I'm back! I finally have gotten a chance to sit down and watch "City Lights" starring Charlie Chaplin and Virginia Cherrill. This was the first time I have watched a truly silent film. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, or that it might be difficult to follow but it actually captured my interest from start to finish.
With a heartwarming tale of love and hijinks, Charlie Chaplin steals the show as the lovable tramp who meets a blind girl selling flowers in the big city. She mistakes him for a wealthy gentleman and after the tramp learns an operation can restore her sight, he befriends the actual wealthy man and through some wacky adventures, including a boxing match. he finally is able to do so.
I think it's amazing how much that actors back then had to convey their characters without talking or sound. Charlie Chaplin was wonderful at this with his facial expressions and gestures. He truly was a master of the slapstick as well. I was worried that I would get bored or lost with the film, but I was actually quite involved and noticing all of the little reactions and humorous antics.
There is a quality about this film that still holds true today. There's humor, friendship. hope, despair and then at the end, absolute joy and love.
I've seen numerous reviews saying that this is one of the best films ever produced. One person in the comments mentioned that in Charlie Chaplin's hands, this story was able to move his audience and make them laugh without ever saying a word. There's many a film out there right now that struggles to do that with all of the technology and "witty" dialogue we possibly can get thrown at us.
Really looking forward to checking out more of his films in the future!
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