25 American Classics - City Lights (1931)
City Lights (1931)
Dir. Charles Chaplin
Rating (Out of 5 Stars): ★★★★ ½
This is part 1 of 25 reviews of American classic movies. The goal is to do a general survey of American cinematic history, pointing out a film’s cultural impact, its place in cinema history, and its worldview, themes, and messages.
Where to start in a 25-film survey of American cinema? The silent era is the obvious place. The first movie with audible dialogue didn’t arrive until 1927 (The Jazz Singer). This ushered in the era of “talkies.” From 1903 with The Great Train Robbery until 1927, there was an era exclusively comprised of silent films. That is almost three decades of American films. Some of the most famous (or rather, infamous) come from D.W. Griffith—1915’s The Birth of a Nation and 1918’s Intolerance.
However, the two directors who have endured in the hearts of film lovers are the silent comedies of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. It’s a tossup of which one to choose. Both are similar in that they incorporate slapstick physical humor, increasingly unlikely over-the-top scenarios, and often heartfelt moments of grace. Chaplin was known for his infectious smile and trademark Little Tramp character, while Keaton played his humor more cooly and sarcastically. City Lights is a 1931 film, meaning it came out in the “talkie” era. Chaplin is sticking with his trademark Little Tramp silent character
Okay okay, it’s important historically. But the real question—why should I watch a silent movie in 2019? The films of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin have endured for a good reason. They are pure and magical. They are timeless creations of comedic geniuses that can make any type of person laugh and smile. The purity of their films is what keeps me coming back to them. My favorite Pixar movie, WALL-E, takes its inspiration from a silent romantic love story in City Lights. Little Tramp is the WALL-E character—he is lower-class, hardworking, and innocent. The Flower Girl is blind and beautiful. EVE is a “faulty” robot, despite her sleek modern design. She’s the beauty to WALL-E’s beast. Flower Girl and EVE are both facing a world that is somewhat unknown to theme. WALL-E and Little Tramp are head over heels in love with their beloved muse. Both get in increasingly dangerous scenarios to “fix” their faulty female loves. Both end up sacrificing themselves and mending the broken.
The Christian parallels are obvious. WALL-E and Little Tramp are Christlike figures, sacrificing themselves to restore and fix the one they love. The longings of the films are for love to blossom, brokenness to be restored to right, and the world be made pure again. In an era where headlines are dominated by darkness, movies are losing their ability to connect with childlike innocence, and the Joker is the empathetic hero, we need Chaplin’s Little Tramp and Pixar’s WALL-E more than ever.
Where to Watch: Stream on Criterion Channel; Rent from Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes