Search - The Artist In His Prime - 3 DVD Set - Starring Charlie Chaplin on DVD

Nothing prime about this Koch set

12/20/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This set literally steals the image from earlier (1980s and early 90s) laserdisc and video editions put out by David Shepard and Kino-- so clumsily it leaves on a credit for Shepard's accompanist when in fact there's a new score on it! Stay away from this cheapie and look for the latest Shepard/Blackhawk Films restorations of the same titles, which have much better print quality-- plus you'll be supporting the people who do the real restoration work, not bootleggers."

A solid value

Charles Knuffke | San Francisco, CA USA | 12/12/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The box set for Chaplin: An Artist in his Prime represents a solid value for the price. Collected together on 3 DVDs are 9 separate titles, including such greats as "The Gold Ruch", "The Cure" and "The Kid".The picture quality for the 9 titles varies slightly, however they are all much improved over ealier versions available on video.One striking drawback to this DVD collection is that source Koch Vision used for "The Gold Rush" is different than what was available on video tape years ago. As well as missing all the descriptive dialog screens, the film also omits two key sequences: The Death of Black Larson, and the last shot in the movie where Chaplin and Georgia kiss."

I am a major Chaplin fan

REAL writer | 09/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was impressed with the picture quality overall, however what infuriated me was how the makers of this set made the claim that the music in the films was Chaplin's. It was NOT, and yet the titles clearly stated that it was. His music was far, far superior to the music on these DVDs. His music fit the atmosphere of the movies much better. AND, I was also infuritated that they used the 1942 print of Chaplin's reissue of The Gold Rush, but they did not include his narration. Thus, there are no dialogue titles, as someone else noted, for the simple reason that in the 1942 version, Chaplin spoke the narration himself. ..."

Should Have Been Better

Samantha Kelley | USA | 03/26/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD collection certainly compiles early masterpieces of the genius known as Charlie Chaplin or "The Little Tramp." The films are crisp and clear.

If I were judging Chaplin's work, this collection would receive 5 stars, no question. The problem with this release though is the sound.

Only two scores are used for the three disk set. One is happy and one is sad. The two are spliced according to the scene but get quite annoying if too many films are watched consecutively. Also, since the scores were not written for the specific films they are used on, the music changes can occur quite abruptly.

The most obvious flaw in the set is The Gold Rush. The film was released as a silent in the 1920s and then was reissued with a voice-over by Chaplin in the 1940s. The new version did not have title cards to tell the story. On this DVD, the second release is included- without the voice-over and without title cards. Lovely.

The Gold Rush is unwatchable. The other films are adequate for moderate Chaplin lovers."