La quimera del oro

Charles Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" is arguably his finest film. He stars as a wimpy prospector who decides to go to the Klondike in the hopes of striking it rich. What he does not realize is that he may find love (in the form of Georgia Hale) instead of money. In the end that may be all right with him. "The Gold Rush" shows everything that made Charles Chaplin the great performer, writer and director he was. Quite possibly the finest cinematic icon of the 20th Century, Chaplin showed humanity, love and an undying want to entertain all audiences throughout his stellar cinematic career. The movie is exceptional in every way. Although I am not as well-versed with movies from the 1920s as I am with the decades following it, I would still probably call "The Gold Rush" the finest film of that 10-year period. Oh how the cinema misses Charles Chaplin today. 5 stars out of 5.

... in which Chaplin tried to modernize The Gold Rush by taking out the title cards, adding narration which he himself did, changing the music, and deleting some scenes. It isn't bad since Chaplin himself redid it, but I just prefer the original.

It isn't as funny as The Kid, not as heartbreaking as City Lights, and it doesn't have the social commentary of Modern Times. Instead it has a little bit of everything plus lots of atmosphere AND it takes Chaplin's Little Tramp out of some anonymous urban environment and lands him in a very specific place and time - the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s. I could feel the biting cold, the hunger, the loneliness. And in spite of this being set in the 1890s and seeming quite authentic to its setting, this film has a very modern feel to it, almost timeless.

Chaplin's "little fellow" is introduced as a lone prospector. We never see him doing any prospecting, but it is later mentioned that he is not very successful at it and gives it up. The first part of the film has the little fellow waiting out a blizzard in a cabin with a wanted criminal in addition to a fellow prospector. The second part has Chaplin's character traveling to a Klondike boom town, watching a cabin for a more successful prospector, and falling in love with a dance hall girl who thinks his crush is just a big joke, at least at first.

I don't think it was Chaplin's best silent film, but it does manage to do all aspects of the production very well and I can see why some people would judge it as his best. And if that was Chaplin in that chicken suit, all I can say is that he had the motions of a chicken down pat. To know what I'm talking about, watch and find out.

The Gold Rush is one of Chaplin's best films, as well as one of his most famous. It has been said that it is the film that he most wanted to be remembered by, and it's not hard to see why. Chaplin plays the part of the lone prospector, a young miner during the gold rush. After getting caught in a storm, he hurries to the only shelter that he can find, a wood cabin in the middle of the storm. It turns out that it is already inhabited, and by a tough criminal named Black Larson, no less, and the scene in which Charlie and Big Jim, another prospector, insist to Black Larson that they are going to stay is one of the countless memorable scenes in the film.

Charlie and Big Jim are left alone and without food when Larson goes off to face the storm looking for food (having drawn the lowest card in another amusing scene), and the scenes in the cabin are some of the best in the entire film. There is, of course, the boot eating scene, memorable not only because of its cleverness and effectiveness, but also because while making the film, Chaplin ate so much boot (which was made out of licorice) before he was satisfied with the take that he had to be taken to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. Another thing that was really well done was the special effects. I am still amazed every time I watch the film at how realistic it looks when there is a long shot from outside showing Charlie hanging from the door of the cabin, which is balanced precariously on the edge of a cliff. Also notice the fast paced and very effective music during this scene, the same song that is played in the best scene of the 1996 film Shine, with Geoffrey Rush.

There is also a very noteworthy love element of The Gold Rush, a part of the story that Chaplin generally has much success with in his films. Charlie's amorous interests in Georgia, a dance hall girl, leads to the scene where he performs the famous dance of the dinner rolls, probably the most famous scene in the film, which was also performed very well by Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon. Charlie's relationship with Georgia is also the thing that leads to his presentation of his sympathy for the lower classes, when he meets her on the ship after having become a multi-millionaire. Chaplin's full length films are inherently more famous than his earlier short comedies, and The Gold Rush is one of the best of his full length features. A must see for any Chaplin fan, but The Gold Rush is also a film that anyone who is interested in quality comedy should watch.

This silent classic has many strong points - it has a lot of humor, interesting characters, a good story and good settings. It's the kind of film that shows how much a master film-maker can communicate in a silent movie. It overdoes the sentimentality on occasion, but other than that it's a fine film.

Chaplin himself plays the 'Lone Prospector', and he is joined by several other interesting characters in a frozen north setting that sets up some good adventures and drama. There are some memorable scenes in the prospectors' rickety cabins, plus some other good material.

The version of this that is the easiest to find is the one that Chaplin re-edited in the 1940's, adding his own narration and deleting the title cards, which gives it a slightly different feel. (These revisions probably make it a bit easier to follow for those who aren't used to silent films.) You can tell from Chaplin's narration how fond he must have been of "The Gold Rush", and he had a lot of good reasons to be pleased with it. There are a couple of his later films that might be even better and more timeless, but this one contains everything that defined Chaplin and his art.

Charlie Chaplin is the Lone Prospector who goes to Klondike, Alaska in search of gold.There he meets and falls in love to beautiful Georgia (Georgia Hale).In cold and snowy Alaska he rambles forward looking for gold with his fellow prospector Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain) thinking of her.A genius called Charlie Chaplin made in 1925 this silent movie masterpiece known as The Gold Rush.Now nearly 80 years after the film was made we get to watch this genius in a tramp suit doing his job.And he did it well.Better than probably anybody.He could make us laugh and he could make us cry.Maybe even both of those at the same time.Chaplin realized that every good comedy has a little tragedy. Of course I have to give credits to other actors as well.Mack Swain as Big Jim McKay is not only a big man, he's also big at his acting skills. Georgia Hale is as beautiful of woman as she is a great actress. The Gold Rush is filled with marvelous scenes.The most memorable is the shoe-eating scene.Chaplin on the dance floor is also something to remember.Through the movie you can hear the score Chaplin composed to this movie.It works perfectly.Just like the whole movie.It's pure gold from the beginning till the end.