City Lights Response

City Lights

City Lights is a film directed by, starred by, and written by Charlie Chaplin. It is an 87 minute movie filmed in 1931. The plot is mainly about a tramp, who is broke and homeless until he meets a millionaire who he saves from committing suicide. However, this rich man only remembers who Chaplin is when he is drunk. This causes a conflict in the story. He also loves a blind woman, who he gives money to, to get back her vision. After she gets her eyes fixed, she sees Chaplin again and they are together and happy.

1. How does Chaplin make you feel like you are a part of the scene?

Chaplin puts the viewer at eye level in many scenes and has the actors looking at the camera. For one scene, he tilts the camera to make you feel as if you are falling on the floor with the actors. He uses many different shots and actors to make the viewer feel like they are a character in the movie. Each angle and shot is filmed which such eloquence that the viewer feels as if they are a character in the scene.

2. Why was the conflict in the movie so effective?

There were two main conflicts in this story. One was that Chaplin wanted to be with a certain girl but she was blind. The way Chaplin shot this showed how he cared for the girl. This added romance to the conflict. This is a common conflict in movies and usually viewers enjoy conflicts such as this. The other conflict had comedy involved. Charlie’s friend did not know who he was when he was sober. These two were great friends while the rich man was drunk but the man completely forgot who Chaplin was when he was not drunk. This led the audience to laugh even though it was a problem in the story. The way he was able to shoot these shots also made them more comical. Angles and shots used in this movie and all movies are vital to the success of the movie.