342 - The Gold Rush - 3 stars
A sentimental ranking for one of the masters of the Silent Movie era, this being his most film besides The Great Dictator.
It features his most iconic character The Tramp prospecting in Alaska, a beautiful score and some of Chaplin's most loved set pieces; the boiled boot, the balancing cabin, and of course the dance of the bread rolls (beautifully homaged by Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon).
However there was something slightly odd about the film and I believe it may have been due to the fact that I was watching the 1942 rerelease with narration by Chaplin, rather than the silent movie storyboards. This meant it was strange to see a film where the characters were not speaking yet there was a voiceover describing the action.
If there is time I would like to reassess the film by seeing the original 1925 version but this film proved difficult to track down in the first place, the version I watched being one on You Tube!
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