Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide, Part 7

Shorts and Features 1918–1967

• We move on to Chaplin’s best known works: his later shorts and feature films on DVD
• Iconic movies are the bedrock of the Little Tramp’s enduring fame and popularity
• They’re the perfect entrée to not only Chaplin, but all of silent cinema

This is part of a series covering Chaplin’s life and career. If you’ve landed directly on this page, I strongly recommend you start from the Part 1 introduction.

Jackie Coogan and Charlie Chaplin in The Kid (1921)

Contents

• Image Entertainment DVDs
• mk2/Warner Bros. DVDs
• The Chaplin Revue (1959)
• The best of the rest
• Cineteca di Bologna DVDs
• A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)
• Notes
• Related articles

Image Entertainment DVDs

US Image/CBS-Fox DVD

Firstly, let’s deal with the DVDs; we’ll cover Blu-rays in Part 8. The first Association Chaplin-sanctioned, US (Image Entertainment/CBS-Fox) DVDs of all his 1918–1957 output from First National, United Artists and Attica–Archway are still in many regards the best. They followed Image’s first ever high quality releases of Chaplin’s Essanay and Mutual films and were again produced by David Shepard. They were released in 2000 but quickly deleted, to be replaced by the 2003 mk2/Warner issues. They’re packaged in beautiful, glossy foldout card sleeves with original poster cover art, copious images and liner notes.

Though most are relatively light on (mostly exclusive) extras, they’re essential for diehard completists as, with the exception of the 1942 recut[4] of The Gold Rush (1925), they contain completely uncut and speed-corrected versions of all the shorts and features. In many respects, these discs also feature a superior image to all subsequent DVD issues, with finer greyscale and more information in the frame. As with Image’s Essanay and Mutual DVDs they’re all region 0, despite the sleeves stating region 1, and will play anywhere in the world. For years, they were very rare and incredibly expensive; real collectors’ items. However, they’re now back on the market again and are generally at their lowest ever prices, thanks to so many people offloading DVDs in favour of online viewing or (sometimes edited) Chaplin BDs. 10 DVDs were issued in total:

• A First National Collection
• The Kid/A Dog’s Life
• The Gold Rush
• The Circus
• City Lights
• Modern Times
• The Great Dictator
• Monsieur Verdoux
• Limelight
• A King in New York/A Woman of Paris
• 4-DVD box set

US 4-DVD box set

The same transfers of the 10 features also appeared elsewhere on similarly short-lived DVDs. They were issued in Japan, via the Chaplin Collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Pioneer, 2000) and separately, with NTSC transfers equal to the US discs. France got them from 1999–2001 via GCTHV (Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video)/Opening – Revue, Kid, Woman/alt, Gold, Circus, City/alt, Modern, Dictator, Verdoux, Limelight and King, also collected in a box set. All discs also included one Mutual short apiece and some minor text-based extras. Most were also reissued as 2on1 discs: Revue/Gold, Woman/Dictator, City/King and Modern/Verdoux. As compared to the US and Japanese discs, the French releases all have slightly inferior NTSC–PAL transfers; the exact opposite of the compromised US mk2/Warner DVDs below.

US Image/CBS-Fox DVD

In 2001, Warner Bros. issued them in Italy as four 2on1 DVDs and, strangely, two separate: Kid/Modern, Gold/Dictator, City/King, Woman/Circus, Verdoux and Limelight. Germany too, got Gold, City, Modern, Dictator, Limelight and King (Kinowelt, 1999–2000). Other than these particular DVDs, the original versions of Chaplin’s films haven’t been issued anywhere, on any format, before or since. If you’re a true fan, grab ’em!

Also of interest, The Professor is an unreleased film conceived during Chaplin’s First National contract:

Article, intro, featurette

Drawing extensively on the Chaplin family archives and others, this excellent book covers this period of his career in the greatest detail to date:

• The Early Years of CC: Final Shorts and First [National] Features (2023) – Lisa Stein Haven

mk2/Warner Bros. DVDs

UK mk2/Warner DVD box set

One of the best and most cost-effective ways to acquire Chaplin’s entire official, restored 1918–1957 output in almost one fell swoop is via The Chaplin Collection (2003, mk2/Warner) 18-disc UK box set. This is still one of the most comprehensive Chaplin collections ever issued and, apart from a couple of very rare exceptions described below, has never been beaten. In fact, it’s one of the most comprehensive DVD box sets issued anywhere, ever. It’s a beautifully designed item that includes a sturdy outer box, foldout Digipak cases for the discs and glossy informative booklets for every film. As if all that wasn’t enough, it’s absolutely packed to the gills with then new, yet still-unsurpassed extras featuring the world’s leading Chaplin experts, toplined by 10 introductions courtesy of our own dear David Robinson.

Most of the films are two-disc affairs, with the film itself solely occupying the first and a second disc of goodies. Among those, the surprise star of the show was the first home video appearance of Photoplay Productions’ 1993 reconstruction of The Gold Rush (1925), in its original – and by far best – silent incarnation. As an added bonus, every short and feature has audio in a choice of original 2.0 mono or quite tastefully remixed 5.1 surround. This collection is near-perfect[1] and hasn’t come close to being equalled by subsequent DVD reissues. In fact, the transfers and extras created for this set have formed the basis for almost every official release since. Note that as with all official Chaplin releases worldwide, original English intertitles are retained, with optional foreign subtitles as appropriate. This also applies to the audio of their mostly English language extras; only the menus and packaging are translated.

All trailers

The Chaplin Collection was only issued in its entirety in the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia and Japan. Italy and Spain got most, but not all, of the mk2/Warner DVDs issued individually. More recent non-US licensees of the Chaplin features worldwide (the UK’s Park Circus[2], Germany’s Kinowelt, etc.) have reissued the same transfers as single discs in more basic packaging, also discarding the booklets and many of the extras. Artificial Eye are the UK licensees since 2015 and have released their own excellent versions of Chaplin’s features. Criterion, the current licensees of Chaplin in the US, are slowly reissuing the films in their own expensive but very high quality editions. So far they’ve released around two thirds of them. For more info, see: Charting Charlie Chaplin on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD.

The UK mk2/Warner box was later reissued twice: Firstly, the same 18 discs were repackaged in a slimmer box with slimline plastic DVD cases. They were shorn of the booklets and fancy Digipak sleeves but that edition is still worth picking up if you can get it cheaply enough. To avoid disappointment, just be careful to check which version you’re buying. Secondly, it was split into two similar-looking sets titled, appropriately enough, Volumes One and Two. However, these had only 11 discs between them with no extras; avoid.

Clips, documentaries, etc

In Germany, The Chaplin Collection was only issued as three box sets: vols 1, 2, 3. Between them they contain everything except, strangely, the separately-issued Monsieur Verdoux (1947). The original French mk2/Warner box is a 17-disc affair. This time it loses the separately-issued documentary, Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (Charles Chaplin: L’Homme et l’artiste, 2003). Additionally, the lucky French later had two near-equivalent reissue box sets. In the US the mk2/Warner DVDs were also only issued as two separate boxes, Volumes One and Two. Between them they contain a total of 20 discs, as The Chaplin Revue was included in the second set. Having said all that, there are additional issues with the US discs’ transfers, so they should be avoided if possible.[3] Japan’s take on the collection was again released in two volumes, this time titled Love Chaplin! Collectors’ Edition Box 1 and Box 2, with a total of 18 discs.

The US, French and German box sets are generally very expensive nowadays. Even after importing, the UK edition usually remains the cheapest option, wherever you live.

Coffret Prestige Limitée et Numérotée French box set

The mk2/Warner DVDs have been relabelled and repackaged several times, particularly in France, the home of Association Chaplin and where the collection was produced. The most significant example is the Coffret Prestige Limitée et Numérotée (19 discs, including The Chaplin Revue). It’s a prestigious affair indeed, with various exclusives including a large hardback book, Best Chaplin (2007, also available separately in paperback), and 20 enveloped art cards and postcards, both of which fit in an attractive cut-out slipcase. That’s not all: there’s also a CD of Chaplin’s songs, sung by himself and others, and five reproduction theatrical posters. Phew. But surpassing even that is a humongous box set including every film covered in this article: the 250-limited edition, 20-DVD/78-film (!) Chaplin: A Obra Completa/alt (2020) from Versátil in Brazil.

The Chaplin Revue (1959)

US mk2/Warner DVD

For some reason The Chaplin Revue, a 1959 reissue compilation of three First National shorts, was only ever released separately in most countries by mk2/Warner, some time after the box sets. Its two discs also contain the remaining First National shorts and copious extras. Sadly, in the UK, Spain and Japan it was packaged in a regular DVD keep case with no booklet. The US, Italian, German and French Revue DVDs came in the same elaborate foldout Digipak sleeve as the other films, though again sans a booklet. Sadder still, all used older transfers for the non-Revue shorts; these were redone and much improved a few years later. It also has the mastering fault inherent in the whole mk2/Warner Collection.

In this case, as the UK mk2/Warner and Park Circus sets have the same extras, transfer-wise you’d be better off with the latter or any other 2-disc, post-2003 issue. The more recent single-disc Artificial Eye Revue, while excellent, splits three of the remaining shorts off onto some of their other Chaplin discs. As long as you get the AE Collection BD or DVD box set, you’ll still have all the First National shorts.

The best of the rest

French 18-DVD L’intégrale des films

There are various more recent DVD box sets and while they don’t feature the lavish packaging and booklets of the Mk2/Warner Collection DVDs, nor do they have their common mastering fault. There are just three other more or less complete extras-packed Euro releases available. Charlie Chaplin: The Collection (2011) from Park Circus is a good bet and features all the main extras from the mk2/Warner DVDs. However, it’s becoming increasingly scarce, especially outside of the UK. Artificial Eye’s more recent collection (2015) is your cheapest option but missing out on the essential original silent version of The Gold Rush. For that you’ll need this or preferably this.

But the best latterday box set by far is The French Charles Chaplin: L’intégrale des films (2015, mk2/Potemkine) with its 18 discs, including A Countess from Hong Kong and the silent Gold Rush, all stored in the cardboard leaves of a large hardback book, itself housed in a sturdy slipcase. From December 2017, mk2/Potemkine in France have produced similarly highly-specced DVDs and BDs of Chaplin’s First Nationals, with the former collected in the 10-DVD Le Cinéma de CC (2019). Most have new restored transfers and French-language extras but all English content, including the features themselves, has forced French subtitles.

There are other ‘complete’ box sets available but they’re all basic film-only discs devoid of extras, save perhaps a solitary trailer. Also, none have the original Gold Rush and some omit The Chaplin Revue. Examples of these include Raccolta (Italy), Le cinéma de Charles Chaplin (France, reissue), Obras maestras One/Two/Complete (Spain), Collection Chaplin (Holland, reissue), Brazil, Mexico and the Classic Collection (India).

Cineteca di Bologna DVDs

Though they stopped at six films, I’ll give a special mention to the completely bilingual (English and Italian) 2-DVD sets from 2015–2017. The Kid, The Gold Rush (silent version), The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator are part of the Cineteca di Bologna’s DVD Con libro series. Each is accompanied by a paperback book with 70-odd pages stuffed with rare images and new essays by leading Chaplin scholars. Their generous extras are a mixture of some going back to 2003 and the mk2/warner DVDs, and some new, specially produced exclusives. They all feature the latest restorations and have various unique surprises, like the fact Kid, Gold and Modern have new orchestral scores conducted by Timothy Brock.

A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

This German Explosive Media DVD features rettoled artwork from the French Grande poster by Jean Mascii

Image gallery

• US: Universal DVD (2003), also in Marlon Brando 4-Movie Collection
• [UK: Universal DVD (2005), also in 6-DVD Screen Goddess Collection: Sophia Loren – wrong aspect ratio]
• Italy: Universal DVD (2005)

Chaplin released his final film, A Countess from Hong Kong, for Universal. It was his only film in colour and widescreen, and stars Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren, with support from Tippi Hedren and Chaplin’s son, Sydney. Chaplin senior only appears in a brief, seconds-long cameo as a seasick steward.

• Germany: Universal DVD (2005), also in 2-DVD w/Arabesque (1966)
  • Explosive Media DVD (2020)
• France: Universal DVD (2007, reissued 2009), also in 3-DVD Marlon Brando
  • Elephant Films DVD and BD/DVD (2017) – w/French-language extras and optional French subs/dub
• Spain: Universal DVD (2005)

Countess has been released on many good quality, anamorphic (widescreen-enhanced) DVDs; they’re all to be favoured over the incorrectly transferred UK and Oz discs, which are open matte with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Countess was shot and shown theatrically in 1.85:1; any other presentation ruins the compositions Chaplin and his cinematographer, Arthur Ibbetson, framed so carefully and thankfully preserved on all HD versions. Also, be especially sure to avoid Italian pirates Cult Media’s bootleg DVD and BD-R.

• Benelux: Universal DVD (2005)
• Czech Republic: Universal DVD (200-)
• Turkey: Universal DVD (200-)
• [Australia: Universal DVD (2013) – wrong aspect ratio]
• Mexico: Universal DVD (2005)
• Brazil: Versátil DVD (2023) w/63-page Digibook
• Japan: Universal DVD (2005)

Incidentally, A King in New York (1957) is Chaplin’s only other widescreen film, composed for 1.75:1, but every release to date is incorrectly open matte.

To reiterate: the terrible quality public domain sets I warned about contain shorts and features from Chaplin’s Keystone, Essanay, Mutual and First National years; basically everything he did before A Woman of Paris (1923). You’ll be fine wherever you are, as long as you avoid them and stick to the official, Association Chaplin-sanctioned DVDs (mk2/Warner, Artificial Eye, Criterion, etc.).

Notes

[1] The mk2/Warner Collection DVDs have a mastering error: they automatically zoom in to full width on widescreen displays, cropping the top and bottom off the image. This necessitates adjusting the aspect ratio settings of the player and display to 4:3, which will show the whole image correctly. Though this is usually a rare problem and introduced at the DVD authoring stage, strangely it appears to affect all sets worldwide. The only disc unaffected is the American-made Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin documentary. Note that all mk2/Warner DVDs play fine when viewed on any 4:3 standard aspect ratio display, or any widescreen display using analogue connections.

Also, all official non-mk2/Warner releases, commencing from the late 2000s onwards, have improved transfers of the four non-Revue First National shorts. Even more recent, post-2010 releases of some of Chaplin’s other films, from US Criterion, Italy Cineteca di Bologna and France mk2/Potemkine also have newly restored transfers of the main feature.

[2] Every feature in The Chaplin Collection (mk2/Warner) DVDs from The Kid onwards had its own Chaplin Today documentary except for The Great Dictator (1940). One was made but inexplicably omitted. Chaplin Today: The Great Dictator finally surfaced on the Park Circus DVD and the Artificial Eye BD and DVD, making it the main extra exclusive to post-2003 releases. They’ve all appeared on many reissues since and have been uploaded on the official Chaplin YouTube channel.

[3] The US Chaplin Collection region 1 DVDs are deficient in one very important regard: the discs were made using unconverted European (PAL) masters, as opposed to native US (NTSC) masters. It creates issues when mastering directly from NTSC-PAL or vice versa. In short, this means such DVDs suffer from unnecessary blurring or ‘ghosting’ of the image, especially noticeable whenever there is any rapid movement. At worst it looks like this famous deliberate example of the effect. On the Chaplin discs it’s more moderate than that, but once you’re aware of the problem you can’t unsee it. Mastering them that way was a cost-cutting measure by Warners and meant that US and Canadian customers were badly short-changed. If you live in either of those countries and are able to play PAL discs it’s worthwhile importing the higher quality European DVDs. The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin documentary is unaffected, as it was US-made and natively mastered in NTSC. Unfortunately, Kino and Flicker Alley in the US also adopt the same practice for their PAL master-sourced DVDs. This problem almost never affects BDs, though it may do their PAL or NTSC standard-definition extras.

[4] There’s a reason for the generally less well-regarded 1942 re-edited version being continually favoured over the restored original 1925 version: In later life Chaplin recut all his post-1918 silent shorts and features for reissue, creating new synchronised scores and removing material that he now felt was politically incorrect, overly sentimental or slightly embarrassing (eg. The religious overtones in The Kid and The Gold Rush’s ending kiss). He also cut several of his sound films after their initial premières. His surviving children who run Association Chaplin have decided that these final “Daddy” versions are the definitive ones. Consequently they’re the only versions in wide circulation. I’ll write about this in more detail in future.

See DVDCompare and Caps-a-holic for more in-depth details and useful screenshot comparisons for many of the discs mentioned.

Related articles

• Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide: A Film Primer
  • Part 2: The Bad, the Ugly and the Good
  • Part 3: Early Reissues
  • Part 4: Keystone 1914
  • Part 5: Essanay and Mutual 1980s–2000s Restorations
  • Part 6: Essanay and Mutual Restored in HD
  • Part 7: Shorts and Features 1918–1967
  • Part 8: Shorts and Features in HD
• Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide: Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914)
• Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide: A Burlesque on Carmen (1915)
• Charting Charlie Chaplin on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD
• Charlie Chaplin’s “Daddy” Versions: Copyright or Copywrong? – coming soon; subscribe to the email list to be notified
• Charlie Chaplin Documentary Guide – coming soon
• New UK Charlie Chaplin Discs From Artificial Eye
• Artificial Eye’s New UK Chaplin Blu-rays Reviewed