The Chaplin Revue

The "Chaplin Revue" is a re-edited version of three of Chaplin's classic silent comedies, spliced around some brief but interesting comments by Chaplin himself. It is a great opportunity to see three of his classic short features that are otherwise hard to find. They have a slightly different feel from the original versions, in that the pace is a bit slower, and there is new music. But it's still the same Charlie Chaplin slapstick plus worthwhile observations on humanity.

"Shoulder Arms" is the best of the three, ranking among the finest of all of Chaplin's pictures, and is a nearly flawless feature. The other two are very good as well. "A Dog's Life" features a very nice balance between slapstick humor and sympathetic characters, and "The Pilgrim" features some of Chaplin's favorite themes of identity mix-ups and interplay between different social classes.

The "Revue" is well worth seeing, either for Chaplin fans or for anyone looking for an introduction to some of his shorter, less famous works.