Genre
Director
Country
USA
Cast
Charles Chaplin, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Malcolm Waite, Henry Bergman
Storyline
A lone prospector (Charlie Chaplin) ventures into Alaska looking for gold and finds it... and more.
Opinion
If anyone doubts that Charlie Chaplin was one of the funniest comedians ever, clearly does not know a thing about comedy.
Heartbreaking and genuinely hilarious, The Gold Rush is a witty and sentimental milestone in cinema that goes beyond time and culture.
In this masterpiece, Chaplin mixes the drama and loneliness of the gold rush with brilliant humour that make good for the distressing atmosphere, especially in the first part, and tells the desire to make a fortune - the dream of many at the time, and the dream of many today - beautifully.
Then there is also an ingredient that today is in almost every film, the romance. Unlikely to work, the love story eventually gets the happy ending everyone's wishing for, but not before a ton of tragicomic adventures.
Nobody else other than Chaplin himself would have been able to mix such a social commentary with slapstick and sentimentality, and in such a good way.
Some of the scenes are hilarious -- Eating the shoe, the Roll Dance, the finale with cabin out on the edge of a cliff -- and some really touches your heart.
Brought to the screen in 1925, the film was then re-released in 1942, made a little shorter and faster, and also music and spoken narration written and performed by Chaplin himself have been included. I have seen both versions, and if you want to understand the pure intention of the film, you better go for the silent version, also because the narration sometimes interferes. The new version is easier and more suitable for modern audiences, but you should give the original a try.
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