Warning on Charles Chaplin releases -- (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Word now has it, and as was mentioned at the time of their release, Image Entertainment's collection of Chaplin's personal output will soon be pulled from distribution.
From the First National releases through his 1951 Limelight,
these are beautifully produced and transferred dvds.
Soon to be seen as collectibles on EBay.
RAH

 

[Jon Robertson]

Thanks for the heads up, Mr. Harris.
I recently read an interview with Stanley Kubrick conducted around 1970 where he stated he preferred the films of Chaplin to those of Eisenstein, so it looks like I'll have to hurtle down to an online retailer pretty sharpish.

 

[Jim Tudor]

I'm interested in these, but could someone provide a list of the Image Chaplin titles? I only know of the 4-disc box set. Thanks...
JiM T

 

[Ben Motley]

Damn - there's a lot to buy for those of us who procrastinated...
The Kid/A Dog's Life
A First National Collection
The Gold Rush (also in the box set)
The Circus
City Lights (also in the box set)
Modern Times (also in the box set)
The Great Dictator (also in the box set)
Monsieur Verdoux
Limelight
A King in New York/A Woman of Paris
Go here for a review of each, and good, big cover scans... http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue09/reviews/chaplin/
There's also the Essenay and Mutuals discs.
Chaplin Mutual's Vol.1 - The Immigrant, The Adventurer, The Cure and Easy Street
Chaplin Mutual's Vol.2 - The Count, The Vagabond, The Fireman, and Behind the Screen
Chaplin Mutual's Vol.3 - One A.M., The Pawn Shop, The Floorwalker, The Rink
Chaplin's Essanay Comedies #1 - "His New Job," "A Night Out," "The Champion," "In the Park," "A Jitney Elopement" (all 1915).
Chaplin's Essanay Comedies #2 - "The Tramp," "By the Sea," "Work," "A Woman," "The Bank" and "His Regeneration."
Chaplin's Essanay Comedies #3 - "Shanghaied," "A Night in the Show," "Burlesque on 'Carmen'" (all 1915), "Police," "Triple Trouble" (both 1916)
So, are all of these going out of production, and what about Buster Keaton?
[Edited last by Ben Motley on August 24, 2001 at 06:01 AM]

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Buster Keaton is not going out of production. I had contact with the folks at Kino. They are preparing a deluxe box set with an extra disc for Christmas release; they'll also be rereleasing the current discs at a lower price point. So buy Chaplin now, and save your pennies for Keaton later.
I believe the Chaplin Mutuals and Essanays are public domain, so those should stay in print. Chaplin personally owned the copyrights on his films after Mutual.
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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."

 

[Ben Motley]

Way cool on Keaton; I'm out the door now to go Chaplin hunting.

 

[Rain]

Yup, this came to light in a thread I started about the Keatons. I meant to ask the mods to change the topic header to include the Chaplin reference, but I forgot.

I ran out for two of them already myself and I have to say that they do look absolutely amazing. Much beyond what I expected.
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"People always clap for the wrong things." - The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Anyone in the Vancouver, BC area interested in meeting up? If so, click here.
Please sign the online petition against Warner Brothers' recent non-OAR releases. Click here.

 

[Ben Motley]

Some of you might like to know, I just picked up the box set at Borders for 79.99. Not bad, as they had it listed as 89.99 in their computer. Yeah, Digital Eyes has it listed for 69.99, but I guess I didn't want to chance it not being in stock, and most other e-tqilors have it for 75-80.
However, all their single discs were 24.95. Ah well, it's just money. I still need King in NY/Woman of Paris, Monsieur Verdoux, and First National Collection. Wish me luck!

 

[BrianM]

Could someone please specify exactly which titles are going out of print. I still need to buy the Chaplin Mutuals and Essanays but I'll wait if they are not going out of print. I'll be crushed if I don't buy them and they do end up being taken off the market though.

 

[AndrewR]

Does anyone know exactly when the Chaplin films are being pulled? I have almost all of them except for Monsieur Verdoux and A King in New York. Since everyone is racing out the door to get them, I'm assuming their disappearing very soon.
Ah hell, I'm racing out the door too!
Andrew
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"There's nothing you can do to stop the catharsis of spurious morality!"

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Would someone here please comment on the quality of the First National Collection and Limelight DVDs? Those are the ones I still need. Thanks in advance.
~Edwin
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http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum9/HTML/005780.html#8

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Does anyone know exactly when the Chaplin films are being pulled? I have almost all of them except for Monsieur Verdoux and A King in New York. Since everyone is racing out the door to get them, I'm assuming their disappearing very soon.

Everything except the Mutual and Essanay shorts is being pulled. They will all be coming out under another label, however some of them will be the re-edit versions that Chaplin did himself during his later years.
For all the details on which ones will be re-edited, you can get it straight from David Shepard by clicking here
Jeff

 

[Jarod M]

Edwin wrote:

Would someone here please comment on the quality of the First National Collection and Limelight DVDs? Those are the ones I still need. Thanks in advance.

Here's a review I did of the First National Collection- http://www.dvdfile.com/software/revi...collection.htm
As for Limelight, from what I remember the video quality is on par with the other Chaplin releases, which might be a bit disappointing to some people considering that the film is "only" about fifty years old.

 

[Craig S]

Thanks, Mr. Harris, for this heads up. I've been meaning to pick up the box set (Gold Rush, City Lights, etc.) and this pushed me off the fence.
The best price I found online was $74.99 at DVDPlanet. They show it in stock.
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Too many DVDs, too little time...
AFI 100 Challenge - 36 to go!
[Edited last by Craig S on August 25, 2001 at 12:21 PM]
[Edited last by Craig S on August 25, 2001 at 03:49 PM]

 

[Jacques]

I posted this earlier in the Keaton thread, but curiously enough, I got no feedback; so I thought I'd try again, in this Chaplin dedicated discussion...
A few months ago, I watched THE GOLD RUSH for the first time, which had Chaplin's voice-over. Great, great film, but having him narrate the action onscreen felt quite weird. Now, I've just read about all of these other changes coming to future editions of some of his works, and I wonder if anyone can shed some light on why he felt that these alterations were necessary? In particular, I'd like to hear why he chose to narrate THE GOLD RUSH.
I find myself in something of an ethical bind here... I always endeavor to support the director's vision, but in this case... I'm nonplussed. I'd really like to see the original version. Is this perhaps available in another region? Was this revisiting of the film an indulgence of his senility, perhaps?
So, which versions of these films do you guys prefer, and why? How do reconcile your preferences with the "director's intent"?

 

[Greg_S_H]

I take it on a case-by-case basis and certainly don't put much stock in the "director's intent." For example, AFAIK, James Cameron considers full screen to be the preferred method for viewing his films on the home front. You won't see me watching T2 that way, though.
"Director's intent" also comes up when discussing altered versions of movies, like T2 and Star Wars. Again, I take it case-by-case. With T2, I greatly prefer the special edition to the theatrical version. The restored scenes really add to the story and don't mess up the pacing. On the other hand, I despise much of what Lucas did to Star Wars. Hence, I would prefer to watch the theatrical version.
I guess the bottom line is, I support the version I enjoy the most. As far as The Gold Rush is concerned, that would be the silent version (I understand there are a couple of different silent cuts, but I don't know the differences between them). It matters not a whit to me that Chaplin decided a partial sound version was the way to go. As far as that goes, I wonder if he would still feel that way if he were alive today. After all, if the idea was to expand the film's audience, I don't think the addition of partial sound would win anyone over today. Also, I think there is more respect for silent films today than there was back then: many audience members in the forties had experienced silent films first hand and didn't see them as an important part of film history; they saw them as an outdated method of filmmaking.
There's a simple solution to all of this, and it's for each version to be available on the market. I'll buy the original Gold Rush and Star Wars, and someone who prefers the altered cuts can buy those.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

The original silent version of Gold Rush is in the public domain. Unfortunately, no one has stepped up and released a good quality version. There are one or two DVDs out there that I understand are pretty poor quality. Voyager (who was affiliated with Criterion) released a pretty good version on laserdisc of the silent version. I'm surprised someone like Kino hasn't released it yet.
Jeff

 

[Richard Carnahan]

Kevin Brownlow and the late David Gill produced a beautiful restoration of the silent version of THE GOLD RUSH a few years ago. It's been screened periodically with a live orchestra (including here in Los Angeles), but a video release is *not* on the horizon.
Under the GAT treaty, the silent GOLD RUSH is apparently again under copyright--which is why the Criterion laserdisc has not been released on DVD.

 

[george kaplan]

Apparently Chaplin used to screen the Gold Rush for friends and family and he'd add narration and was a big hit, so he decided to re-release it that way in the 40s. Big mistake. Either he was much better doing it in his living room, or the appreciation was feigned. Either way, the original is the way to go.
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Under the GAT treaty, the silent GOLD RUSH is apparently again under copyright--which is why the Criterion laserdisc has not been released on DVD.

Can you explain that? The film is now over 75 years old so I don't see how it could copyrighted any longer? I'm not doubting you, I'm just unfamiliar with any film prior to 1926 that is still copyrighted.
Jeff