RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / City Lights
City Lights

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

City Lights (1931)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:36

Rotten:0

Average Rating:9/10

Runtime: 3 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This Charlie Chaplin masterpiece tells a bittersweet tale about a blind girl who is restored to sight with the help of that quintessential urban misfit, the Tramp, who falls in love with her. One... This Charlie Chaplin masterpiece tells a bittersweet tale about a blind girl who is restored to sight with the help of that quintessential urban misfit, the Tramp, who falls in love with her. One of Chaplin's best. [More]

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann, Florence Lee

Director: Charlie Chaplin

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Screenwriter: Charlie Chaplin
Producer: Charlie Chaplin
Composer: Alfred Newman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for City Lights

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

An enduring masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/27/09
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Plenty of great moments, and the occasional comic use of sound.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Both funny and touching, this showcases Chaplin at his best.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/31/03
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

That final scene. Last week, CNN asked -- in "The Screening Room's Top 10 Romantic Moments" -- whether this was the most touching film moment of all time. Could be. Either way, if it doesn't move you, you're beyond human reach.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
03/04/08
Mark Bourne
Mark Bourne
Film.com

Only someone with slow-drying cement in their veins wouldn’t be moved.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
01/18/08
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

With its themes of selflessness and grace, as well as its graceful intertwining of comedy and pathos, this is a fine time for a revisit.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
01/04/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

Is this film still funny after 76 years? I think and hope it is.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
12/19/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

Perfect.

comment Comment
12/02/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

The British comic is still the consummate pantomimist, unquestionably one of the greatest the stage or screen has ever known.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/27/07
Sid Silverman
Sid Silverman
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A beautiful example of Chaplin's ability to turn narrative fragments into emotional wholes. The two halves of the film are sentiment and slapstick. They are not blended but woven into a pattern as eccentric as it is sublime.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/27/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

City Lights is a great gift to all of us by a filmmaker at a latter-day peak of his genius

Full Review Source: Cinema Writer | comment Comment
08/20/06
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Cinema Writer

Incredibly powerful and heartbreaking ending.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/22/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Absolutely delightful, hilarious, heart breaking Chaplin classic.

comment Comment
06/16/06
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

A film worked out with admirable artistry.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/28/06
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

The greatest and most touching finale of any film. Chaplin's masterpiece mixes comedy and sentiment. it makes you laugh, then brings a tear to your eye.

comment Comment
09/21/04
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Four years after the sound era began, Charlie Chaplin made a meticulously mimed tragi-comedy that found him at his most sentimental, but no less a genius.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
08/25/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

The quintessential Chaplin film — both the most perfectly crafted and the most representative of all the different textures and tones for which he is remembered.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
07/09/04
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

Widely considered Chaplin's best film.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/17/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for City Lights

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
17
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
159
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
67
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
45
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
43
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
42
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
39
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
21
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
20
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
13
  • 2010 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Announced
10
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
1
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • City Lights at Rotten Tomatoes
  • City Lights at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.