Chaplin Revue (Silent)

Chaplin Revue (Silent)
Seven Charlie Chaplin two-reelers are included on this two-disc set, including The Chaplin Revue, a 1959 compilation comprising three silent comedies (A Dog's Life, Shoulder Arms, and The Pilgrim). Among the high points are the flawless A Dog's Life, in which the Tramp befriends a mutt (among its sublime routines is a superbly executed scene with Chaplin stealing pastries from a street vendor), and the ambitious Shoulder Arms, which sends Charlie to the trenches of World War I. There's also The Idle Class, which casts Chaplin in two roles: as the Tramp, and as a foppish rich man with a weakness for drink (and a weakness for absent-mindedness, in a brilliant scene in which he forgets his trousers). A Day's Pleasure is a lark with good gags aboard a swaying boat, while Sunnyside is downright peculiar at times--though Chaplin's addled dance with imaginary nymphs is pure acrobatic daffiness. --Robert Horton
Customer Review: Steal of a Deal
Being a Chaplin fan, I own all of his movies except the Keystone days. I purchased this because the now defunct First National Collection is 9 (used) to 30 times more expensive than this collection, and doesn't include "A Dog's Life". I figured at worst, I would get a copy of "A Dog's Life" out of the deal. Other than the 2 discs being mismarked (switched) for content, I found absolutely nothing wrong with this collection as far as watchability due to the film speed, mentioned in other reviews. These films are all in fantastic condition and hilarious. I would recommend this product without hesitation.
Customer Review: Somewhat uneven
This two-disc collection showcases Chaplin's final 7 short subjects, made at First National Studios and spanning the years 1918 to 1923. While he began showing signs of greatness as early as 1915, most of his short subjects are kind of uneven, even though he got better year by year, refining his craft more and more. By about 1918, he had really hit his stride, although generally speaking I prefer his features to his shorts. The shorts themselves are somewhat of a mixed bag, though none of them would I consider at the same level as his earliest shorts from 1914 and 1915. 'A Dog's Life' (1918), which kicks off the first disc, is one of the best on here. Everything is so flawless and perfect, by far one of Chaplin's best short subjects. Even the dog, Scraps (named Mutt in real life), is wonderful in his role. (It's kind of sad to watch it, though, knowing that not too long after it was released, Mutt died of a broken heart when his master went on away a Liberty Bonds drive.) Next up is 'Shoulder Arms' (1918), also a very strong comedy. Although this is a WWI-themed film and therefore demonstrates some of the usual anti-Hun propaganda of the times, it doesn't feel badly dated at all on account of that. The main focus of the short is on Charlie's adventures as a soldier, not a bunch of one-dimensionally evil rampaging Huns. The final short on disc one is 'The Pilgrim' (1923), his final short, and also one of his best. This one features the theme of mistaken identity, something Chaplin used a number of times in his work. While the shorts on the first disc are all excellent and flawless, the ones on the second disc are more uneven. I personally consider the best to be 'The Idle Class' (1921), which also features the theme of mistaken identity, and 'Pay Day' (1922), featuring Charlie as a jovial bricklayer who is mercilessly henpecked by his domineering wife. The other two are 'A Day's Pleasure' (1919), built around the simple theme of Charlie trying to take his family out for a nice afternoon on the water but meeting obstacles at every turn, and 'Sunnyside' (1919), where Charlie works as a farmhand and in a general store. I'd say 'Sunnyside' is the weakest short on here; the story isn't that developed or engaging, and neither are the characters, which is somewhat suprising for a film done by this point in his career. It almost feels like one of his hit-and-miss shorts from his days at Keystone or Essanay. 'A Day's Pleasure' has a similar uneven feel, but at least it's somewhat more engaging. Probably one could attribute these two shorts' uninspired lacklustre feel to the fact that there were a lot of serious problems in Chaplin's personal life in 1919, such as his floundering first marriage and the death of his firstborn child just three days after his birth. Extras are picture and poster galleries, a brief introduction by David Robinson (who does the introductions on all of the Chaplin DVDs), the trailer for all of the films in the two Chaplin boxed sets, the trailer for 'The Chaplin Revue' (a 1959 reissue Chaplin made of the three films on disc one, with his narration at the beginning of each segment), deleted scenes from 'Shoulder Arms,' a deleted scene from 'Sunnyside,' the propagandistic one-reeler 'The Bond' (1918), a two-reeler Chaplin made in 1918, 'How to Make Movies,' showing the viewer his new studio and how his films are made there, a short home movie from 1918 showing him with his friend Harry Lauder, and another home movie (I'd say from about 1919, judging by the presence of the set from 'Sunnyside') showing various celebrities hanging out at Charlie's house. Unfortunately, none of the bonus short films or deleted scenes have any accompanying music. I know that such short films don't justify doing a whole special score, but at least they could have put a generic piano or organ soundtrack on them to make them seem more alive. While Chaplin's later short subjects are among his finest shorts, showing that he got better and better as he progressed, not all of them are up to the same top-notch level. While some of them would be very good for a first Chaplin film, overall it's not something I'd recommend to a brand-new fan. Most of the bonus films also aren't anything I'd want to watch over and over again, particularly because of their lack of a soundtrack.