Chaplin's Mutual Comedies

Charlie Chaplin was AMAZING! I am so glad I purchased this DVD & Blu-Ray set. I had heard about Charlie Chaplin and seen some short bits of him when I was a young kid but never knew how great he was other than hearing it from many actors when interviewed or from older family members or people. Well after taking a shot and checking this out I am a true believer of how awesome he really was. Silent shorts and movies were not much of an interest when I was kid but after checking out the Silent shorts of Laurel & Hardy later in life I found how funny they really can be with great talent which is what they were and what Chaplin certainly was. I have since purchased the Keystone & Essanay Comedies with him also and love those also. What is incredible is that my sons which are in the later teens like him as much as I do. Now something I want to tell you is that my boys and I are big Three Stooges, Honeymooners and Laurel & Hardy fans, if this helps you get an idea what we like. Never in million years did I think that we would be entertained by silent film but we have been. Charlie was incredible the way he did his physical comedy. I have watched and slowed down stuff to be totally blown away to see he is doing most everything you see. His stair routines, roller skating and running on a spinning table are awesome. His character the Tramp is without a doubt unforgettable and that is because of his brilliance. YOU CAN NOT HELP BUT LAUGH! We love how the little guy (Charlie) may get pushed but he can push right back and when it comes to a fight, he's always ready.I do want to add that the picture quality on these films is amazing also. Very clear. These shorts are nearly 100 years old and look great. The music is a nice touch having a choice of what you want to have played also. We now have another favorite for life. Incredible!

This should be in the collection of every film fan. I never thought I've have the chance to see these nearly 100 year old movies so complete and looking so clear. Kudos to all who lovingly transferred them to Blu-ray. The packaging is very attractive and it contains a very informative booklet that discusses Chaplin's Mutual years.I have not watched all 12 movies yet, but the ones I have seen are in good shape. Be aware that these will not look nearly as good as other restorations, such as "City Lights" or Keaton's "The General". The source material is just too beat up. The image, however, is much sharper and clearer than any I have seen. They have done a good job of recovering fading, but the image varies from looking full to being slightly washed out. There are some missing frames and the action jumps, but that's a problem with the source that can't be overcome.Speaking of source material, some of the films have been reconstructed from several sources. The restorers have done a great job of balancing the source so most of the time it is not noticeable when it changes from one source to the other. They also did a great job of stabilizing the image. Chaplin used static cameras almost exclusively. The early cameras didn't have pin registration and often the images of old films would wobble. They have removed the wobble so that backgrounds stay rock steady.Another reviewer mentioned the speed being slow, but so far the speed looks correct. It does not have the frantic look of films projected too fast, yet scenes that I feel were probably undercranked for effect are not too slow.Finally, there's the performances. The quality of the image makes it that much easier to appreciate the work of Chaplin and his supporting cast. These films are just fun to watch and you can watch Chaplin refine his craft over the course of 18 months and 12 movies.

The additional resolution of the bluray makes this the set to have, but buyers should be warned the people performing the "restoration" failed to understand basic things such as clipping of the highlights. Every other Chaplin Mutual transfer I've seen does not suffer this, and as someone who has personally ran 35mm prints of the Mutuals, I can attest the originals are NOT overexposed...but that IS the case here on these blurays. It's clearly video clipping as well.I was also annoyed at the new captions. There was no reason to put their "Mutual Chaplin" logo in the corner AND the title of the short we are watching on each card. It was distracting every single time. No doubt someone mastering this thought the "branding" would somehow be a good idea. It's not.Even more disappointing is the fact that there ARE sources out there that do not have all of the constant jump cuts and MASSIVE negative scratches on them, as do these. The clear lines running through the picture are rampant in this "restoration". Now sure back in the day the camera negative was used to make every single print and the Mutuals were before the time that Chaplin ordered his own personal dupe before the release prints started being struck, but again there ARE better surviving elements than the ones chosen here. It is for this reason I'm extremely disappointed they called this a "restoration". Its not.I'm giving this 2 stars only because of the resolution.

This is the best looking Chaplin Mutual set ever! Most complete and the most beautifully remastered and restored collection. I hope one day they will do they same with Laurel & Hardys silents. My only quibble and I would like other reviewers to comment if they have had the same experience....I have noticed that some of the sound effects on both blu ray and DVD discs are out of sync on some of the films??

Chaplin is by far the greatest comedian of the the silent era. BUY this set now while it's still available!!!

its very funny and very interested movie.price was of that item littlebit Costly & expensive.

Chaplin on Blu Ray; what else can you say? Thank you sooo much

ok

Great job in the restoration of Chaplin films, the cure was amazing, very clean, many of these films are over 90 yrs old, and they did a great job with the sound track too, this is a must for Charlie Chaplin fans