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I also didn't understand Amy's line of thinking there. I'll add to the points others have made by saying that I don't think the final moment is about "falling in love" or "not falling in love." Was she in love with him when they were together before? I'm inclined to say yes, and that when she sees him at the end, she's not so much developing new feelings as she is rediscovering and recalibrating her old feelings. As Cam Bert says, maybe she does a little math and realizes that his generosity is exponentially more than she had thought, as his sacrifice was more than just a financial one. But as Cameron H. says, the important thing is that she accepts him for who he is. If she wasn't in love with him when she was blind, she's not going to be in love with him now, but she's still clearly happy to reconnect with this person who had such a huge impact on her life. And that happiness is regardless of his social status, but her appreciation of him is perhaps even augmented by it. That's how I read it, but ultimately it seems silly to break it down so much. However you read it, it's a beautiful scene.

Yeah, I wasn’t quite sure where she was coming from on that one, but I suppose the ending can be a little bit ambiguous in that there isn’t a huge moment of “Of course I love you!” I think that, perhaps, this was intentional on Chaplin’s part as a litmus test for the audience’s own cynicism. The entire movie is The Tramp’s journey towards acceptance. When people notice him at all, (as fully himself and not in “disguise” as a sanitation worker or boxer) they immediately judge, ridicule, and shun him. The movie even opens (the statue scene) with him being hidden, revealed, and immediately rejected. This same reaction is echoed throughout the movie in The Tramp’s relationship with the millionaire. When the Rich Man is blind stinking drunk, he accepts The Tramp; but when he is sober, he rejects him. Based on everything we’ve seen up until the end, there’s every reason to believe that The Blind Woman will follow this same pattern. And she does - at first. However, he then asks her, “You can see now?” and she replied, “Yes, I can see now.” (i.e. see him for who he is) And instead of pushing him away like everyone else, she pulls his hand toward her and places his hand on her heart. Does this mean that they are going to fall in love forever and have a million babies? I don’t know. However, I’m not sure if romantic love is entirely the point either. I think her response is our ultimately our response. After everything we’ve seen, do we accept or reject him?

I think they do probably fall in love. I don't think this is a cynical story. It's about a woman gaining sight, and a man gaining love, a millionaire being clowned. It doesn't seem to fit to me that suddenly at the very end, he wouldn't get the girl after going through all that. As I said on Letterboxd, I don't really consider City Lights a comedy. That probably sounds insane, but I don't think its comedic bits are notable (except for the boxing). But as a story being told through cinema, it's pretty close to perfect.

That "breakdown" in the first song was simply fantastic! Filled me with so much joy. And apparently everyone in the studio too. Will Hines is a treasure, and Dan handled it perfectly! C+ bit!

Fun fact Edward Hyde is actually supposed to be shorter than Dr. Jekyll. Also Edward Hyde hiding out in France was part of the plot in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He only became bigger than Jekyll in the comics because he was a manifestation of his evil. Which increased the longer he was Hyde.

In response to Riki Lindhome not being able to sit through 'Shape of Water,' here is me guesting on one of my favorite podcasts getting EXUBERANT about how much I love everything Guillermo del Toro: https://hellbentforhorror.com/2019/03/25/episode-083-we-need-to-talk-about-guillermo/

I'm curious with how many people are in line with Amy in thinking that she rejects him at the end. Maybe I am a hopeless romantic or something but I thought it was 100% clear that she accepts him for who he is. I think she does the mental math a bit in that moment as well. He's poor and penniless now, but he gave her a lot of money before going away for awhile. She might not have all the facts right, but she understands that whether he was rich or not before he gave up everything he had for her with no expectation of anything in return other than her happiness. Her pulling his hand in closer to her chest says it all. Again, the brilliance of little actions telling a story rather than words.

The museum in the city I grew up in had an entire section of one of the floors done up to recreate my hometown as it was in the 1920s. One of the things they had was an old fashion movie theater in which they would play the films of Charlie Chaplin. My earliest memories of this movie (although outside the 1920s time period) are sitting in the theater with my grandfather and watching the movies. That probably taints a little my ideas on this film but so be it. This film is absolutely charming. It is a delight in every which way. The fact that you can have such great and funny scenes as the ballroom and the boxing match and still deliver a story that is affecting is really telling as to the power of Chaplin. I think like Paul said it is that ability to weave a story and get real emotion while delivering on the laughs and set pieces that really drives this film over his others as being the top one. This is the guide to a comedy film.

Sorry, the school year in Japan ends in March and starts in April so I've been a bit too busy to contribute to this film. As I said the was a book on tape we had my parents would put on for my sister and I when driving to our relatives. I was shocked by how much of this I didn't remember. Pretty much all I remember is the story DvD tells and I thought that was the movie. I had no idea that they weren't a coupes, those weren't her kids, and there is a whole story that does not involve the car in any way shape or form. Maybe it's just childhood memories making me a bit basis here, but if the story was simply a family on their day out and the father tells his kids a story about them and the car before they go home it would make it a lot tighter and better. Also, I thought it was a bit crazy the opening scene is just 10 minutes of car racing to explain how this one car, who is not in two of the three races, got to be in a junk yard. That said I did enjoy a lot of the musical numbers. I forget what a joy DvD is to actually watch and move around.

I watched both this week as well, and I ended up liking City Lights more. Modern Times was great, but I didn’t find it as emotionally satisfying. It also didn’t feel as cohesive as a narrative - more like a series of bits strung together. That being said, I loved The Gamin in it! She was absolutely delightful. Megalomania aside, one thing I like about Chaplin is he allows his co-stars to really shine. The Kid, The Blind Girl, and The Gamin are all as important to the story as the Tramp himself. I mean, I’m not sure if “billing” was as big of a deal back then (although I suspect it was), but I found it interesting that Chaplin always listed himself and The Tramp last. It felt almost gentlemanly to me and showed off the type of humility that he espoused as being so critical to his success. In fact, one of the main reasons I didn’t respond as positively to TGR as the others is because I found it to be the first movie of his where I felt like the secondary characters were lacking.

coming soon to hulu or amazon or netflix

Hey all. I apologize for putting you through a stinker of a movie. I wasn't able to contribute much myself this week. I have decided to let my medical issues win for now. I am going to take a break from the forums, both main podcast and MM, for a month or so. By the end of April I will have a much better picture of where I am at health-wise and the steps needed for the road back. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of you, especially @Cameron H. for his friendship and advising me in many areas, and @taylorannephoto for challenging me when I needed an adjustment. I hope to be back at that point. I have one more pick to make if someone doesn't do it first. Don't hold back from picking it if you want to do it. We need to complete the Alan Parker trilogy. Thanks again all of you. I am very grateful. Mark "Cinco" DeNio