Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide, Part 8

1918–1967 Shorts and Features in HD

• Concluding definitive overview of the silent movie icon’s lengthy career on home video
• This time it’s the Chaplin-copyrighted versions of his films on disc and streaming
• There are several very different options for those building a complete collection

This is part of a unique, ongoing series covering Chaplin’s life and career.

Poster by Pete Lloyd, 2015

The Little Tramp’s biggest films in high definition

• The Kid: Prime Video HD
• A Woman of Paris: Prime Video HD
• The Gold Rush: Prime Video HD
• The Circus: Prime Video HD
• City Lights: Prime Video HD

Is it worthwhile buying century-old Chaplin films on Blu-ray? You betcha! His restored features all look great on DVD but their quality improves immensely when rendered in HD, coupled with lossless audio. You’ll see the difference on even the most modest display but the larger your screen, the more apparent the improvement. They make the leap from looking like very good quality video to actually appearing more filmlike. Especially when allied to a decent audio set-up, you get a vivid sense of what early audiences must have experienced when watching them for the very first time – if not even better, technically speaking. Though relatively few countries have released complete physical runs of Association Chaplin-sanctioned shorts and features, many also have them on streaming services.

• Modern Times: Prime Video HD
• The Great Dictator: Prime Video HD
• Monsieur Verdoux: Prime Video HD
• Limelight: Prime Video HD
• A King in New York: Prime Video HD

The Charlie Chaplin Collection (a different one from several previous, identically named DVD sets; confusing, I know!) was the first comprehensive Blu-ray collection to appear. It contains officially licensed transfers and is courtesy of Soul Media, Denmark. It was initially released in 2013 in a compact plastic keep case and later in a fancy cardboard box. In addition to the original English intertitles, it contains optional Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles. The set’s 10 discs are region B-locked and each contains the film only, as per their Park Circus equivalents. Almost all have lossless audio in original PCM 2.0 mono or remixed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround. But alas, as of 2024 it’s long deleted and difficult to find. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, great; otherwise, go one of the other sets below.

Danish Soul Media set (keep case version; box version)

The surround mixes were originally created for the mk2/Warner DVD sets and are perfectly competent but as you would expect, there is little to no directionality. By far the best option is to listen to the original mono, and on multi-surround mode if possible. For some reason though, A Woman of Paris, Monsieur Verdoux and A King in New York only have the mono. Nonetheless, this is still almost the only way to acquire several of these films in HD anywhere! As there are no extras, this is best if you already own The Chaplin Collection (mk2/Warner, 2003) or any other extras-laden, 1918–1957 DVD sets, purely to upgrade the features to HD. The 10 discs are also available separately, under their respective Danish titles.

If you do pick up the Soul Media set, the only feature you’ll then be missing in HD is the reconstructed 1925 silent version of The Gold Rush. You’ll find it in standard definition on the second disc of any of the 2-DVD mk2/Warner issues and the UK’s Park Circus DVD, while the latter’s BD/DVD set has it in the DVD-only extras. The oft-reissued German BD also has it in PAL SD. Note that except for Japan (see below), almost all non-US BDs only contain the 1942 re-edited version.

If you’re buying Chaplin’s 1918–1957 films in HD without owning any prior DVDs, easily your best bet is The Charlie Chaplin Collection (Yet another ‘Collection’ – aaargh! Can’t they think of any other titles?) issued in 2015 by Artificial Eye in the UK. It’s region B-locked and contains the same HD transfers as the Soul Media set and all others of a similar or older vintage. Of course, this means that it’s again missing the essential 1925 original Gold Rush in HD.

In fact it’s missing that version altogether – a major omission – so again you’ll need one of the DVDs above. So complicated. Here, only The Gold Rush, The Circus and Limelight have the additional remixed audio. What it does have though are most of the previous DVD sets’ copious extras and… (drum roll) The Chaplin Revue, alongside the rest of the First National shorts, in HD – for the first time anywhere. This really is a fantastic set and I can recommend it unhesitatingly, with the aforesaid caveats; you can read my full review here.

Clips, documentaries, etc

Rounding up the rest of the Euro BDs: like the Soul Media discs and Warner/mk2 DVDs before them, they’re mostly single-layer and barebones, with the film and subtitles only, and any standard definition extras housed on a second DVD. Also like Soul Media, not all port over the remixed 5.1 surround audio done for the 2003 DVDs.

UK: Park Circus stalled at seven BDs, omitting Revue, A Woman of Paris, Monsieur Verdoux and A King in New York, but at least all retained the 5.1 audio option.

France’s mk2 released 10 BDs (omitting Revue), some of which were boxed together, in both 5-BD and 5-BD/5-DVD editions. Only Woman, Verdoux and King also have 5.1 audio. The first two have it in lossy Dolby Digital, with a second DVD of extras, while King has both tracks in lossless DTS-HD MA and all extras on-disc. More recently, mk2/Potemkine’s newly restored editions of The Kid, A Woman of Paris, The Gold Rush, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator each have exclusive French-language extras but, sadly, forced French subs on all English content, including the films themselves. Four are also collected in Chaplin en Famille (2021).

Clips, documentaries, etc

Germany’s Kinowelt sputtered to a halt after five BDs, none with 5.1 audio, but they do have all extras on-disc.

The Netherlands had five BDs via A-Film, none with remixed audio, and collected in a box set (2010).

Spain had seen only three Chaplin BDs until recently; none with 5.1 audio. Originally issued in 2010, they were repackaged and reissued in 2013 in single disc or BD/DVD sets:

• Modern Times (2010, reissued 2013) and BD/DVD (2013)
• The Great Dictator (2010, reissued 2013) and BD/DVD (2013)
• Limelight (2010, reissued 2013) and BD/DVD (2013)
• The 2010 editions were also collected in Obras Maestras de Chaplin

Spain’s latest, A Contracorriente Films’ 11-BD Charles Chaplin: Esencial (2021, reissued 2024) has the latest restored transfers and First National shorts in HD but unfortunately there are ugly forced yellow Spanish subs throughout. Its box also slips into a silly, binnable plastic bowler hat.

Italy fares the worst in Western Europe: there, only “Il Grande Dittatore” sneaked out on BD before being quickly deleted. I guess Jack Oakie’s Mussolini-spoofing didn’t help. It has both original and remixed audio, though only the third option, a mono Italian dub, has lossless DTS-HD MA. Extras are on-disc.

Japanese Kadokawa box set

As with the DVDs, there are various other worldwide BDs from Mexico (2010, Zima) and identical discs from China, Japan and South Korea (mk2). But they’re also almost all bare discs, some with a second DVD of extras. One exception is Japan’s more recent 13-BD Charlie Chaplin Blu-ray Box (2016, Kadokawa). It’s packed with English-friendly extras and was only the second HD release of The Chaplin Revue and First National shorts.

Another bonus is that it has upgraded transfers of several of the films, most notably The Kid, in its latest, much-improved restoration. The Gold Rush disc does include the silent version, but again only in SD. Although the set’s 12 film discs are also available separately, its exclusive 13th disc marks the only physical release anywhere of Chaplin: The Legend of the Century (2014), a French feature length documentary in the vein of Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003).

Currently, the only way to get the original 1925 version of The Gold Rush on disc in HD is via Criterion’s region A US BD, mk2/Potemkine’s region B French BD and the aforementioned recent Spanish BD set. But like I said, the latter two’s domestic subs are forced, meaning you’ll have to either put up with them or rip and reburn the disc, omitting the sub stream. Though it’s vanishingly rare for most countries, annoyingly, many otherwise fine French releases are spoiled this way. It’s so unnecessary and not always due to licensing restrictions. A limited edition BD/DVD combo was issued in 2021 by France’s Factoris Films but specs are undetermined, though chances are it’s simply a reissue of the Potemkine; clarify for us if you own it.

Chaplin cannibalised the silent version’s original negative for his 1942 sound reissue, meaning a large chunk was cut from the left edge to accommodate the optical soundtrack. Some footage no longer exists in full aperture prints, so Photoplay’s 1993 silent version restoration had to incorporate cropped film from the sound version. Sadly, when Criterion scanned the 1993 restoration in HD, they saw fit to crop said footage again to maintain a consistent aspect ratio throughout.

This was a very unwise decision; The Gold Rush will never be returned to its original pristine state and Chaplin already unwittingly compromised his silent version forever. It makes no sense to compound the problem by compromising the film even further. Criterion severely underestimated the ability of audiences to tolerate a black bar appearing occasionally at the side of the screen, and it’s the same mindset that led to lesser quality extant footage being wilfully omitted from Chaplin’s Keystone restorations. In short, this is wreckstoration. See for yourself:

Another drawback is that the new HD transfer loses Neil Brand’s lovely, intimate piano accompaniment, largely based on the orchestral score Chaplin composed for the film’s 1942 reissue. Plus, it was recorded to a longer, 95-minute PAL master, whereas the HD transfer runs a couple of fps slower, at 89 minutes. However, we do gain Timothy Brock’s magnificent new restoration of Chaplin’s reissue score. It’s such a shame both couldn’t have been included on one disc, as they make great counterpoints to each other for alternate viewings; but then so does watching the less-cropped silent version on DVD, so hang on to both!

As I said in Part 7, Criterion are in the extremely slow process of releasing Chaplin’s features individually, for region 1/A-locked audiences. As well as containing many new and exclusive extras, several have much-improved transfers, especially in the case of The Kid and City Lights. As of 2022, Criterion acquired distribution rights to Chaplin’s features in the UK and started by released a region B City Lights Blu-ray (no DVD or streaming yet) that’s otherwise identical to their US release.

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

French mk2/Potemkine Films BD

That leaves Chaplin’s final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967). It was made for Universal, so doesn’t appear in any of the foregoing collections featuring Association Chaplin-controlled material. Its correct 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is only available in HD on these releases, all locked to their respective regions:

• Prime Video HD | YouTube Movies
• US: Universal BD (2019)
• Germany: Explosive Media BD (2020)
• France: Elephant Films BD/DVD (2017) w/French-language extras and optional French subs/dub
• Spain: Universal BD (2020)
• Australia: Via Vision 6-BD Film Focus: Marlon Brando Volume 1 (2023) w/many extras

Just be sure to avoid the bootleg BD-R (and DVD) from Italian pirates Cult Media. Incidentally, A King in New York (1957) is Chaplin’s only other widescreen film, composed for 1.75:1, but as yet every release to date is incorrectly open matte.

French BD and DVD set

I hope you find this guide informative and useful. It’s the distillation of years of collecting, reviewing and research. Along the way I’ve found some great bargains and made one or two costly mistakes; hopefully now you can avoid the latter… Happy viewing!

Japanese Kadokawa artwork

Related articles

This is part of a unique, ongoing series covering Chaplin’s life and career.