Product Description

For the first time as a filmmaker, Chaplin stepped into feature-length storytelling with this tale of the down- but-never-out Tramp (Chaplin) and the adorable ragamuffin (6-year-old Jackie Coogan) who, rescued as a foundling and raised in the School of Hard Knocks by the Tramp, is his inseparable sidekick. Memorable scenes include a lesson in table manners, the bully brawl and the Tramp's angelic dream. The Kid earns its wings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40458 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-03-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 68 minutes

Amazon.com
The Kid is one of the purest expressions of Charlie Chaplin's art on film. It unites Chaplin with a boy he had spotted in a vaudeville act, 6-year-old Jackie Coogan--whose life would lead to the child-protective Coogan Act and a role as Uncle Fester on TV. The story has the Tramp adopting an abandoned waif and teaching him streetwise survival skills. The gags are flawless, but for Chaplin the huge advance (other than a running time longer than his two-reelers) was the exploration of a rich vein of sentiment; the emotionally wrenching separation of the Tramp and the Kid is probably the most Dickensian sequence ever captured on film. Chaplin drew on his own rough childhood for the material (and may have been inspired by the death of an infant son immediately before beginning the project). Jackie Coogan's gift for mimicry allowed him to replicate Chaplin's exacting direction, making him the perfect Chaplin co-star. --Robert Horton

DVD features
Three sentimental scenes deleted by Chaplin for a 1971 reissue include more of Edna Purviance's role. A half-hour "Chaplin Today" documentary, with Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami, is disappointingly sketchy, compared to the others in this series. There's also Chaplin's whimsical How to Make Movies, a behind-the-scenes look at his studio. Home movies and newsreels involving Jackie Coogan, including another 1921 Coogan feature called My Boy, fill out the disc. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

A masterpiece
In an era when silent films were cranked out quickly and were far from an art form, Chaplin decided to take a new approach. Although this film started out as another short film, by the time it was done, Chaplin had spent a year on it, and had taken more shots and retakes than perhaps had been done for any film in history. By completion, it had grown into a six reel feature film.

I hesitate to use the word artistry, because it sounds like one of those words used for films that only critics tend to appreciate. But this film is both artistic and accessible. If you are not used to silent films, or the ones you have seen either lacked continuity or were hard to follow, you will find this as easy to watch as any modern film, and find that it tells a story as well as the best of films.

This edition features the musical score written by Chaplin, which underscores both the comedy and the drama of this movie. A host of features on the second DVD give you a feel for the background and the era.

If you are a Chaplin fan, this movie is a must have. If you are not a Chaplin fan, but are curious what all the fuss is about, this movie will let you know.

Among Chaplin's finest!
I am so pleased to learn this film is finally being released on DVD. I have owned "The Kid" on videotape for about ten years, and it is showing great wear and tear! Young Jackie Googan stole the show from Chaplin, yet the Little Tramp didn't seem to mind. An extraordinarily touching film, suitable for the entire family! A splendid way to introduce children to the wonderful world of silent cinema! I cannot recommend this film highly enough!

CHAPLIN'S FIRST FEATURE LENGTH COMIC MASTERPIECE
"The Kid" is a story that, under anybody else's direction would seen trite, maudelin and coy. In the hands of Charlie Chaplin it is pure magic times a thousand. Jackie Coogan has to get part of the credit for making this tale of an orphaned child turned pre-teen vandal, a comedic winner. When the little tramp (Chaplin) discovers the abandoned baby he decides to raise the boy as his own and quickly molds the street urchin into part of his plan to sell plate glass to the slums. Jackie throws stones to break the windows. Charlie appears to fix the windows and charge a handsome fee for his services.
TRANSFER: The film is riddled with age related artifacts that, even with this skillful transfer, are still present. Film grain is moderate. Black levels are sometimes weak. The gray scale is adequately balanced. Aliasing, edge enhancement and shimmering of fine details are all present and sometimes distract. The audio is 5.1 and nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: a short subject in which Chaplin shows the building of his new studio and how movies are made, a couple of short subjects with Jackie Coogan, newsreel footage of Chaplin's trip to Europe, deleted scenes, a photo gallery, film posters and trailers.
BOTTOM LINE: AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR THE FILM. The transfer is merely above average, though for its age, well above par.