The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Wrong version, Image DVD!
Review: I cannot agree more with "A viewer from Dallas, TX" -- this 1942 version lessens the whole "Gold Rush" experience, even though the video quality is astounding. Having just watched "The Kid" and "City Lights", I found the commentary on this version most annoying and distracting from Chaplin's fantastic pantomime. While in the other films one becomes engrossed in the visual elements, in this version of the film it is impossible to become fully involved, as the commentary actually distances you from what is going on. It would be such a grave mistake if this version would be the only one available for today's audiences, so I urge and plead: Image, please release the original 1925 version on DVD too, please!

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Chaplin Enthusiasts
Review: I love both versions of this DVD. I taped the 1942 version with narration first on television (TCM). Initially I was repulsed by the narration. Afterall, a silent film is supposed to be silent! When I first discovered that the 1942 version I taped from TCM was with narration, I wouldn't watch it. I ordered this 2 disc set so that I could watch the original version.

While waiting for the DVD to arrive, I watched the 1942 version. After a few moments, I lost my aversion to the narration. Then, there's Chaplin's original score which is wonderful. Whenever you can watch a Chaplin film with his own original soundtrack, you're in for a treat. By the end of the film, I found the narration and soundtrack so charming, I wondered how the original version could top it. In my opinion, the original didn't top the re-release. They're both great!

The original 1925 version on the second disc is more dramatic than the re-release. It comes with the traditional piano score of the day, which doesn't compare to the soundtrack scored by Chaplin for the re-release. Some of the original scene versions are different than some scenes in the re-release. In the re-release he selected some different shots than he did for the original that are more dramatic and poignant in nature.

So, my advice. Watch both versions and enjoy!


Rating:
Summary: Give us the original !
Review: I was really looking forward to getting this, my favorite Chaplin movie, on DVD, but now I think have to get rid of it again, I'm afraid. The picture quality is nice enough for such an old film (hence the 2 stars), but unfortunately this is not the original version but the lame one Chaplin re-released. Here's what's wrong with it: Chaplin un-necessarily narrates the story, the ending is different, the titlecards are removed, or rather, it looks more like the picture was blown-up cropping the sides of the picture !. This is not the movie I love. Somebody apparently thought: "well, if Charlie himself changed it this must be the director's cut, therefore we'll release this version". How wrong they were. We want the superior, and longer, original silent version !. Chaplin fans rebel !.

Rating:
Summary: hey you can hear the tramp talk....
Review: narrated by chaplin himself, a funny story about the gold rush. one of his best. got to have this one... trust me.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and strikingly moving
Review: Not a fan of silent films, I nevertheless found Chaplin's "Gold Rush" to be quite enjoyable. His portrayal of the Tramp lacks no emotion, and there are some funny scenes: the shoe-ala-king, teetering house and Chaplin's classic bread-dance are not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Superior look, inferior version
Review: Sometimes returning to a film and updating it for whatever reasons can almost ruin the original experience the film created (see Star Wars). That, unfortunately, is the case here. The Gold Rush in its original form is one of the greatest films--silent or otherwise--ever made. This DVD release, however, is of Chaplin's 1942 revision of his film. In this version, Chaplin has removed all the title cards and, in their place, inserted his own commentary and music. The commentary is manic, eccentric, and annoying--distracting enough to overshadow whatever visual humor there is. His music, likewise, is overly-cloying, sentimental, and cliched. Oh, and the ending is different: Chaplin merely walks off with the heroine, instead of kissing her and playfully waving off the camera as he does in the original version. The Chaplin Estate has released this version, probably because Chaplin saw it as definitive. Don't believe it for a second! If only someone could convince his estate to release the earlier version, then all us Chaplin fanatics could sleep better at night. One thing I can say for this release: the picture quality is fantastic! I never thought The Gold Rush could look so clear--it's almost like watching a different film. There's also an interesting interview with Lita Grey Chaplin, Chaplin's second wife, about life with Chaplin. Overall, though, a disappointing release of a truly great film. Don't mess with perfection!

Rating:
Summary: "Three days from anywhere. A lone prospector."
Review: Surprise came to this reviewer when he realized that the main feature on this DVD is the 1942 re-issue version of THE GOLD RUSH (with added music, narration, and sound effects) rather than the 1925 silent original. Fortunately, the silent version is available on the second disc as an extra. Seems like an odd decision to make though; I would have reversed that, as I much prefer the original. For one thing, the title cards are much more lyrically impressive than the rather strained narration. Pictures speak louder than words, and the images Chaplin created on the soundstage simply don't need a voice-over. And the rather drastic cuts (the original film runs 96 minutes, the later clocks in at 69) leave out a lot of good stuff. Still, both versions are included anyway, so I can't complain too loudly.

I watched a battered old VHS copy of this film many, many times as a child in the 1980s. It was a delight to get this film on DVD, not just for the impressive extras, but to have the picture looking crisper than ever. While I'll admit to preferring the musical score they used on that VHS release, the stunning restoration work more than makes up for it. Jokes that I had missed because of the fuzzy picture were suddenly revealed to me (I had never realized that the building that Chaplin inadvertently covers with snow is the town's jail). And although this has nothing to do with the picture quality (though it does come from seeing scenes that had been cut from my VHS copy) I also never really noticed how awful Georgia is to the tramp. Sure, she's a bit regretful about her pranks, but she never really apologizes or makes up for her behavior. I wonder if that was part of Chaplin's decision to modify the happy ending.

Watching this film for the first time as a child, I'll admit that it didn't quite live up to all of my expectations. But while I'm not sure that I'd place this as Chaplin's best films, it's still pretty damn good. His comedy is, of course, excellent -- well conceived and extraordinarily executed. Yet his directing is also worthy of mention. I love they way he lets the camera linger. Look at the pan across the faces of the partygoers at the New Years bash inter-cut with the shots of the lonely tramp. It's difficult for a director to accomplish this without being corny, but Chaplin pulls it off successfully.

THE GOLD RUSH is a film made up of several now-famous set pieces. Most of the sequences are now so ubiquitous that people would recognize them even if they'd never seen a silent film before. The movie's successes are too numerous to mention. The dance of the dinner rolls, the Thanksgiving shoe, the cabin on the edge of the clip. These are all unforgettable scenes that deserve more than to be simply listed in an on-line review; they deserve to be watched by everyone. The "Chaplin Today - The Gold Rush" documentary (quite good overall) shows a room full of young school children enjoying this film for the first time. They laugh at all the right places and stay glued to the screen throughout. Chaplin still has it.


Rating:
Summary: "I thought you was a chicken!"
Review: That's what a starving Big Jim tells Charlie after having momentarily "lost it" -- envisioning his companion as a potential meal. One of many memorable scenes,including the cabin at the edge of the cliff and the dancing dinner rolls. Poignant and outrageous, slapstick and philosophical -- Chaplin deftly employs all sorts of comic styles in a film that remains enjoyable to this day. The VHS version is better than the DVD, as one viewer notes, but the former also suffers from what appears to be a scratchy print of the film. Somebody, somewhere, should surely have the know-how to carefully restore this classic. It really deserves the effort.

Rating:
Summary: silent version is one of my favorite films
Review: The four stars goes to the DVD - I give the original silent version of GOld Rush 5 stars, and the re-edited sound-era version 2 stars. This DVD edition lost a star for putting the inferior remake on the first disc. I am mainly writing this review to urge Chaplin newcomers, or anyone for that matter, to watch the original 1925 version first. The re-release has highly distracting and tedious narration throughout the entire film, as all the intertitles have been deleted. At times this narration comes across as bad dubbing, as the words are very roughly synced up with characters talking on the screen. Even though Chaplin himself did the narration, the effect is very cheesy and amaturish, and makes the film MUCH more dated, while taking away much of the emotional effect of the original film. I also prefer the slightly longer, more dramatic 1925 edit, and the original ending, which is just perfect. It seems like the 1942 re-release was more of a gimmick and a chance to make an extra buck than a serious artistic endeavor (kind of like the Star Wars "special editions"). Some would say that at least the re-release had Chaplin's own score. However I think the piano score for the silent version is excellent, despite reviews here to the contrary. First off, the score is based on the original cue sheets, so it is quite authentic to the time. It is played excellently, is well recorded, and is very fitting to the overall mood of the film.

Rating:
Summary: One of the glorious masterpieces in any age !
Review: The gold rush is a extraordinary film . Moreover , it's a masterpiece . A careful work made for Charlot for all the viewers of the future .
The script turns around the ancient myth of the easy richness ; the search of gold and the immortality behind an accident ; to find a gem of two pounds and live as a king in the earth . Hundred and hundred of human beings have played hard with this illusion . But just a few have had the weird privilige to trnsform their lives for this random cause .
Charlot focuses his attention around the myth and the loss of humanity which this seek carries on its requirements .
He will travel through this journey to show the dark side of these dreams ; the disventures and broken expectations ; the crewness and the greed ; the ambition and the selfishness ; the high prize you have to pay for that .
Obviously this simply tale reminds us to Alberich (Gotterdammenung)who decides to steal the gold of the ring to win power and neglect the love .
But Chaplin goes beyond the human ambitions and thanks to his character , he gets turn the rules of fate , showing a charming person and obviously to get unforgettable and immortal laughable sequences which belongs to legend status .
If you have not seen yet this film ; do not wait for acquiring . This film overpassed its own age and blended with the cinema myth to become in a reference issue now and ever.
Refinement , beauty , naifness and eloquent visual speechs make this film a must see .
The transfer to DVD is simply anthological.