Charles Chaplin always maintained that The Gold Rush was one of his favorite films, and it was certainly his most popular, the highest grossing comedy of the silent era. Seen today, Chaplin’s “dramatic comedy” (his subtitle for the film) isn’t sincerely dramatic (City Lights beats it in both drama and poignancy by a mile), but it’s a laugh riot, as bright and bracing in comic invention as any movie ever made. Criterion’s new Blu-ray release offers us Chaplin’s 1942 reworked version (which he considered definitive) of his 1925 masterpiece, and the reconstructed original film. It’s viewer’s choice, of course, but the original remains the one to see without the nattering narration that comes and goes in the 1942 version and with a somewhat richer story which Chaplin fiddled with in his redo.
The Gold Rush (Blu-ray)
Directed by Charles Chaplin
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1925/1942
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 88/72 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; PCM 1.0 English
Subtitles: SDH
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.95
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Review Date: June 1, 2012
The Film
5/5
During the Alaskan Gold Rush of 1898, a lonely prospector (Charles Chaplin) isn’t having much luck, and during a blinding snowstorm, he stumbles into a cabin occupied by the nefarious wanted criminal Black Larson (Tom Murray). They’re soon joined by Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain) who’s just discovered a mountain of gold but must retreat into the cabin to live through the storm in order to stake his claim. With food nonexistent, Larson loses the card draw and must go hunt for nourishment for the trio while the remaining survivors make do with anything they can find to eat: a candle, a boiled shoe, and eventually a bear which saves them. When the storm subsides and the little fellow reaches the mining camp, he falls for dance hall girl Georgia (Georgia Hale), but she’s got another suitor who’s got his eye on her, the burly and bullying Jack Cameron (Malcolm Waite) who isn’t about to let this pipsqueak move in on his intended.
Chaplin’s story of daring Yukon exploits and love’s hard fought struggle to be achieved gives him plenty of moments to display his unmatched prowess at physical comedy and to revel in the poignancy of thwarted love as he takes tentative steps toward romance. W.C. Fields’ classic remark about Chaplin’s being a “ballet dancer” is no better illustrated than in the series of hilarious pratfalls and physical business he employs in two different sequences in the miner’s cabin: first against the raging storm and later struggling to escape from the cabin perched precariously on the edge of a precipice. The gags never get old no matter how many times one sees them, and multiple views allow an audience to really study his expertise in body movements during the famous “Dance of the Rolls,” his hallucinatory bits as a clucking chicken, or the fanciful etiquette displayed as he and Mack Swain devour their boiled shoe. And even in scenes where establishing feelings for Georgia is of primary importance, comedy is never left far behind as witnessed by his game attempts to keep his pants up as he dances with Georgia or in the climactic surprise meeting with her when he can’t prevent falling backwards repeatedly, always to howlingly funny effect.
As The Tramp’s love interest, the character of Georgia isn’t particularly admirable, using the little fellow more as an object of ridicule for most of the movie or as a convenient male handy enough to use to make Jack jealous rather than regarding him as a person with real feelings whom she can crush with a sideways glance. She’s lovely and always out for a good time, but the character does not rank high among the Chaplin heroines. Georgia Hale plays her with fine good spirits and enough emotion in pivotal moments to not lose audience sympathy, but she’s no Edna Purviance, Virginia Cherrill, or Paulette Goddard. Mack Swain makes a wonderful foil for Chaplin in the cabin sequences, and Malcolm Waite fulfills similar duties in the town sequences. Longtime Chaplin regular Henry Bergman has one terrific sequence saving Charlie from the cold where Chaplin, once more with brilliant pantomime, enacts a human icicle.
Video Quality
1942 version – 4.5/5
1925 version – 3.5/5
Each version is presented in the original 1.33:1 theatrical aspect ratio and is offered at 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. The revamped 1942 version is near flawless in imagery with excellent grayscale that boasts crisp whites (important with all that snow) and nicely presented (if not optimum) blacks. Sharpness is very good, and contrast has been dialed in expertly and is presented consistently. It seems almost ungrateful to carp about any problems with the 1925 reconstruction since we’re so fortunate that it was able to be salvaged at all, but having been cobbled together from a variety of sources, there is not the same level of consistency in sharpness, contrast, or black levels. There are also scratches and specks on occasional shots that had to be lifted from less than prime sources and, of course, there are some missing frames which couldn’t be helped. Each version of the film has been divided into 19 chapters.
Audio Quality
1942 version – 4/5
1925 version – 5/5
The 1942 version which contains Chaplin’s narration (replacing the intertitles) and the score he composed for the reissued film is presented in a PCM 1.0 (1.1 Mbps) encode. The sound is solid for the age of its creation, but naturally there isn’t quite the wide range of highs and lows that a modern recording would possess (the narration sounds a bit trebly), and the sound effects don’t have quite the zing across the sound spectrum. It’s a clean track, however, with no problematic audio artifacts. The 1925 version of the movie has a soundtrack delivered in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. It contains a fully symphonic score treatment of Chaplin’s music by Timothy Brock which sounds absolutely magnificent, giving an epic feel to what Chaplin considered in 1925 to be his epic comedy. As with the 1942 version, there are no audio artifacts that mar the listening experience.
Special Features
5/5
An audio commentary is included with the 1925 version of the movie. It’s by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance, and it’s as complete and thorough an analysis as one might expect from someone who knows the auteur and his film inside and out. Not to be missed!
“Presenting The Gold Rush” is a new making of documentary narrated alternately by Kevin Brownlow and Jeffrey Vance discussing the making of the film, Chaplin’s 1942 rethink of the piece, and the efforts to reconstruct the original version by Brownlow and David Gill. In 1080p, this runs 16 minutes.
“Chaplin Today” is the 2002 documentary produced for the mk2 home video release of the movie about its making and its appeal to audiences of today. Among those who discuss it are filmmaker Idrissa Ouédraogo, Mary Pickford, Lita Grey, and Georgia Hale (the latter two taken from interviews featured in Unknown Chaplin). It’s in 1080i and runs 27 minutes.
“A Time of Innovation: Visual Effects in The Gold Rush” is a fascinating 19 ¼-minute overview of how special effects were done in-camera for the movie, described by effects cameraman Craig Barron with vintage explanations by Chaplin’s cinematographer Rollie Totheroh. It’s in 1080p.
“Music by Charles Chaplin” explains Chaplin’s musical acumen and methodology on several films as described by Timothy Brock who’s composed and conducted for Chaplin’s work for many years. This 1080p featurette runs 25 minutes.
Four trailers for the movie intended for English, French, German, and Dutch audiences run a total of 9 ¼ minutes in 1080i.
The enclosed 25-page booklet contains cast and crew lists, wonderful behind-the-scenes stills of Chaplin at work, author Luc Sante’s treatise on the movie, and critic James Agee’s appreciation of Chaplin’s reworked 1942 version as it appeared in Time.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
4.5/5 (not an average)
A comedy classic for the ages, The Gold Rush comes highly recommended. Whether you’ve seen it hundreds of times or never (or anything in between), the result is always the same: serious laughter and monumental admiration for the genius who created this very special movie. Criterion’s Blu-ray release is one of this year’s absolute must-buys.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
