City Lights 1931

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: A beautiful example of Chaplin's ability to turn narrative fragments into emotional wholes. The two halves of the film are sentiment and slapstick. They are not blended but woven into a pattern as eccentric as it is sublime. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Contains some of Chaplin's great comic sequences. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: With its themes of selflessness and grace, as well as its graceful intertwining of comedy and pathos, this is a fine time for a revisit. Read more

Mark Bourne, Film.com: That final scene. Last week, CNN asked -- in "The Screening Room's Top 10 Romantic Moments" -- whether this was the most touching film moment of all time. Could be. Either way, if it doesn't move you, you're beyond human reach. Read more

Irene Thirer, New York Daily News: "City Lights" is excruciatingly funny and terribly, terribly sad. It makes you chuckle hysterically. You have the greatest time imaginable, and yet, occasionally you find little hurty lumps in your throat. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Is this film still funny after 76 years? I think and hope it is. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's an altogether wonderful gem, and one of the five best films the silent era has to offer. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Read more

Time Out: Plenty of great moments, and the occasional comic use of sound. Read more

Sid Silverman, Variety: The British comic is still the consummate pantomimist, unquestionably one of the greatest the stage or screen has ever known. Read more