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City Lights
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City Lights

1931
Romance
Comedy
1h 27m
With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
Your probable score
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City Lights

1931
Romance
Comedy
1h 27m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 78.11% from 3677 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(3677)
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Rated 15 Jan 2015
90
92nd
I can't describe how wonderful I felt when the now not Blind Girl held onto the Tramp's hand and finally saw him.
Rated 03 May 2010
64
37th
Not even remotely funny. The boxing scene is imaginative and the ending brilliant, but otherwise it's just boring. Chaplin is perfect in his trademark part, although I don't really like his "comedy".
Rated 07 Aug 2007
5
91st
It's not a hilarious movie - Chaplin is so iconic and has been imitated so often, that some of the comedic scenes no longer pack the same punch - but it's amusing throughout with its fair share of laugh-out-loud moments (particularly the boxing match). Where this really shines is the romantic scenes - silent films are far less susceptible to the banality of some modern romances, due to their simplicity, and the romance here is downright heartwarming.
Rated 08 Sep 2009
100
96th
The tear-inducing closing scene, in which she discovers that he is not a wealthy duke but only The Little Tramp, is one of the highest moments in film and one of the biggest reasons I began to journey into cinema. Without me watching this film, I may not have dived so deep into film like I have. Could very well be my favorite film of all time.
Rated 03 Jul 2007
90
85th
It's amazing just how much content Chaplin manages to put in such a short movie. Many scenes here are true classics, most notably the first scene with the flower girl, the boxing match and the final scene. Fewer scenes here made me laugh out loud than in Modern Times, but as a trade-off the romance scenes are more involving; in fact, they're easily the best part of the film -- other than Chaplin's perfect score, that is.
Rated 06 Oct 2007
10
97th
A near perfect film, City Lights fills your heart with warmth and joy with its hilarious moments and heartrending ending.
Rated 07 Jun 2008
96
99th
It's few movies that make you laugh AND cry. Well me anyway.
Rated 11 Feb 2009
95
95th
I really enjoyed this movie, but for some reason it didn't connect with me like Great Dictator did. However, the plot, direction, sound effects in this movie, Modern Times, and Great Dictator proved that while Chaplin's greatest strengths lied in his physicality, he was much more versatile than that.
Rated 08 Jul 2009
95
94th
Just... lovely. The gags might seem repetitious, but I can easily forgive that because of how unified this movie is: a flower girl who "sees" her beloved only through her hands, a wealthy man who "sees" the tramp as his friend only when he's drunk, and all those substitution gags where one thing is mistaken for another. And the ending! Oh how I cried... @};-'-
Rated 30 Mar 2010
10
98th
City Lights is a very sweet and touching film. Loads of classic scenes and I love how all the little subplots actually go somewhere and are relevant to the story. It also accomplishes something only a truly great movie can - make you laugh then make you cry. The ending is one of the most magical and perfect things ever filmed. Lives up to its reputation - a classic.
Rated 12 Mar 2011
96
95th
This was the most charming romance I've ever seen on screen. Chaplin is a phenomenon. I guess no artist can carry so much feelings with his mimic and body language than Mr. Chaplin. The box fight taken by the short "The Champion" is my personal fun highlight in this movie. No one should miss "City Lights" in his movie collection. A rare and "silent" gem!
Rated 28 Jan 2015
30
12th
great ending but all movie is garbage. sorry, actually i'm not sorry, i hate charles chaplin's movies.
Rated 30 Jul 2012
95
91st
That Chaplin would go on to make some more masterpieces is certain, but this is the pinnacle of his career. No film captures the sheer beauty that only silent cinema can forge with as much perfection and heart as City Lights.
Rated 17 Apr 2013
70
44th
It is funny, but I didn't find it hilarious like people say it is, and at times the humour feels forced or even irritating. It's a fine film, and is at its best when it sticks to romance, but I certainly don't consider it the masterpiece many critics and cinephiles do - give me Buster Keaton any day.
Rated 30 Jul 2013
2
11th
couldn't finish this when i saw it. found the combination of irritating, trite slapstick and sappy schmaltzy emotional contrivance to be difficult to sit through.
Rated 28 Feb 2007
65
25th
I hate admitting that I don't like Chaplin. It makes me feel like a bad person. But he just doesn't ring my bells. Most of his gags are really predictable (gee, I wonder if he'll get knocked in the river again!) but maybe that's just because he's been so often imitated. I actually like him more as a romantic actor than a comedic one, so those bits of City Lights appealed to me. The rest of it I didn't care for.
Rated 24 Mar 2007
92
97th
It certainly is one of his best films, might even be his finest ... great comedy with lots of romantic and melodramatic tones, got to love it!
Rated 30 Mar 2007
0
8th
Sorry, but I hate Chaplin's features
Rated 10 Apr 2007
75
90th
Excellent gags one after another with an essential story. This is a crystal clear slapstick, possibly one of the best of genre. My favorite is the opening statue gag.
Rated 17 Feb 2018
50
10th
Eccentric Millionaire: "Am I driving?"
Rated 15 Jan 2015
85
85th
If James Agee considers the final scene to be the "greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid", who am I to disagree, even if he wrote that in 1949?
Rated 15 Feb 2008
98
95th
There honestly isn't a false note in the entire film. Upon rewatch, I may decide this film is perfect. The final scene is heartwrenchingly beautiful.
Rated 05 Apr 2008
75
63rd
Too much pathos for my taste, but beautifully done.
Rated 18 Nov 2017
70
72nd
Quite good, the tramp has some very charming and funny moments and is well filmed, the thing is the story is strange because is like different ideas sticked together not always adding to the main story line. Anyways, enjoyable film and the final scene is magical.
Rated 02 Oct 2008
88
92nd
A really good and fine movie, you can never go wrong with Chaplin. His movies are classic.
Rated 15 Sep 2019
90
83rd
A genuinely sweet hearted and moving tale for Chaplin's tramp lacks the electric energy and focus of his best work (and dips into gushy sentiment a little too often); some of the more sly jokes work better here than the slapstick, especially the political "speeches" at the beginning, though the dark suicide sequence and ballroom set piece are hilarious highlights. Manipulative as it is, the finale is a masterful tear jerker supreme!
Rated 04 Mar 2009
80
94th
Chaplin scrambles to some of his highest peaks -- dancing in the boxing ring, carousing woozily in a nightclub -- for the love of a girl who sells flowers on streetcorners, and who is blind, and who is beautiful.
Rated 07 May 2009
60
54th
I never liked Chaplin that much. Buster Keaton all the way, man.
Rated 12 Jul 2009
70
55th
nice ending
Rated 10 Sep 2009
83
97th
80 years on, and it's still one of the greatest endings of all time.
Rated 20 Oct 2009
100
99th
It's here more than any other film that Chaplin attains that sublime blend of life's tragedy with its comedy. We often find the two intertwined, or at the very least Charlie moving deftly from one to the other. The scenes with the flower girl pop off the screen with dramatic, and romantic power, while the failed suicide attempt and the boxing match deliver laughs that build and deepen as the scenes play out. City Lights is on the short list of must-sees in cinematic history.
Rated 07 Aug 2014
7
49th
Reasonably funny (though the laughs are cheap) and sweet. I don't really understand how it's so highly regarded but I am pretty ignorant of its era.
Rated 17 Jul 2018
77
78th
A whimsical, but occasionally outdated, slapstick extravaganza elevated by a truly beautiful ending.
Rated 21 Oct 2010
81
73rd
While I didn't laugh very much (except at the hilarious boxing match scene), I did find the romance between the Tramp and the flower girl to be very touching. The ending warmed my cold, black heart.
Rated 22 Nov 2020
80
80th
Some very funny scenes and situations. I haven't seen many of Chaplin's movies, but this makes me want to watch more.
Rated 01 Aug 2014
5
32nd
Slapstick is rarely my thing, and coupling it with Chaplin's schmaltz at its thickest makes this a tough sit for me. Occasional gems of comic timing shine through, as usual, and it frequently looks gorgeous. But not really for me.
Rated 07 May 2011
85
84th
It's hard to explain the laughs I get from these movies; they often stem from the strangest of images and ideas. For example, the hardest I laughed came when a drunken Tramp rapidly sweeps up a woman to dance in a ballroom, accomplished with such ferocity and speed, as though he wanted so badly to imitate the aristocracy around him that he tries a little too hard. It's not a straight gag, exactly, but it just wound up being so funny to me. The ending deserves its legendary status.
Rated 16 Nov 2020
85
51st
90% of the comedy is Chaplin blindly reaching for something that has unknowingly been swapped for something else, but that boxing scene is truly great
Rated 18 Jun 2014
45
41st
یک کمدی کلاسیک! صحنه مخفی شدن چارلی پشت داور در رینگ بوکس واقعا خنده دار بود. انتهای فی 
Rated 19 Jun 2012
93
98th
Hilarious and touching.
Rated 31 Oct 2020
51
48th
Some great, timeless bits here, but there is plenty of fat and odd occurrences.
Rated 20 Jul 2012
55
19th
It has a good ending, but I liked The Kid, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator much better. All the in between gags and sequences did nothing for me.
Rated 23 Dec 2012
90
99th
A incredible touching love story mixed in between Charlie Chapin's fantastically timed vaudeville style comedy sketches. The end touches such an emotional nerve. Pure cinematic beauty. One of Chapin's greatest films. And to think this silent came when just about everyone had gone over to making talkies. Simply essential viewing.
Rated 02 Aug 2020
85
79th
Way ahead of its time, homoerotically speaking. Also seems to be a major influence on John K.'s controversial "Littlest Tramp" episode of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures. That what makes Chaplin relevant amiright?
Rated 03 Jan 2014
75
30th
I probably should like this a whole lot more, but my near revulsion towards slapstick is probably keeping the impact of the pathos in the movie from hitting me like it should. For instance, the lead up to the boxing match was brilliant. The actual match was a total bore for me. All the applause for the ending, though, is right on.
Rated 25 Oct 2013
75
72nd
Although lots of the gags feel dated and the story is fairly simple and predictable, "City Lights" still succeeds as a bittersweet and poignant comedy/drama. Chaplin is, of course, affable as the Tramp and the plain love story at the center of the tale is a tender and compelling one (and it climaxes wonderfully in the iconic final scene). Overall, the film didn't enthrall as much as it probably 'should' but it definitely engaged me and moved me enough.
Rated 23 Nov 2019
88
88th
Hey Ma, I finally saw a Chaplin! A delight.
Rated 17 Apr 2007
98
98th
# 21
Rated 14 Aug 2007
98
94th
Lovely.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
82nd
Excellent.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
8
93rd
The Tramp may be nothing but a lovable lug who constantly finds himself in awkward situations, but that won't stop him from going to bat for the woman he loves! Also, eye surgery? Ha! Way to give false hope to blind people, asshole!
Rated 26 Aug 2007
89
93rd
Very Good
Rated 16 May 2024
85
88th
The timing is superb, particularly during the boxing sequence, it had me in stiches.
Rated 01 Mar 2008
99
98th
# 21
Rated 02 Apr 2008
80
81st
I did not like this much the first time, it needs to be seen with an audience to really get it.
Rated 30 Apr 2024
80
76th
Great for an old movie.
Rated 18 Jan 2016
65
59th
Hard to hate this movie and Chaplin's character even if you don't like his "comedy" but really this movie has its sweetness and charm.
Rated 02 Jul 2008
94
95th
Would be 100, but I found the boxing sequence tedious. Every great thing you've heard about this film (and Chaplin's performance particularly) is true!
Rated 14 Jul 2008
72
77th
City Lights is a very good movie, to be admired because it was way ahead of its time (as far as sophistication goes). Even if don't like silent movies (or classics, for that matter) should give this one a try. It's a heartwarming tale that is very gripping.
Rated 25 Sep 2008
98
93rd
A true gem from Chaplin that's amazing on every level. It's not funny....Just breathtaking.
Rated 05 Jan 2024
70
49th
I loved Modern Times SO MUCH more.
Rated 10 Mar 2018
100
94th
Possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen.
Rated 09 Nov 2015
90
94th
I've seen other silent films but not anything by Chaplin. I went in expecting to see 80 minutes of frying pans in the face but was pleased to learn that Chaplin's physical comedy was something much more eloquent and sophisticated. In fact, Overall it's a very well-crafted film, from the mounting tension in the locker room before the fight, to the hilarious choreography of the boxing match itself, and of course, to the beautifully touching final scene that almost brought tears to my eyes.
Rated 11 Feb 2009
100
92nd
Such a classic..actually made me cry
Rated 20 Apr 2009
4
74th
My first Chaplin, and even though he's been so thoroughly absorbed and imitated, this is still effective. Very funny and romantic. Some of the gags are a little predictable, but I still had a smile on my face throughout.
Rated 11 Oct 2014
62
48th
While I absolutely LOVED the boxing scene (the build-up, choreography, and comedic timing is simply perfect) and the ending, the rest of the film is a bit hit-or-miss. At the end of the day, I just don't find Chaplin as laugh-out-loud funny as Keaton. Still unquestionably a classic, though.
Rated 05 Aug 2009
91
96th
A lovely comedy, a compelling drama and a heart breaking romance.
Rated 17 Dec 2023
60
54th
It's a heartfelt story with some nice moments of physical comedy and the ending is genuinely touching, but it is mostly slow and laborious (at least compared to the other Chaplin films that I've seen to date)
Rated 25 Aug 2017
91
94th
Rewatched on February 18th, 2022. One of the most influential movies in the history of cinema. Comedy is brilliant throughout movie and the boxing scene is even better, maybe the best scene of comedy ever. Also, it's one of the most romantic movies of all time.
Rated 15 Dec 2015
95
98th
Incredible how a movie this old can still feel so current.
Rated 01 May 2010
100
96th
watched: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017
Rated 11 May 2010
90
92nd
Don't you just get butter for knees when you watch this film? One of his best in my opinion!
Rated 25 Jun 2022
64
51st
It's easy to see why City Lights captured the admiration of a Depression-era audience. Many of Chaplin's slapstick routines are indeed timeless, but the pacing of the film as a whole is poor. For example, I liked the whistle sequence but found it lacked a punchline. I also found the soundtrack to be a little overbearingly mawkish at times.
Rated 25 Aug 2017
20
11th
I hate silent movies, but I thought I'd give the greatest silent movie ever made a try. For me, watching a silent movie is like sitting through a 90-minute commercial break on mute. The days of slapstick where watching people repeatedly falling into pools of water is amusing has long passed. "HAHA I get it! It's funny because they're all WET now! HAHAHA!"
Rated 17 Nov 2010
86
84th
I hope we get to go through another Depression so that we can have such great romantic-comedies like this.
Rated 11 Dec 2010
10
99th
Funny all the way and then very moving. A picture bursting with laughs, and surely a heartbreak. Chaplin at his best. Finale one of the grand moments in the history of movies.
Rated 20 Dec 2010
97
96th
One of the greatest endings I've ever seen.
Rated 25 Dec 2010
95
99th
95.000
Rated 26 Feb 2017
3
41st
En svala gör ingen sommar. En serie sketcher löst sammanhållna av en mycket tunn ramberättelse. Några av sketcherna är småskojiga och boxningssketchen är riktigt rolig. Men när filmen trots att den bara är 87 minuter lång ändå får mig att längta efter slutet räcker det bara till en trea. Chaplin och slapstick är inte min grej.
Rated 05 May 2011
95
97th
Chaplin magic at its purest and most iconographic. And with THE best boxing scene ever put on film knock-outing even Rocky and Raging Bull.
Rated 15 May 2011
76
72nd
cicekci kiz, kör kız, intahar, sarhosken hatirlayan ayikken hatirlamayan adam, parti, yemek, boksör, sandalye, (en büyük saban filmi bu filmin kopyasidir. hikaye ayni)
Rated 25 Jun 2011
88
70th
The boxing scene is one of the funniest things ever, and the romantic side is great, too.
Rated 22 Nov 2020
88
82nd
Easy to watch, mostly very funny, and I especially enjoyed the boxing scene.
Rated 20 Sep 2016
70
73rd
This is the first of Chaplin that I have seen. In general I have trouble with many monumental older films. Criticker predicts I'll give this a 90. Unfortunately I can't quite put myself in the mindset of appreciating them for what they are, vaudeville slapstick just isn't my thing.
Rated 05 May 2015
60
58th
A bunch of mostly unrelated scenes and gags eventually strung together by a narrative of love that functions as a tool through which characterization is able to take place; not by gradual differentation in the disposition of Chaplin, but by having the viewer project their own feelings on him. The continuous contrast of the bittersweet background being actual to the viewer but unbeknownst to Chaplin fails mostly in its comedic intent, but succeeds in its transient and endearing effect.
Rated 03 Jul 2014
80
78th
It's widely considered Chaplin's best film by many people but I just didn't get the same laughs I got from some of his others. That's not to say this movie is bad or unfunny, because it's neither. The ending did hit me as hard as all the people that love it so much.
Rated 02 Oct 2011
91
98th
Probably Chaplin's best. So damn sweet, yet it never feels saccharine or disgustingly schmaltzy. The comedy is knee-slappingly hi-larious as well. And the ending . . . yup, I fucking teared up a bit. I mean, come on -- it is perfect.
Rated 21 Oct 2011
95
97th
Chaplin's best film by far.
Rated 31 Oct 2011
95
98th
The comedy is as good as Chaplin's best, but it's even more romantic and touching than anything else from the era. Ceaselessly charming.
Rated 08 Nov 2011
87
95th
Not my favorite Chaplin movie, especially weighed against things like Modern Times and The Kid, but it's still downright amazing. Charlie Chaplin usually is.
Rated 21 Mar 2018
98
96th
One of the best underdog romance movies ever, with an ending that will light up any heart.
Rated 15 Mar 2015
92
96th
I had no idea a silent film could be so good.
Rated 17 Jan 2012
75
81st
I can't say I liked this one as much as some of Chaplin's other films. It wasn't as funny, I didn't think. But then, it's supposed to be a bit more of a romance film. And the romantic parts were quite lovely. In any case, it was still a really nice film with great music and another charming performance from Chaplin.
Rated 15 May 2012
85
93rd
Some slow parts in the last third of the movie, but the boxing match is one of the best choreographed scenes I've ever seen.
Rated 24 Jun 2012
89
97th
The first silent film I ever saw. And probably the best of all the ones I've seen since. "Charming" and "sweet" are words that don't even do it justice. And such a beautiful ending.
Rated 11 Aug 2012
87
81st
Doesn't reach the heights of comedy and drama that the Gold Rush did, in my opinion, but I loved the ending.
Rated 15 Dec 2012
100
0th
Charlie's masterpiece... It made me feel so many emotions... And it has one of the best endings I've ever seen... You simply have to see it...
Rated 22 Feb 2016
17
93rd
Star Rating: ★★★★1/2
Rated 17 Aug 2013
94
81st
modern zamanlar kadar güzel olmasa da harika bir film yapmıs yine sarlo ve izlerken yine yine yine dedim ki ne kadar cok filmde adamda fikir çalınmış hele ki yeşilçam olarak ne sömürmüşler çarli babayı mekanın cennet olsun çarli baba
Rated 16 Sep 2013
100
88th
"City Lights" trumps them all, with its sweet and hopeful central romance between the Tramp and the Flower Girl; the vaudeville slapstick of the Tramp's misadventures with the millionaire; the boxing match, in which the Tramp tries to earn money for the Flower Girl for eye surgery; and finally, that final scene, where the Tramp and Flower Girl see each other. for the first time, as they truly are. Music swells. The End. Anybody have a kleenex?

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