I admire this man because he is a true creator. But back to the movie itself.
1. Great script.
If there is drama, there will be cinema. Chaplin had a wonderful script that could be remembered by the viewer innumerable pantomimes and buffoonades against the background of funny music, but as a story about a poor and kind man who wants to help the needy, despite his poverty. This story left a pleasant imprint on my memory, because it teaches a lot, both good and bad (the situation with a drunk friend). But not to say that the picture is designed for any viewer, because still it was the time of the birth of the Cinema sound. Children older, like me, need to watch a movie in which there is sentimentality of the plot.
2. Acting.
This is a separate topic, because here Chaplin has no equal. Who else could have invented such a character but a genius? This vagrant causes only sympathy, but not disgust, because his behavior already suggests to the viewer that it is necessary to be equal to such people, not in material terms, but in spiritual terms. In general, this character captivated me with his simplicity. But how Chaplin played it is beyond praise, I just want to add: if a person is talented, then talented in everything. I won’t forget the beautiful actress who played the blind flower girl. She looked matchless on the screen and her acting did not fade against the background of Chaplin.
3. Music.
Music is very important in silent cinema. Because music contains the actions, the characters, the conditions in which they are. Often in this film you can understand what the characters are talking about. And here's Charles Chaplin again. In the film, there are often situations when the music should appear to the viewer as a mirror, since it is in the music that the inner state of the tramp and flower merchant is located.
This film cannot be called elitist, it is understandable to every reasonable person, but the question is how the viewer will absorb Chaplin’s thought, presented on the screen. That's a great idea.
Amazing movie! It's a real masterpiece. Yes, let someone consider silent films as old madness and a dump of dinosaurs, which may be interested in either real movie lovers, or film lovers-historians, or rather the same dinosaurs. However, for me, this is a film that, with its sentimentality, romanticism, faith in the best in each person, in his spiritual perfection, awakened something dormant in me, some kind of bright humanity. Perhaps the film can best be described succinctly and simply - human.
Because there is so much in people, in us all, dirt, vulgarity, baseness. But there is something that helps us to reach upwards, something that makes us better – our spiritual part, which sometimes, no matter how it is destroyed by life, society and ourselves – still continues to live in us, again and again gives sprouts to the light, like a blade of grass breaking through the asphalt. I don’t remember whose quote it is, which literally says that we live in a world where stupid power and bigotry are a plus, and kindness, understanding, compassion is a minus that drags us down.
It is not necessary to idealize the past, as many people do. In Chaplin’s time, society and civilization were worse than today’s world. Perhaps that is why the art of the time, cinema, painting, literature, poetry, were so beautiful, so aesthetic and harmonious. Maybe then humanity was looking for an outlet and outpouring of all the horror in art, inspired by it and for a while forgetting about the terrible that was at every step - poverty, hunger, lawlessness, promiscuity.
Now people are looking for something else – they want to be heard and seen. Everyone just asks, shouts, to be paid attention, while not showing any care for their neighbor, no matter how biblical it sounds.
Chaplin’s painting immerses us in a world where Tramp, a man who has no special desire for something. There is no lodging, no meaning of life and no purpose as such (maybe this is the greatest wisdom, God only knows) sees a girl selling flowers. He is fascinated by her, he is touched that she, so beautiful, smiling, drew attention to him by offering him a flower. Suddenly he finds out she's blind, or rather he saw it. And it awakens that humanity, that sprout of light that grows and grows more and more in the course of the film. He loves her, he helps her, shows all the care and tenderness that he is capable of, conquering the feeling of awkwardness, like a big child and asking the girl for nothing in return. Finally, he sacrifices his freedom to be able to see. And here Chaplin goes far beyond cinema. It gives the viewer the opportunity to see, it gives every viewer the opportunity to hear (yes, yes, even a silent movie) his tuning fork, to feel it, this voice of the soul, timidly breaking through from a dormant heart, like a beautiful and subtle melody of violins.
And the finale causes tears of tenderness, delight, joy and at the same time sadness. We see in the eyes of the heroine the whole palette of feelings for a person to whom she owes much and who tries to escape from her, hiding from deserved gratitude, being ashamed of himself. In her eyes we read gratitude and disappointment (she imagined him very different and much richer), and love, and touching, and even sadness with a slight shadow of disgust. In this look of the girl and the awkwardness of the Tramp lies the main truth of the film, its Humanity and Beauty. This is where his laughter and sadness lie.
The amazing magic of cinema! And Charles Chaplin’s film City Lights will always remain New, Living and Human.
10 out of 10
I believe that the power of laughter and tears can be an antidote to hatred and fear.
He is very versatile - he is a tramp, a gentleman, a poet, and a dreamer, and in general he is a lonely creature who dreams of beautiful love and adventure. He wants you to believe he's a scientist, or a musician, or a duke, or a polo player. And at the same time, he is ready to pick up a cigarette butt from the sidewalk or take candy from the baby. And, of course, under the right circumstances, he can kick a lady in the ass, but only under the influence of intense anger. (Charles Chaplin)
“The lights of the big city”, like other paintings of the master, have never been perceived by me as comedies, Chaplin as a skillful violinist plays on the strings of the soul, but the works are light, but still minor. I am much more impressed by the humor of the refined and charming Buster Keaton, who somehow knows how to combine the sheer absurdity with a refined presentation. Chaplin’s works are very frank, sincere, piercing, but dramatic.
A little ridiculous and shy man, a vagrant, with empty pockets and a kind heart filled with a constant cane and a sad embarrassed smile, he walks slowly down the street, clumsily seeding, protruding shoes with outstretched noses to the sides, surprisedly studying windows, looking to fall under the ground. In general, he wanders around idle, completely unaware that soon, literally in a couple of minutes, his life will become meaningful. A blind girl selling flowers on the street, one of which was raised by our hero, is destined to become the one for whom a little man in shabby clothes will go his way, funny, but insanely tragic, ending with a scene in front of the doors of a flower shop, when he in even more shabby clothes, embarrassed of his own kind, takes a white flower in his hands and smiles so that it is simply impossible to hold back tears.
Charlie Chaplin made one of the most amazing films I’ve ever seen, his emotionality spills out onto the screen with every shot, and the genuine and infectious warmth runs through the whole picture with a golden thread.
If you haven’t seen City Lights yet – be sure to watch this movie if you already know it – you already know what treasure lies before you. Have a good time.
Bright lights of the big city or continue to study the classics of world cinema.
Recently, I watched the fourth (for me) film in the series “100 great tapes of all time” – “City lights” (1931) – the silent creation of the great Charlie Chaplin.
A simple tramp, getting into a variety of situations, meets a blind flower girl, falls in love and, in the end, helps to cure vision.
Seems like everything. That's the whole story. But can this be the case with a great filmmaker? No...
Soul actors, kindness, lack of vulgar and stupid jokes, interesting moves, musical and sound design (invented and developed by Chaplin himself), and, of course, the atmosphere of those years. Yeah, you're right. It is the atmosphere that gives this tape, a certain romantic mood.
Having created a silent movie, at the time when there was already a sound, Chaplin remained true to himself.
Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in London during the birth of cinema. Having experienced all the hardships of life in early childhood (my father left early - lost the voice that fed him and his family, drank with grief and died; my grandmother also left early). And the mother. Being, like her father, a man of art, she did not expect that everything would happen again, as if an evil fate loomed over them: first she began to have problems with the larynx, later her voice disappeared completely. Well, the death of her husband and, unfortunate situation, brought the poor woman first to bed, and then to a madhouse ..., Charlie was not confused and followed in the footsteps of his parents. Children's dance group, the first tests in the theater, work as a newspaper deliverer, printing house, assistant doctor ...
That’s how important it was to feel needed, and most importantly – a good person. He wasn't even 14 years old. It is not surprising that life itself became a school for him.
Without education, illiterate, he learned everything. Hard, hard, hard... And, as a matter of fact, he could not be overlooked... Having fixed himself in one theater, a 15-year-old boy learns to read, plays the violin, dances, participates in many productions (thus, getting acquainted with different people and expanding his horizons), and, well, gets a place in a prestigious theater troupe, with which he goes on tour to America. Over the ocean, he gets acquainted with cinema and it completely turns his whole life around.
Diligent and diligent Charlie becomes an actor, director, screenwriter and composer, over the years hones his skills, (digging deeper into the process of filming), starts novels, unsuccessfully marries 3 times (only 4 wife will remain with him until death), experiences various political changes in the country and the world, ups and downs in his career, but, most amazingly, he misses a bottle, tablets and rope, and, after all this, continues to work, grow over himself and put new cinema masterpieces ...
It is for the ability to work and endurance that I take my hat off to the great master of cinema, who passed fire and water, lived to a very old age (88 years old) and left his natural death, which is so not characteristic of the geniuses of art.
Perhaps, “The Lights of the Big City” and not the only picture from his repertoire, which is in the list of “100 best tapes of all time and peoples”, but since it caught my eye first, I, with great respect, confirm that this is really a beautiful, soulful, funny (sometimes naive, sad) work of a real master of cinema, standing at the very origins of the birth of a whole era.
10 out of 10
And again this is a cheerful hero, shown in the frame, walking his unique gait. This time it will show the viewer love. Pure and sweeping through the ages.
On the creation of the script for this picture, Charles Chaplin was prompted by a real story about a clown who became blind by the will of evil rock. In addition, his daughter was painful and nervous. And the doctor asked the clown not to tell her about her blindness until she was strong enough for that blow. But this story seemed too sentimental Chaplin. Nowadays, no one would look at it, because now the main thing is as many tears as possible because they are proportional to the big money. This picture is a significant confirmation that money is not the main happiness of a person.
The plot of the film, as always, carries only Chaplin, who masterfully knew how to combine the simplicity of perception and the deep meaning of the story. He powdered the picture with light humor, so that sadness wore a smile on his face. A truly wonderful person!
The role of the Tramp, honed to complete unity, makes one admire a man who is so faithful to his image that he gave himself to him. I would also like to note Virginia Cherrill, who, although not perfectly coped with the image of the blind, but perfectly conveyed the tenderness and meekness of her heroine.
The musical accompaniment of the film gave him an atmosphere of coziness and sharpened the feelings shown on the screen. Talented at everything. The composer from Chaplin is no less brilliant.
The touching and painfully sensual ending of the film made me applaud with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. I have never seen anything warmer in my life.
Do you see it now?
Yes, I can see it now.
Melodramatic comedy. Now at the mention of this phrase, modern viewers hardly come to mind this film. A different movie comes to mind. This is one of the best in this genre (and for me personally - the best).
I could have let my emotions go and praised this film, but I'm afraid it would be considered too subjective. And so I will say briefly: this one of the most popular films Chaplin actually became for me the benchmark and model for all subsequent films of this genre.
There are no tricks inherent in modern films. Pretense, unnaturalness, a lot of unnecessary phrases that cause irritation - here you will not see all this. It's not necessary here. Here, literally 2 lines can cause much greater emotions.
Although somewhat banal, but funny humor and the play of Charlie Chaplin together give that unique effect when what is happening on the screen should be funny, but at the same time for some reason makes you cry. And for me, there are no flaws in this movie. This is without exaggeration a strong film, which can rightly be called a masterpiece .
But you, of course, may find my enthusiastic review not entirely sincere and consider it nothing more than a pretense, disguised simply as a tribute to what has long been recognized and appreciated. And you can also continue to believe that the time of such films in the past, and now there are many films of this genre, much more understandable and interesting shot. Because each one has his own.
And for me, it's
The love story of Little Tramp and a blind girl, in my opinion, will not leave anyone indifferent, even the most callous breadcrumb.
It would seem, well, what's wrong with this movie? The plot is predictable and naive. And yet it's a great movie. It’s one of those gems that adorns the whole cinema in general, it’s a movie to look up to. This is the most genuine art. (Please forgive me for some pathos.)
“City Lights” is one of those films that have no flaws, and if they are, they are so insignificant that it is not worth talking about them at all.
Watching the movie is laughter and tears. No words are needed to express love. I advise everyone to watch, especially romantics.
Well, if the above did not convince you, then we turn to the dry facts. First, it is a classic of world cinema (it is like a book – everyone should read). Secondly, the director of this miracle is brilliant Charlie Chaplin (if you suddenly have never watched his films, then I advise you to start with this).
You know what the saddest thing is? The fact that such films are no longer made. If the film is about love, then immediately something vulgar is intertwined. Ugly... Well, the modern viewer, tired of jokes below the waist, can only be comforted by such films as “City Lights”.
10 out of 10
The cinema of the early thirties - the movie for the amateur of course. Before I started watching the film (and this is Chaplin’s first movie for me), I thought it was possible that the film had such a huge rating because it was fashionable or prestigious to praise very old but critically acclaimed films. The beginning of the film with a miniature at the monument confirmed my guess. I wasn’t very funny at the beginning, but then when I saw the ingenious leggings on the dance floor or the ingenious boxing scenes, I found myself laughing nonstop over a movie that’s over 70 years old!
I would also like to mention a love storyline. A very beautiful story, a really good fairy tale of the early 30s of the last century. Chaplin also reveals himself as a dramatic actor. Cinema without words, but everything is clear.
Watch until the end, a very beautiful movie!
9 out of 10