City Lights

(Charles Chaplin, US 1931, 87 min., 35mm)

United Artists Centennial | Silent Film. Charlie Chaplin adamantly refused to change with the times as Hollywood moved toward sound—and in so doing, produced one of his most beloved masterpieces. Here, the Little Tramp falls in love with a blind flower girl, convinces her that he is a handsome millionaire, and provides her with the funds for a sight-restoring operation. Side-splittingly funny yet deeply poignant, Chaplin’s supreme achievement is routinely selected as one of the ten greatest films of all time. In telling his “comedy romance in pantomime,” its creator audaciously flew in the face of the sound era by not including a single word of spoken dialogue.