RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / City Lights
City Lights

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

City Lights (1931)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:36

Rotten:0

Average Rating:9/10

Runtime: 3 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This Charlie Chaplin masterpiece tells a bittersweet tale about a blind girl who is restored to sight with the help of that quintessential urban misfit, the Tramp, who falls in love with her. One... This Charlie Chaplin masterpiece tells a bittersweet tale about a blind girl who is restored to sight with the help of that quintessential urban misfit, the Tramp, who falls in love with her. One of Chaplin's best. [More]

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann, Florence Lee

Director: Charlie Chaplin

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Screenwriter: Charlie Chaplin
Producer: Charlie Chaplin
Composer: Alfred Newman

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Feb 8, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for City Lights

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

An enduring masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Film4 | comment Comment
04/27/09
Film4

That final scene. Last week, CNN asked -- in "The Screening Room's Top 10 Romantic Moments" -- whether this was the most touching film moment of all time. Could be. Either way, if it doesn't move you, you're beyond human reach.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
03/04/08
Mark Bourne
Mark Bourne
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only someone with slow-drying cement in their veins wouldn’t be moved.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
01/18/08
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

With its themes of selflessness and grace, as well as its graceful intertwining of comedy and pathos, this is a fine time for a revisit.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
01/04/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Is this film still funny after 76 years? I think and hope it is.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
12/19/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Perfect.

comment Comment
12/02/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

The British comic is still the consummate pantomimist, unquestionably one of the greatest the stage or screen has ever known.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/27/07
Sid Silverman
Sid Silverman
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A beautiful example of Chaplin's ability to turn narrative fragments into emotional wholes. The two halves of the film are sentiment and slapstick. They are not blended but woven into a pattern as eccentric as it is sublime.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/27/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

City Lights is a great gift to all of us by a filmmaker at a latter-day peak of his genius

Full Review Source: Cinema Writer | comment Comment
08/20/06
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Cinema Writer

Incredibly powerful and heartbreaking ending.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/22/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Plenty of great moments, and the occasional comic use of sound.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

Absolutely delightful, hilarious, heart breaking Chaplin classic.

comment Comment
06/16/06
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

A film worked out with admirable artistry.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/28/06
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

The greatest and most touching finale of any film. Chaplin's masterpiece mixes comedy and sentiment. it makes you laugh, then brings a tear to your eye.

comment Comment
09/21/04
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Four years after the sound era began, Charlie Chaplin made a meticulously mimed tragi-comedy that found him at his most sentimental, but no less a genius.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
08/25/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

The quintessential Chaplin film — both the most perfectly crafted and the most representative of all the different textures and tones for which he is remembered.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
07/09/04
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

Widely considered Chaplin's best film.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/17/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Delicately blends comedy and pathos.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/24/04
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for City Lights

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
40% 40% Surrogates
83% 83% Whip It
29% 29% Gamer
97% 97% The Hurt Locker
81% 81% Michael Jackson's This…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
87% 87% A Serious Man
37% 37% The Time Traveler's Wife
78% 78% Bronson
11% 11% The Stepfather

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

Sir Anthony Hopkins best reviewed movies!

Great Directors

Great Directors

Take a trip though Martin Scorsese's career!

Runaways Pictures

Runaways Pictures

Run away with Kristen and Dakota!

Wolfman Clips

Wolfman Clips

Watch out! The Wolfman is back!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tom Cruise Accepts Another Mission: Impossible Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
16
  • Chris Nolan on Board for Dark Knight Sequel -- and Superman Reboot? Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
216
  • Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Source: Hollywood Reporter
58
  • Fox Moves Forward with 24 Movie Source: HitFix
8
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters III Source: Sunday Mail [UK]
56
  • Captain America News, News, and More News Source: Collider.com
20
  • Taylor Lautner Is Stretch Armstrong Source: MTV
78
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
288
  • Percy Jackson Star (Briefly) Rumored for Spider-Man Reboot Source: Hollywood Reporter
35
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
140
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Jeff Bridges' Best Movies
114
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Finally Toppled by Dear John
102
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
96
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
70
  • Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe
35
  • Friday Harvest: The Last Airbender, The A-Team, and more!
27
  • Critics Consensus: From Paris With Love Is Not Bon
22
  • Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose
17
  • Awards Tour: Pixar and Disney Rule The Annies
15
  • Total Recall: Anthony Hopkins' Best Movies
13
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Oscar Nominee Gabby Sidibe Talks Precious
20
  • One Man's Quest To Find The Worst Movie Ever
7
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
77
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
3
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
13
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • City Lights at Rotten Tomatoes
  • City Lights at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Celebrity Yearbook Photos
Celebrity Yearbook Photos External Link

Check out PopEater's collection of childhood photos of celebs, from Tom Cruise to Kim Kardashian.

Who Will Win the Oscars?
Who Will Win the Oscars? External Link

TIME's Richard Corliss pores over the Oscar noms for the major awards and offers his take on who will win.

Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness?
Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness? External Link

For a different take, the AV Club delves into why awards season is terrible.

Who's the Razziest?
Who's the Razziest? External Link

Moviefone has put together a list of the actors with the most Razzie noms ever.

Mass Effect Movie?
Mass Effect Movie? External Link

Hollywood.com makes a case for a big screen adaptation of popular game Mass Effect.

Promos
Get the Flixster App Now!
Get the Flixster App Now! External Link

Download it from iTunes and get Tomatometer scores straight to your iPhone!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.