The Kid (#799)

Charlie Chaplin was already an international star when he decided to break out of the short-film format and make his first full-length feature.The Kiddoesnt merely show Chaplin at a turning point, when he proved that he was a serious film directorit remains an expressive masterwork of silent cinema. In it, he stars as his lovable Tramp character, this time raising an orphan (a remarkable young Jackie Coogan) he has rescued from the streets. Chaplin and Coogan make a miraculous pair in this nimble marriage of sentiment and slapstick, a film that is, as its opening title card states, a picture with a smileand perhaps, a tear.

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Film Info

• United States
• 1921
• 53 minutes
• Black & White
• 1.33:1
• English
• Spine #799

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration of Charlie Chaplins 1972 rerelease version of the film, featuring an original score by Chaplin, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New audio commentary featuring Chaplin historian Charles Maland
• Jackie Coogan: The First Child Star,a new video essay by Chaplin historian Lisa Haven
• A Study in Undercranking,a new program featuring silent-film specialist Ben Model
• Interviews with Coogan and actor Lita Grey Chaplin
• Excerpted audio interviews with cinematographer Rollie Totheroh and film distributor Mo Rothman
• Deleted scenes and titles from the original 1921 version ofThe Kid
• Charlie on the Ocean,a 1921 newsreel documenting Chaplins first return trip to Europe
• Footage of Chaplin conducting his score forThe Kid
• Nice and Friendly,a 1922 silent short featuring Chaplin and Coogan, presented with a new score by composer Timothy Brock
• Trailers
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Tom Gunning

  New cover by F. Ron Miller