Who knew comedy could be portrayed so damn beautifully? City Lights is made with such a heart of gold that it's hard not to smile throughout its entirety. Just the mannerisms and little individual components each character posses are so so genius and amusing. I didn't necessarily fall head over heals for City Lights, but I certainly appreciated the craftsmanship shown throughout the piece. There's just something oddly charming about Chaplin that I can't quite put my finger on... (Verdict: A-)

I saw this on TCM on Demand a long time ago and really want to see it again! Man, what a great movie this is! Chris Stuckmann, a YouTube film critic is working on reviewing a pre-1970 movie once a month and recently did this and gave it an A+. Now, about MY thoughts. The Tramp, Chaplin's character, falls in love with a blind girl. That's what I did with City Lights. It was originally in my top 10. Now it's lower since I have seen more movies. Maybe I will change my mind when I see it again-WHICH I WILL! I have seen few silent movies and this is the best out of which I have. See City Lights, you shall not be disappointed!

Well into the beginning of the sound- and "talkie" movies era, Charles Chaplin made another silent movie, though with a musical soundtrack, also written by Chaplin.It was to be his perhaps greatest film of all, though it's hard to put it above both Modern Times and The Great Dictator. Like in others of his masterpieces it's hard if not impossible not to be emotionally moved. Tragedy and comedy is woven together at it's highest level of performance.I won't review the film any more than the above, but would like to make a general statement on the greatest film personality of all times. In 1999 The American Film Institute somehow managed to rank Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, James Stuart, Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, James Cagney and Spencer Tracy above Charlie Chaplin on the List Of Greatest Screen Legends. With all due respect of the nine mentioned, but placing Chaplin as No.10 is a meaningless parody of disgrace. Not only is he in a class of his own, he was perhaps more than anyone else responsible for making their stardom possible.Thank You!

The timeless charm that Charlie Chaplin personifies through this film is at its greatest in this, his most graceful work of art. The genuine wit and humor mastered over the years is of course pervasive, but it ultimately plays second fiddle to the delicate eloquence of one of the most powerful love stories to ever grace the silver screen. This is the masterpiece Chaplin had been working towards his entire career, and it is executed incomparably.It is a peculiar thing to consider the title of the film, as the city and its lights don't seem to be an overtly prominent part of the picture. However, upon closer inspection, it truly is all about the city (society and its individuals) and its lights in a figurative sense, as lights in this film can very much refer to the beacons of hope that the individual characters serve as to each other. While the three main characters are just struggling to make it by in this world- to find purpose, to succeed- their own sense of worth in the eyes of society goes unmatched by the light they bring to those who need it.The millionaire's split personality as a suicidal drunkard (a social outcast) serves as the enlightened version of his character because in this state he is honest and mindful of those around him regardless of their status. His sober self, then, although admirable by society's standards, goes to show just how "blind" people are to the reality of how we should treat each other. The blind Flower Girl, of course, is incidentally only blind to the true nature of the Tramp when she can physically see. When she learns the truth, the "light" goes on for her ("Yes, I can see now"), and she can go back to seeing the true nature of an individual rather than their outward appearance. Thirdly, the Tramp is simply a bum meandering through life, until he finds a purpose. Naturally, it takes the city's lowest of the low- The Tramp- to be enlightened enough to see past a handicap and realize the true beauty of the Flower Girl, who is overlooked by the rest of society. As he becomes enlightened to the vitality of living selflessly, the Tramp receives the beacon of hope in return, grasping his dreams for love and a better way of life. Although very different individually, as these characters can see beyond society's little boxes they are each little pillars of light to illuminate the way for each other (something every city could use a lot more of). The Tramp and the Flower Girl, having their eyes opened and having found each other, display one of the most fulfilling of on-screen romances, for as once they were struggling through life individually, they have discovered more than they could ever hope and dream, together. City Lights is a love story of two outcasts, loners; until we find our light, aren't we all?