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Movies / On DVD / City Lights
City Lights

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City Lights (1931)

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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

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato

An enduring masterpiece.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 27 2009 12:30 PM

Channel 4 Film

tomato

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 04:27 AM

Time Out

tomato
5/5

David Parkinson

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 31 2003 08:02 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato

Mark Bourne

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 04 2008 03:27 PM

Film.com

tomato
4/6

David Fear

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 18 2008 03:15 AM

Time Out New York

tomato
4/4

Michael Phillips

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 04 2008 03:53 PM

Chicago Tribune

tomato

Andrew Sarris

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 19 2007 03:15 AM

New York Observer

tomato
5/5

Cole Smithey

Perfect.

comment Comment | Dec., 02 2007 01:57 PM

ColeSmithey.com

tomato

Sid Silverman

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 27 2007 11:53 AM

Variety

tomato

Dave Kehr

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: | comment Comment | Jun., 27 2007 11:52 AM

Chicago Reader

tomato
4/4

Jay Antani

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 20 2006 02:06 PM

Cinema Writer

tomato
4/4

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Incredibly powerful and heartbreaking ending.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 22 2006 04:25 AM

Combustible Celluloid

tomato
5/5

Steve Crum

Absolutely delightful, hilarious, heart breaking Chaplin classic.

comment Comment | Jun., 16 2006 09:31 AM

Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

tomato
5/5

Mordaunt Hall

A film worked out with admirable artistry.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 28 2006 03:19 AM

New York Times

tomato
4/5

Emanuel Levy

No review available.

comment Comment | Jul., 14 2005 02:19 AM

EmanuelLevy.Com

tomato
5/5

Matt Brunson

No review available.

comment Comment | Nov., 19 2004 11:05 AM

Creative Loafing

tomato
5/5

Bob Bloom

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 | Sep., 21 2004 02:23 PM

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

tomato

Thomas Delapa

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: | comment Comment | Aug., 25 2004 02:20 PM

Boulder Weekly

tomato
A+

Steven D. Greydanus

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 09 2004 06:50 AM

Decent Films Guide

tomato
4/5

Christopher Null

Widely considered Chaplin's best film.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 17 2004 08:20 AM

Filmcritic.com

 
 
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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...

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