CHAPLIN C-KING IN NEW YORK/WOMAN OF PARIS (DVD) DVD

A King in New York
King Shadov (Charles Chaplin), the newly deposed monarch of a small European country, arrives in New York to face a life in exile. No sooner does he get here, however, than he discovers that his prime minister has stolen the entire royal treasury and departed for parts unknown. Stranded in New York in a luxury hotel without any money, the king tries to adjust to life in America and elicit interest in his plan for the peaceful use of nuclear power. He finds America in 1957 to be too noisy for his taste, however -- a run-in with some ock & roll dancers leads to some slapstick antics, and he doesn't take much to modern movies or the blaring entertainment that goes with them. He meets a pretty young lady (Dawn Addams) in a slightly risqué slapstick encounter in which he is trying to "rescue" her, and she maneuvers him into helping to plug a deodorant on television. The king proves so beguiling on the small screen that he is deluged by offers from advertising agencies, which he rejects at first. But the king soon finds that advertising may be the only thing he can do to earn enough money to keep him living like a king in exile, and he tries to work the system to his advantage, his earnings from television enabling him to remain in the country and push his peaceful nuclear plan. He soon finds the true dark side of life in the United States, however, when he crosses paths with an unhappy little boy (Michael Chaplin, the star/director's own son) whose parents are about to be jailed as part of the anti-Communist hysteria of the period. In the end, the king provides a shelter to the boy but compromises himself in the process, and while he does make the Congressional committee investigating him look foolish, he sees that he has done all of the good that he can do for now in the United States and leaves. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

A Woman of Paris
Charles Chaplin's first, long-awaited, independent production for United Artists begins with an only partially true caveat from its creator: "To The Public -- In order to avoid any misunderstanding, I wish to announce that I do not appear in this picture. It is the first serious drama written and directed by myself. Charles Chaplin," -- Chaplin does appear in a walk-on as a train-station porter. It is indeed a serious drama but it is much more than that. It is a film that set new standards in silent dramatic acting and directing. It influenced other filmmakers so deeply that many of its innovations seem outdated only because of their constant imitation in films by others. It is a study in the psychology of the vagaries of love. Marie St. Clair (Edna Purviance), a simple girl living in a small French town, plans to elope with her lover, artist Jean Millet (Carl Miller), even though her suspicious stepfather attempts to stop her. Jean brings her to his home, but they are also scorned by his father. Jean and Marie resolve to leave for Paris that night. They go to the railroad station, where Jean leaves Marie with money for tickets, while he returns home to pack. A final parting with his parents brings on a fatal stroke to his father, and when Marie calls to find out why he's late, Jean tells her that he must stay. Taking this as a rejection, Marie boards the train by herself. A year later in Paris, Marie is a kept woman, and her keeper is Pierre Revel (Adolphe Menjou), the richest bachelor in town and one of the slimiest. When a magazine article announces Pierre's engagement to an equally wealthy woman, Marie tries to react coolly, but her body language shows she is clearly upset. Later, Marie confronts him about the engagement and is told that it will make no difference in their relationship, that "we can go on just the same," but Marie refuses to go out with Pierre. Later, she is invited to a wild party in the bohemian Latin Quarter, and she gets the address wrong, accidentally arriving at the studio where Jean and his mother now live. The two are glad to see each other, but the passage of time has made them formal and they conceal their real emotions. Observing their penurious condition, Marie hires Jean to paint her portrait. As the days pass and the portrait nears completion, Jean again falls in love with Marie, but when he professes his love, Marie is noncommittal. She confronts Pierre with her desire for marriage and children, and he chides her, pointing to her pearl necklace as evidence of her happiness. Pierre in turn confronts her about the artist and she admits that she loves and will marry him, news that he takes coolly and dubiously, telling her that he'll see her for dinner the next evening. In the artists garret, Jean and his mother argue about Marie, and, browbeaten by his disapproving mother, he finally declares that he has reconsidered his proposal. He is overheard by Marie, and she coolly confirms that the proposal was a mistake. Later as he sets out to stalk Marie in hopes of re-establishing their relationship, the desperate Jean is seen loading a revolver. At the fancy restaurant where Pierre and Marie dine that night, Jean confronts the couple. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide

Cast Charles Chaplin as King Shadhov Dawn Addams as Ann Kay Oliver Johnston as The Ambassador Maxine Audley as Queen Irene Harry Green as Lawyer Green Phil Brown as Headmaster Michael Chaplin as Rupert Macabee John McLaren as Macabee Senior Shani Wallis as Night Club Vocalist Joy Nichols as Night Club Vocalist John Ingram as Mr. Cromwell Jerry Desmonde as Prime Minister Voudel Robert Arden as Lift Boy Edna Purviance as Marie St. Clair Adolphe Menjou as Pierre Revel Carl Miller as Jean Millet Lydia Knott as Jean's Mother Charles French as Jean's Father Clarence Geldert as Marie's Father Betty Morrissey as Fifi. Marie's Friend Malvina Polo as Paulette, Marie's Friend

Crew Charles Chaplin - Director Monta Bell - Editor Charles Chaplin - Composer (Music Score) Jack Wilson - Cinematographer Rollie Totheroh - Cinematographer Roland H. "Rollie" Totheroh - Cinematographer Charles Chaplin - Producer Charles Chaplin - Screenwriter Eric James - Additional Music Charles Chaplin - Director Monta Bell - Editor Charles Chaplin - Composer (Music Score) Jack Wilson - Cinematographer Rollie Totheroh - Cinematographer Roland H. "Rollie" Totheroh - Cinematographer Charles Chaplin - Producer Charles Chaplin - Screenwriter Eric James - Additional Music

A King in New York
A King in New York is a work of spellbinding genius, functioning on so many levels -- personal, political, and artistic, all interwoven so carefully and elegantly -- that it's a delight simply to appreciate what Chaplin is doing as one watches it, as well as the particulars of what he does. His final starring film, it manages to sum up all of the best elements in his work from the silent era on, and combines them in a work that is consistently comical, yet piercing in its satirical edge and savage in its commentary -- a sweetly sentimental yet fiercely angry film that was so open and honest in what it was saying that it wasn't allowed to be released in America until 1973, 16 years after it was made. The basic plot of A King in New York was rife with comic possibilities, which Chaplin exploits brilliantly in the first half -- his encounter with the ock & roll generation is funny, graceful, and quietly sophisticated; and the scene in which filmmaker Chaplin's king encounters CinemaScope for the first time as a filmgoer is a more savage comment on that elongated film format than anything ever uttered by the likes of filmmaker-critics such as George Stevens, as well as being excruciatingly comical. Lest anyone think that A King in New York is too much of a "message" film, however, amid his jaundiced, skeptical look at the advertising and television business, Chaplin also manages to work in a libidinous side to the movie, in his cavorting with Dawn Addams in a comical scene of seduction (and Chaplin the director makes sure that Addams is one of the most cheerfully sexy characters seen on the screen in all of the 1950s). And then, just when it seems as though A King in New York is shaping up as a multilevel comedy, Chaplin adds another twist, suddenly (yet not awkwardly) confronting the Red Scare of the 1950s and, all at once, revealing its tragic and absurd sides for all to see. Chaplin himself was more than a little familiar with the anti-Communist hysteria of the era, having been driven into exile from the United States over it, and this is his answer to those who drove him out of the country. He presents his case with an astonishing degree of grace given the passions that must have been driving him, making it seem easy -- sweetly sentimental (almost in the manner of his silent era work such as The Kid) and searingly angry in the very same shots and scenes. A King in New York is one of Chaplin's least-known talking films, owing to the 16-year delay in its opening in America, and that is a tragedy, because it is arguably not only his final masterpiece, but perhaps his greatest, most ambitious, and personal film, and the movie that best presents his art developed to its highest level of purpose and sophistication. Satirizing Hitler and the Nazis in The Great Dictator was brave but not difficult -- they were absurd figures on their face (lethal but absurd); satirizing Red-baiting American politicians was a tougher job, because they had an audience and did present some justification that swayed reasonable people, or else they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without force of arms. Moreover, A King in New York is a film with a great deal of heart as well as sentiment -- the king's wistful farewell to the United States not only reflected Chaplin's own relationship with America, but resonates in a manner similar to the closing lines of Shakespeare's The Tempest, as the author's adieu. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
 

A Woman of Paris
(not reviewed)
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, Por, Mandarin, TH Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: A King in New York: Introduction by Charles Chaplin biographer David Robinson "Chaplin Today: A King in New York" documentary by Jérôme de Missolz with the participation of Jim Jarmusch 14 deleted scenes Mandolin serenade conducted by Chaplin Photo gallery Film posters Trailers The Chaplin collection A Woman of Paris: "Chaplin Today: A Woman of Paris" documentary by Mathias Ledoux with the participation of Liv Ullmann Deleted shots Signing the contract creating United Artists Images of Paris in the 1920s "Camille," a 1926 amateur movie by Ralph Barton based on "La Dame aux Camélias" Photo gallery Film posters Trailers The Chaplin Collection DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: G DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 178 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- A King in New York 1. Directed by Charles Chaplin [1:22] 2. One of the Minor Annoyances of Modern Life [3:55] 3. Coming Attractions [5:27] 4. Caviar and Turtle Soup [1:47] 5. The Queen [6:59] 6. The Bathroom [4:37] 7. Real Life [11:27] 8. $20,000 [3:59] 9. The Progressive School [7:09] 10. Royal Crown Whisky [8:25] 11. Plastic Surgery [5:15] 12. Undone [4:56] 13. The King's Nephew [7:07] 14. The Atomic Commission [3:42] 15. Rupert Macabee [5:15] 16. A Royal Communist [1:07] 17. The Fire Hose [5:14] 18. Back to the Continent [7:44] 19. Nothing to Worry About [:42] 20. Finis [2:16] 1. Chapter 1 [:57] 2. Chapter 2 [1:08] 3. Chapter 3 [:48] 4. Chapter 4 [:52] 5. Chapter 5 [:54] 6. Chapter 6 [:47] 7. Chapter 7 [:43] 8. Chapter 8 [:45] 9. Chapter 9 [:51] 10. Chapter 10 [:44] 11. Chapter 11 [:49] 12. Chapter 12 [1:17] 12. Chapter 13 [1:17] 12. Chapter 14 [1:17] Side #2 -- A Woman of Paris 1. Directed by Chales Chaplin [1:04] 2. Locked Out [5:43] 3. The Son [3:02] 4. Death of a Father [5:44] 5. Champagne Truffles [6:03] 6. Engagement Announced [5:22] 7. Depressed [2:37] 8. Quartier Latin [3:07] 9. Jean [4:03] 10. The Gown [4:36] 11. Le Portrait [3:07] 12. Marriage or Luxury [6:19] 13. Mother and Son [3:00] 14. Night [4:52] 15. Dinner Tomorrow [4:41] 16. Remorse and Despair [2:13] 17. The Last Time [4:41] 18. Vengeance [3:28] 19. The Secret of Happiness [2:13] 20. Whatever Became of Marie St. Clair [1:42] 1. Chapter 1 [:57] 2. Chapter 2 [1:08] 3. Chapter 3 [:48] 4. Chapter 4 [:52] 5. Chapter 5 [:54] 6. Chapter 6 [:47] 7. Chapter 7 [:43] 8. Chapter 8 [:45] 9. Chapter 9 [:51] 10. Chapter 10 [:44] 1. Paul Robeson [1:36] 2. Sinclair Lewis [:46] 3. Anita Loos [:59] 4. George Jean Nathan [1:54] 5. Donald Freeman [:12] 6. Pauline Stark [:28] 7. Theodore Droiser [:29] 8. Sherwood Anderson [:19] 9. Clarence Darrow [:18] 10. Lois Moran [:17] 11. Edouard Bourdet [:08] 12. Jacques Copeau [:30] 13. Georges Lepape [:10] 14. Denise Bourdet [:23] 15. Berrard Boutet de Monvel [:15] 16. Sacha Guitry [:35] 17. Yvonne Prineupe [:17] 18. Alfred Knopf [:16] 19. Serge Kouasevitsky [:15] 20. Wally Toscanini [:13] 21. H.L. Mancken [:26] 22. Joseph Hergesheimer [:08] 23. Aileen Pringle, Joan Marie [:16] 24. Marie-Blanche de Folignac [:10] 25. Julia Hoyt [:12] 26. Charles Chaplin [1:17] 27. Ethel Barrymore [:11] 28. John Emerson [:35] 29. Sen [1:05] 30. Paul Morand [:18] 31. Patsy Ruth Miller [:35] 32. Morris Gest [2:48] 33. Lili Darvas [:17] 34. Alex Ingras [2:30] 35. Paul Claudel [:28] 36. W. Somerset Maughan [:06] 37. Roland Young [:14] 38. Sultan of Morocco [:40] 39. Frank Keenan [:02] 40. Ferenc Molnar [:00] 41. Max Reinhardt [:06] 42. Charles G. Shaw [:08] 43. T.H. Smith [:30] 44. Edna Naylor [:17] 45. Mary Hutchins [:04] 46. Richard Barthelness [:00] 47. Chauncey Olcott [:07] 48. Nikita Salieff [:15] 49. Dorothy Gish [:26] 50. James Bonnie [:06] 51. Carmel Myers [2:24] 52. Fanny Ward [1:10]