Description

One of the funniest and most popular films of the silent era. Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler and Mabel Norman star in Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios comedy "Tillie's Punctured Romance" (72 min.), featuring all the frenzied action and burlesque style humor that made Sennett Hollywood's first great comic director, and Chaplin its greatest star. Also included is another of Keystone's best comedies, "Mabel's Married Life" (14 min.), starring Chaplin and Norman. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
I love Charles S. Chaplin. In the sixties, TV sets were not so common as they are today and the only way for me to see films then was to be invited to go to the movies or to attend the weekly movie of the school's cine-club. Fortunately, our teacher had a good taste and I had the luck to discover Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Charles Chaplin and many others during this period. OK ! It was Nostalgy time and it's over.

The overall quality of Madacy's CHAPLIN #2 shows a little improvement in comparison with the #1 that was one of the worst DVDs I have seen in the streets. Not that Madacy has suddenly decided to clean the copies but because I suppose that the available copies were simply in a better shape. It's always under-average quality but let's rejoice anyway ! Furthermore, the music is rather agreeable this time. At last, the program presented here is very interesting and cannot be compared with the three shorts presented in the first volume.

CHARLIE'S RECREATION (1914) allows us to see Chaplin before the tramp disguise and creation that will make a star from him. But it's WORK (1915) that, alone, justifies the US$ 7 you will have to pay for the DVD. One of the first masterpieces of the genius.

A DVD for the archeologists ones.

Superb restoration of some of Chaplin's most important work!
First of all, I am reviewing the Image dvd of Chaplin's Essanay Comedies, Vol. 02. The Madacy product that this review might appear on is grossly inferior to this edition, and is to be shunned with all your might.

We have here five Chaplin films and a guest appearance. The guest appearance is forgettable, as is the rest of the movie that the appearance is in. Two of these films are Chaplin treading water, "By the Sea" and "A Woman". "A Woman" is only important for trivial reasons, because Chaplin makes his last appearance in drag, with astonishing results.

The other films, though, are key to the Chaplin legacy. "Work" is his most political statement yet, with it's condemnation of bosses and managers via Charlie's boss, who sits in the back of a cart while Charlie draws it forwardthrough streets and up impossible hills. This film is so ridiculous that you wonder how on earth it came together to fit so well.

"The Bank" is important in that we have a truly sad ending, with Charlie's unrequited love rejected twice, and reasons for his hopes to get up twice too.

"The Tramp" is Charlie's most important Essanay film, the one that establishes his tramp as a character with depth. This film is more than a collection of gags, it's a story, and the ending is a shock. Chaplin would later learn how to engender his audience's sympathies before the end of the film, but in this film, we cannot help but feel sorry for the tramp, as he walks out of the picture in one of his most famous scenes ever.

These films were painstakingly restored by David Sheperd's "Film Preservation Associates" after a ten-year search for footage. What we have is the most complete versions of the Chaplin Essanay films possible, something that hasn't been seen in almost 80 years. This means, however, that sometimes the scene in a film will change dramatically, from a clear, good print to a worse, grainy, and scratchy print, and back again. But we must put up with such defects if we expect to enjoy these films at all, for the alternative is to see prints which, while consistent, are missing somtimes 20% of the footage originally in the film

The scores are well done, and the video compression is excellent.

And now for the rant, hinted at above...

It is possible to see these same films in a much cheaper edition from Madacy or Koch video, or numerous other companies. Don't do it. These companies have taken poor quality sources, sometimes cutting out a fifth of the frame, added lousy soundtracks, and thrown their product out in nice looking packaging for low prices. This product is unsatisfactory, though, as it is difficult to watch, and really doesn't show Chaplin in a good light. Do search out dvds made by the Image company, or tapes made by Kino, becuase these companies have the restorations that are worth watching. You will be glad you did!

Good stuff
I am only a teenager and like most boys my age I love toilet humor.
So when my Social Studies teacher said we will be watching some Charlie Chaplin videos I was a little closed minded like everyone else.
The video we watched was Work, and just after about 5 minites of watching I was a Chaplin fan. The gags in the short little flim are ever bit as fun and funny as the day they were released. Some of my classmates just fell asleep, because they're too closed minded, but I would still recomened this stuff to any person young and old. He will give an ear to ear grin on the front of your melon. Chaplin rules.

Chaplin's Essanay Comedies Vol. 1,2, and 3
This is the long awaited "restored" version of Charlie Chaplin's Essanay comedies. Unfortunately when I say "restored," I mean to the best quality possible; Chaplin himself had the original negatives incinerated when he moved from California to Europe in the early 1950's. He was unable to have all of his work shipped over seas. This was the case for both the Essanay films and the Mutual Films. The First National films as well as his feature films were the ones that he kept. When they restored the Essanay and the Mutual films, they tried to find the earliest prints in the best condition that were still available. This means that some films or parts of films will be in better condition than others. In the case of the Mutual films alternate takes were used in the film restoration process (a Chaplin employee had kept footage that was supposed to be thrown away). Even though extra footage doesn't exist for the Essanay comedies, the "Chaplin's Essanay Comedies Vol. 1, 2, and 3" on DVD (manufactured through Image Entertainment) are probably the highest quality that you will ever see for these films. They were restored through David Shepard's company "Film Preservation Associates," who restored the Chaplin Mutual films (available on DVD from Image Entertainment in three volumes) several years ago. Also, they created new musical scores by Robert Israel and Eric James which fit the tone of each of the films in the collection. It's amazing that these films still survive in as good a condition as they are in.

For the films themselves, this is classic comedy at its finest. Both "The Tramp" and "A Burlesque on 'Carmen' " are among my favorite Chaplin films. But, all of these films still maintain their entertainment value even after 86 years. You won't be able to sit through one without laughing at the predicaments that Charlie gets himself into and then gets himself out of. ... Read more

Description

Hidden waters of the deep, beckoned by watersongs from above, take heart to leave their dark solitude and burst forth with spirits soaring to the light of day where the waters join in joyful chorus and race to the sea, refreshing all in their path. "Yosemite: Watersongs," another in a series of videos produced in Yosemite National Park by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Sterling Johnson, brings to the screen a compellingly beautifulcomposition of water and light. "Yosemite: Watersongs" features Douglas Spotted Eagle'sWindham Hill album "Closer to Far Away," an exquisite blending of Native American flutes, provocative sounds and vocals, and contemporary instrumentation. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Fine, not WOW-ing
A pretty decent collection and includes the first full-length feature, hence historically important. However, the sound quality is one of the worst possible on a DVD..and is sometimes annoying..though the picture quality is reasonable for the price. Not a bad piece for a collection, if the Image and Mutual Versions is out-of-bounds for your wallet. If you are expecting a "real" DVD-like quality, you will be disappointed. Though, that is the result of the source itself.

Fantastic Restoration!
Quality prints of Chaplin's Keystones are so hard to find! This is one. Image Entertainment has done it again. The quality is crisp and clear. Highly recommend!

This review is for the Tillie's/Mabel DVD, NOT the Chaplin Marathon!

Not as bad as expected
First of all, this review is for the Laserlight dvd "Charlie Chaplin Marathon", which has different content from other dvds that this review may appear on.

What we have is is three readily available Chaplin short films, and the feature "Tillie's Punctured Romance".

The three short films, "The Immigrant", "The Rink", and "The Vagabond", are three of Chaplin's best from the Mutual Films period, 1916-1917. In this edition, the films are presented in copies from the Blackhawk collection, with the 1930's era Van Buren soundtracks added on. The picture quality is surprisingly good for a budget dvd, the soundtracks are as horrible as they have always been, and the films are not as restored as the copies on the Image "Chaplin Mutual Films" collection. This makes the dvd not a bad starting place for the Chaplin novice.

However, the copy of "Tillie's Punctured Romance" is a horror, a very bad print, missing many shots and scenes, with a narrator droning endlessly on to try and make sense of this choppy film. It is an abomination, and it saddens me to think that people might be buying this instead of the Image dvd of the film. The Image dvd is fully restored, and looks and sounds a good as possible.

The verdict - this disc may pass for someone who isn't that interested in Chaplin, but it is not for the discerning fan. There are many discs to recommend instead of it.

Not bad, for what it's worth
This appears to be the same version that appeared frequently on early cable channels in the early 1980s.

The narrator actually helps somewhat, as some of what goes on is a bit hard to follow.

Overall, it's an old-timey tale from 1914 where the city slicker (Charlie Chaplin) and his assistant (a rather appealing Mabel Normand)bamboozles the country gal (Marie Dressler). It has its moments. When Charlie and Mabel bilk the country gal out of her bucks, they go to a theater and are horrified to watch a story of a couople of city slickers who rob a country bumpkin. Ridden with guilt, they exit the theater as the story hits way too close to home. Marie Dressler wreaking havoc when she catches Charlie & Mabel making love is also quite humorous.

This was the first knwon feature comedy film, and was a good beginning for the genre. By the way, the little boy who Charlie Chaplin slaps was little Milton Berle, who later recalled that Chaplin really hurt him in this scene.

First feature comedy
The reviews on this page seem to be referring to two or three different editions of "Tillie's Punctured Romance." So let me start by saying that I'm reviewing the Image DVD version (which also contains the one-reeler "Mabel's Married Life" as a bonus feature) and not the Chaplin marathon which seems to be the recipient of the bad reviews here.

"Tillie's Punctured Romance" is an important film for a couple of reasons. It was the very first feature length comedy, providing film comedy an alternative to one- and two-reel shorts. It was also the last film with Charles Chaplin as merely an actor; he began directing all of his films after this.

In addition to its importance, "Tillie's Punctured Romance" is still enjoyable to watch. The print on this DVD is a little rough in places, a few times switching from what appears to be a nice 35mm print to a seemingly worn out 16mm print and then back again within the same scene. But overall, this is a quality presentation of the film when you consider the fact that it was made in 1914. ... Read more