The Chaplin Collection vol. 2 - 3/2/04

Of course, the big question is will these be PAL to NTSC conversions? And The Chaplin Revue looks to be an R1 exclusive and not part of the R2 box sets.

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So many films, so little time...

Great. I JUST bought the R2 version of this. So no documentary for me... But at least I can get the "Chaplin Revue" disc...

If this suffers from the same PAL speedup as vol. 1, then I'll just stick with the versions I currently have. If not, then I'd probably rebuy them.

Groovy.

I know there were a few short films on the R2 releases (The Champion and My Boy, I believe). Any word on those being on the R1 releases?

I hope The Chaplin Revue and The Kid will include the rest of the First National films.

I'm looking forward to this set also. I baught Volume 1 and the transfers were oustanding

I didn't get the first set, and now may get the two at the same time. Can anybody expand on the transfer issues. Some are saying that they're outstanding, and some are criticizing them. Also, browsing Amazon.com, there are so many Chaplin compliations, I wonder which are the best to get, to get the shorts and things. There is a large 12-disc set I believe. Is that any good, in terms of transfers? I'd love to have the definite complete Chaplin collection.

Hi Paul,

Get Volume 1 same cover as the second one coming out in march they include:

Modern Times/Liemlight/The Gold Rush/The Great Dictator

PS The transfers look great!

Yeah that's the one I meant. But I was wondering, since there are so many different collections of shorts, I was just wondering which are the best to go with, which are most comprehensive and have best transfers.

The first batch was just a PAL transfer, which means, for example, that the 87 minute film Modern Times plays in 83 minutes. In other words everything is sped up. One can argue about how noticeable it is, but it is unacceptable for me.

There was considerable debate about the quality of the images on the M2K dvds, but you can judge for yourself. Go here http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/, click on L and go to the Limelight review and scroll down for some interesting screen captures, then judge for yourself.

Regarding the First National shorts:

A Dog's Life (1918; 3 reels*)
Shoulder Arms (1918; 3 reels)
Sunnyside (1919; 2 reels)
A Day's Pleasure (1919; 2 reels)
The Idle Class (1921; 2 reels)
Pay Day (1922; 2 reels)
The Pilgrim (1923; 4 reels)

*One reel of film lasts approximately 15 minutes, depending upon the playback speed

The September 2002 Press Release clearly states:


Re-reading the announcement in the first post of this thread, I discovered that the second R1 box set will contain The Chaplin Revue, described as
This sounds like a horrible decision to me. Why oh why did Chaplin have to muck around with his classic silent films in the 50s? (and why does his estate feel obliged to perpetuate these versions??)

Three questions:

1. Why release "The Chaplin Revue" instead of restoring all the First National shorts? (probably a decision of the Chaplin Estate)
2. Why wasn't this included in the R2 (UK) "Complete" box set? (Rights issues?)
3. Why leave out the other shorts? (Sunnyside, A Day's Pleasure, The Idle Class, Pay Day)??

Anyone?

Edited with corrections.

Brian

Thanks for all the info and now I know what to buy and where.

Good to have a multi region player

The situation concerning the First Nationals really is weird. We aren't or don't appear to be getting any of them apart from The Kid in the UK. If the region 1 releases mirror the R2s then our friends across the pond are only getting those in the Chaplin Revue.

I'm wondering are there any further releases coming from the Chaplin estate because restored versions of these shorts do appear to be available.

Sky Cinema in the UK are showing all of them individually over the festive period and also would you believe there is a showing of The Chaplin Revue ! Why show them along with some features and some of the Chaplin Today docs if these aren't the latest restored versions ? Then not to include them on the DVD sets seems plainly ridiculous !

Then again some of the First Nationals never saw the light of day on VHS at least in the UK. The neglect of this period of Chaplin's career appears set to continue. Fortunately I'm lucky enough to have a DVD recorder so I can complete my Chaplin collection that way. For others it would be such a shame if you missed out on the four shorts Brian mentions aside from the fact that the others will be the 1959 revue versions. Will that disc have alternate versions etc like the silent Gold Rush ?

The 2-disc Warner/mk2 release of The Gold Rush contains both the original 1925 version and Chaplin's unfortunate 1942 version with narration (which is given top billing in the set).

For those interested in the upcoming release, here are the details I received today from WB. I have cut & pasted the info from their email attachment. Not sure if there is anything new here, info wise, but here it is.

Herb.

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Warner Home Video Announces

The Chaplin Collection:

Volume 2


The Kid, The Circus, City Lights, A King in New York, A Woman of Paris, Monsieur Verdoux

and Chaplin Revue Debut March 2

Richard Schickel's Oscar® Contender, the acclaimed documentary tribute, Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin,

offered exclusively in Wave 2 boxed giftset


Burbank, Calif., December 16, 2003 -The second wave of titles in The Chaplin Collection -- The Kid, The Circus, City Lights, A King in New York and A Woman of Paris, Monsieur Verdoux and Chaplin Revue -- is being released on DVD March 2 from Warner Home Video (WHV) and MK2. These timeless masterpieces from one of the most influential artists in motion picture history round out the catalog offerings first released last July (The Gold Rush, The Great Dictator, Limelight and Modern Times.)

All films have again been digitally re-mastered from restored vault elements by the Parisian company, MK 2 under the supervision of the Chaplin family estate. The Kid, The Circus, City Lights, A King in New York and A Woman of Paris and Chaplin Revue, which are each deluxe two-disc sets, will be priced at $29.95 SRP. Monsieur Verdoux, a single disc, will be priced at $24.98 SRP.

The six titles will also be offered as a Chaplin Collection 12-disc gift set. Included is Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin, the feature-length documentary which was a highlight of 2003's Cannes Film Festival and is currently a finalist for an Academy Award nomination as Best Documentary. Created by veteran Time Magazine movie critic and filmmaker Richard Schickel, Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin is an extraordinary tribute which includes classic Chaplin comedy routines plus insightful interviews with Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Johnny Depp and Robert Downey. The documentary tribute will only be available as part of the gift set.

More About WHV's The Chaplin Collection DVDs

The Kid - As the opening title reads, this is "a comedy with a smile - and perhaps a tear." When a desperate mother abandons her baby, Chaplin's the Little Tramp discovers the child (wonderfully played by Jackie Coogan) and raises him as his own. But, five years later, the mother, who is now a famous opera singer, begins to search for the baby she left behind. Unwilling to give the little boy up, the Little Tramp attempts to evade all efforts to retrieve the kid.

Special Features include:

Introduction by David Robinson, Chaplin biographer
"Chaplin Today: The Kid," Documentary by Alain Bergala
"How to Make Movies (1918)" short film in which Chaplin shows the building of his new studio, and how movies are made there
"Jackie Coogan Dances (1920)," Jackie Coogan performs impromptu dance at Chaplin studios
"My Boy (1921)," later film starring Coogan
"Nice and Friendly (1922)," home movie with Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Jackie Coogan and Charles Chaplin
"Charlie on the Ocean (1921)," Newsreel footage of Chaplin's first trip back to Europe
"Jackie Coogan in Paris," footage shot during charity fund-raising trip
Deleted scenes: three scenes deleted by Chaplin for 1971 reissue
"Recording the new score," footage of Chaplin conducting a section of his new score
Photo gallery, film posters, trailers, The Chaplin Collection
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Original Mono
Interactive menus, scene access, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
The Circus - Chaplin's Little Tramp finds himself an accidental sensation when he is chased around the circus by police who mistake him for a pickpocket. In an effort to elude the police, the Tramp runs underneath the big top and thrills the audience with his efforts to escape his pursuers. Impressed by the audience's response, the circus ringmaster hires the Tramp on the spot, but later discovers that the Tramp cannot be funny on the spot. Desperate to keep the Tramp around, the ringmaster hires him as a janitor and places him onstage during showtime.

Special Features include:

Introduction by David Robinson, Chaplin biographer
"Chaplin Today: The Circus," documentary by Francois Ede
Deleted 10-minute sequence
"October 7-13, 1926," Outtakes from a week of shooting
Three home movies from the archives of Lord Louis Mountbatten
"The Hollywood Premiere (1928)," Reportage on the L.A. premiere
"Camera A, Camera B," shots made simultaneously from the two cameras used
3-D Test footage by Roland Totheroh
Excerpts from "Circus Day" with Jackie Coogan -- an adaptation of a favorite children's book
Photo gallery, film posters, trailers, The Chaplin Collection
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Original Mono
Interactive menus, scene access, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
City Lights - Released in 1931, this is widely considered to be Chaplin's best feature-length film. City Lights is both a wonderful comedy and a poignant love story in which Chaplin's Little Tramp falls in love with a blind flower girl, played by Virginia Cherrill. Chaplin produced, directed, edited, scored and starred in this timeless masterpiece.

Special features include:

Introduction by David Robinson, Chaplin biographer"
"Chaplin Today: City Lights," Documentary by Serge Bromberg
"The Champion (1915)," excerpt
Georgia Hale screen test: "Gold Rush" actress who almost replaced Virginia Cherrill
Rehearsal footage, outtakes, on-set footage of scene being shot
Footage of Chaplin boxing with visiting prizefighters on the set
Historical footage of Winston Churchill visit
Footage shot on trip to Bali with brother Sydney
"Chaplin Speaks!" Chaplin speaks for the first time on film during a 1931 trip to Vienna
Photo gallery, films posters, trailers, The Chaplin Collection
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Original Mono
Interactive menus, scene access, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
A King in New York and A Woman of Paris - These two classic Chaplin titles are combined on one double-disc. A King in New York (1957) tells the story of King Shandov, a man who leaves his country during a revolution and travels to New York in search of a new life. With little money, the king begins making television commercials and later befriends a child with communist parents. In the silent-era classic A Woman of Paris, Chaplin's frequent leading lady Edna Purviance stars as a young French woman believes she has been jilted by her fiancé and decides to travel to Paris alone. A year later, she is married to another man but is still in love with her old fiancé, who she meets again unexpectedly with disastrous results.

Disc One Special Features -- A King in New York

Introduction by David Robinson, discussing historical and cinematic context of film
"Chaplin Today: A King in New York," Documentary by Jerome de Missolz
Deleted scenes
Mandolin Serenade: Rehearsing one of the film's main musical themes
Photo gallery, film posters, trailers, Chaplin Collection
Disc Two Special Features - A Woman of Paris

Introduction by David Robinson, discussing historical and cinematic context of film
"Chaplin Today: A Woman in Paris," Documentary by Mathias Ledoux
"Camille 1926," An amateur movie by Ralph Barton based on "La Dame aux Camelias" and featuring numerous personalities of the time
"Paris in the '20s," Images of the city in the Roaring Twenties
"United Artists," signing the contract creating UA: Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith
Deleted Shots, photo gallery, film posters, trailers, The Chaplin Collection
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Original Mono
Interactive menus, scene access, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
Chaplin Revue - Seven funny and touching classics made for First National Studios between 1918 and 1923 are presented on this double disc. A Day's Pleasure, Sunnyside, The Idle Class and Pay Day are presented on disc one, while three Chaplin silent comedies, A Dog's Life, Shoulder Arms and The Pilgrim, are strung together to form a single feature length film. Chaplin also provides new music, narration and a small amount of connecting material to the film.

Disc One Special Features:

Introduction by David Robinson
"The Visitors," Behind-the-scenes footage of visitors to Chaplin's sets
"Harry Lauder (1918)," Footage that Chaplin and the great British Music Hall comedian shot for an uncompleted short
Photo gallery, film posters, The Chaplin Collection
Disc Two Special Features:

Introduction by David Robinson
"How to Make Movies (1918)," short film in which Chaplin shows the building of his new studio, and how movies are made there
"The Bond (1918)," WWI propaganda film featuring Chaplin, his brother and Edna Purviance
Shoulder Arms deleted scenes
Photo gallery, film posters, the Chaplin Revue trailer
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Original Mono
Interactive menus, scene access, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
Monsieur Verdoux - As a bluebeard, Monsieur Verdoux marries wealthy women and then kills them in an effort to get the money he needs for his family. His scheme works out until he meets two women with whom he has bad luck. Chaplin co-stars with famed comedienne Martha Raye.

Special Features include:

Introduction by David Robinson
"Chaplin Today: Monsieur Verdoux," Documentary by Bernard Eisenschitz
Plan drawings and preparatory sketches
Photo gallery, film posters, trailers, The Chaplin Collection
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Original Mono
Interactive menus, scene access, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
Chaplin DVDs Spark Excellent Chaplin Events

1. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) feature Charlie Chaplin as the TCM "Star of the Month" in March. Kicking off the tribute on March 3rd will be the television premiere of Richard Schickel's documentary, which will be repeated several times later. Various Chaplin films will be aired regularly throughout the month. TCM will also promote the DVD releases as part of the monthly on-air interstitial "TCM Movie News," in the "Now Playing" guide, and on the TCM Web site (www.turnerclassicmovies.com), where the Chaplin films will be available for purchase.

2. UCLA will also be honoring Chaplin's work with a Film Retrospective beginning February 21. The film series will run over the course of five evenings and eight of Chaplin's films will be shown, accompanied by rare never-before-seen outtakes. The films scheduled include THE KID, A WOMAN OF PARIS, THE IDLE CLASS, THE CIRCUS, MONSIEUR VERDOUX, CITY LIGHTS, THE PILGRIM and A KING IN NEW YORK.

3. On Feb 13th through the 19th, Landmark's Sunshine Cinema in New York will play an exclusive theatrical engagement of Richard Schickel's documentary "Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin."

4. In March the Los Angeles History Museum will present a special audio-visual display on Chaplin that will also include Chaplin's full costume from CITY LIGHTS as well as the overalls he wore in MODERN TIMES...not seen by the public in 40 years.

5. Harry N. Abrams has just published a new, definitive photographic overview of Chaplin's life and films, Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema by Jeffrey Vance, film historian and former Chaplin family archivist. The book draws on exhaustive research and interviews with those who knew Chaplin and was composed with full access to the Chaplin family archives. The book chronicles Chaplin's entire life story in 500 photographs, many of them rare and recently discovered.

The Chaplin Collection Volume 2

Street date: March 2

The Kid

$29.95 SRP

Rating: NR

Run Time: 50 minutes
The Circus

$29.95 SRP

Rating: G

Run Time: 69 minutes

City Lights

$29.95 SRP

Rating: G

Run Time: 82 minutes
A King in New York and A Woman of Paris

$29.95 SRP

Rating: King G; Woman NR

Run Times: 100 mins./78 mins.

Chaplin Revue

$29.95 SRP

Rating: NR

Run Time: 214 minutes
Monsieur Verdoux

$24.98 SRP

Rating: NR

Run Time: 119 minutes

Well City Lights is an 87 minute movie and The Circus is 71 minutes, so it certainly appears that the same PAL speedup exists in this set.

No sale for me.

I don't have a particular problem with speedup (although I do notice it), but the first wave of releases weren't even good transfers by PAL-to-NTSC standards. I just ended up getting the UK releases, they look better on my lame $50 Cyberhome than the R1s. Lame, lame, lame.

So all the First National shorts are on the Revue DVD ! The title then is completely misleading. The rest look the same as the already available R2s (I've got the complete boxset), probably PAL to NTSC transfers which makes the unavailability of the First National shorts in Region 2 even stranger. Another thing about the region 2s all the silent extras (shorts, cut footage etc) are totally silent without any musical accompaniement which is a pity, I wonder if the R1s will be same?

There is presently no good presentation of the Keystone Chaplins (one of them is lost). The remaining are in the works of restoration in a joint product of Bologna, Lobster Films, David Shepard and I think the BFI, but it will be some time yet before that's available for home viewing--with so many films in shabby condition there's a good deal of work to be done on these pictures.

Re: The Chaplin Collection vol. 2 - 3/2/04

Question; I have a 16x9 television and a Sony Blu Ray player. I've had them both for about 2 years and I set them up so that anything and everything that is 4x3 automatically formats to that setting. Last night I tried to watch City Lights. It automatically formats 16x9. I tried re setting my BD player and Television to try to get it to 4x3 and was unsucessful. The Chaplin titles are the only titles I have had this issue with. What can I do? Has anyone else encountered this?

thanks