1. The Gold Rush was spot on to topics brought up in class about the time period within the movie industry. Charlie Chaplin who directed, produced, and wrote the script, also starred in this 10 reel mesh of comedy and pathos. In class we talked about how Chaplin had yearned to create his own style. He didn’t just create a style all for himself; he managed to hatch something that few movies of that time truly had: a character. Chaplin created the character known as the tramp.
The tramp was an outcast, one who yearned for tangible and intangible items that he figured were out of reach for someone like him. Acceptability, love, money, respect are just a few of the desires of the tramp. Chaplin demonstrated the tramp's desire of these items through the use of pathos, which ate at the audience and forced them to feel an emotion through the character on screen. Chaplin could have had the audience feel an emotion such as despair. The scene where the Chaplin and John McKay are shown inside the desolate cabin starving and stuck translates to an emotion of feeling helpless. Another use of this technique is when Chaplin is shown in his dream sequence with Georgia. He is happy and you can’t help but to be happy for the little guy. It all ends abruptly and you realize that when the tramp comes back to reality, consciousness offers him a harsh wake-up call with sadness and betrayal when he realizes he was just dreaming. You develop a sinister feeling towards Georgia and can’t help but to feel sorry for the tramp.
Even though Chaplin is more regarded for what he did on film with his acting, it can’t be forgotten what he also accomplished with the film. He strayed away from the long shots that have dominated films from a few companies, but rather going with a medium shot which lets the shot be defined by the characters on screen. He also managed to perfect some devices that D.W. Griffith had nearly mastered such as unobtrusive editing.
2. An article that may be recommended for further reading on The Gold Rush can be found at: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789109?refcatid=31
3. The article, which was written by Variety staff members, summarizes the movie and offers input onto some of Chaplin’s accomplishments achieved by the production of the film. The opening paragraph does nothing but praise for The Gold Rush and compares it to be the leading film within its respected field of comedy. The movie is also compared to D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation in its staying power as such an influential film.
After explaining the basis for the plot, the article goes on to break down a few of the distinct scenes with the film. The article praises the dream sequence scene as being “one of the finest pieces of dramatic interpretation ever put on screen” (Variety Staff). The article also mentions the scene where McKay and Chaplin are teetering in the cabin over the ledge. It is regarded as a scene that will start riot in a movie theater with all of the laughter it will generate.
4. My opinion of the film is that it was much more enjoyable that I had foreseen. I was surprised to see and understand an actual plot in the comedy. I suppose the billing of “dramatic comedy” is completely acceptable. The “slapstick” comedy is a type of comedy that I have always enjoyed more so than other types of comedies. The Gold Rush is a comedy that can get even the people with the toughest sense of humors, like myself, laughing a bit.
I was also generally pleased with the production and post-production of the film. I thought pathos was indeed used effectively in this film. As mentioned earlier in the blog, I also felt certain emotions that Chaplin would have wanted the audience to feel were achieved. I thought the use of medium shots with a small variety of other shots was a great mix that allowed for the audience to truly benefit from the actors’ performances. In the post-production area, I couldn’t notice aany editing spoofs that could have been avoided. The movie also certainly had a more aesthetic pleasing look than other movies of the time that I have seen before. Overall, I was gladly surprised, not only at being able to enjoy the movie, but also with Chaplin and everything he put into it.
