The Gold Rush Review

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
In class we discussed the history behind the Charlie Chaplin film, The Gold Rush, before viewing it. One of the things we talked about was the fact that Charlie Chaplin was an auteur director. He starred in the movie, produced it, directed it, and scored it. This made the film completely his vision and gave him complete control over it. Because he had complete control he had some controversial themes at the time in the movie. He had themes such as cannibalism and scenes that involved possibly eating a dog. The times were a lot more sensitive back in the day. Chaplin also encompassed some more depressing themes even though the film is a comedy. Most comedies at the time were straight forward, slapstick humor, but Chaplin wanted to add some emotion, which he did. He added rejection and heartbreak to the film which was not conventional then.

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.
In the article, Filming the Gold Rush, the writer starts off by explaining how the idea came about. Chaplin first stumbled upon some stereoscope pictures of the 1896 Klondike gold rush. What he saw was an endless line of prospectors climbing up a mountain. He also read a book about the Donner Party Disaster of 1846. The party had gotten trapped in the Sierra Nevada and had to eat their shoes and the bodies of their dead fellow travelers. The movie almost instantly went into motion and everything was planned out, unlike his previous films. The writer then goes on to the choice of Chaplin's leading lady. He started off with 16 year old Lillita MacMurray who's name was changed to Lita Grey under contract. Chaplin had an affair with her and Lita got pregnant. The pregnancy caused filming to be pushed off for three months and eventually Lita's replacement by Georgia Hale. After writing about the leading lady issue, the writer discusses how the special effects were done. Chaplin had built many huge sets and did some interesting camera tricks to get the shots he wanted. Finally the writer talks about the audiences' reaction to the film. People loved it, especially the dance of the rolls scene. In many theaters the scene was replayed multiple times because people loved it so much. The Gold Rush was a huge success and goes down as one of Chaplin's greatest films.


http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/biography/articles/5-The-Gold-Rush




3) Apply the article to the film screened in class
The facts mentioned about in the article make the viewing of The Gold Rush that much more interesting. Knowing that it wasn't easy to make the film and the scandals that occurred during shooting adds a higher sense of appreciation for the film. Everything the article mentioned really shows Charlie Chaplin's talent at its finest.


4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion,  formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.
Most people these days do not appreciate old films unless they truly have a passion for it. I, for one, am a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin because of both his ability to entertain me and his talent as a filmmaker. Prior to viewing The Gold Rush I had seen two of his other films and some clips from his other material before that. The first Chaplin film I saw was The Great Dictator. After watching that I loved it and my appreciation for it slowly grew even more over time. The second film I saw was Modern Times which I found very entertaining as well. I can now proudly add The Gold Rush to my list of Chaplin films that I've seen. Charlie Chaplin is considered one of the greatest filmmakers all time and there is a reason for it. His films completely changed the way cinema was made and The Gold Rush was a big part of that. He took risks my including controversial themes into the film. He changed the way in which stories were structured. He added emotion to comedy. All of these influential changes were present in The Gold Rush. I've never been a huge advocate of placing greatness on film solely because of influence, but there is a reason why The Gold Rush is considered one of the greats and that is because it is great. It is incredibly rare to see a film as high of quality as The Gold Rush everything that makes Chaplin great is made clear because of The Gold Rush.


1) (Yes) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (Yes) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (Yes) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) (Yes) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) (Yes) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (Yes) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (Yes) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (Yes) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Geoffrey Perez_____________________________ Date: 2/12/13_______________________