Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
During the years of its exile, strange rumors grew up about Charlie Chaplin's "A King in New York." It was released in England in 1957, got lukewarm reviews, and was never screened or released in this country. But somehow the word got around that it was a bitter, cynical, anti-American film, made by a man who had turned against the country that nurtured him.
Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review at the Chicago-Sun Times located HERE |
Posters
Theatrical Release: September 12th, 1957
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: |
Distribution | Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC | |
NTSC (North America) - Individually from Warner: or in Warner Boxset Vol. 2 with City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin: |
||
PAL (Europe, Japan) - For Multi-region'er's (or those living in a PAL standard country) Beaver encourages the purchase of these PAL editions which are transferred from the same broadcast standard as the DVD playback (not sold individually). The Chaplin Collection Vol.2 - The Circus / City Lights /The Kid / Monsieur Verdoux / A King in New York / A Woman in Paris (missing bonus disc with The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin): |
||
Runtime | 1:49:32 | |
Video | 1:33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.71 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
||
Bitrate: |
|
|
Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
Subtitles | None | |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details:
• Contains Two Chaplin Films: King in New York (1957, 109 min.)
& A Woman of Paris
(1923, 91 min., Silent) |
Comments: |
I never had a big problem with most of my early Chaplin Image Entertainment DVDs. As stated previously, the newer Warners do have better contrast (and extras) but this Image release has decent sharpness although it is rather 'washed out' in appearance for a film from 1957. I was quite disappointed that all the NTSC Warner DVD's came from an unconverted PAL source and some are cropped from their original theatrical pillar-boxed ratio, but no one ever wants to hear about that. If you can't live with 4% PAL speedup then this Image release is your only option, but for those who are not NTSC region-locked we recommend the PAL edition package which, unfortunately, doesn't include the Chaplin Revue (which can be bought separately HERE). The image quality is superior and the individual discs have the same extra features. As well as including 'A Woman of Paris', there are a few interesting tidbit inclusions in this Image release. Seven minutes of additional footage cut from A King in New York by Chaplin after the premiere and footage of Chaplin conducting at the King in New York recording session. |
DVD Menus
Screen Captures
Recommended Reading on Chaplin (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
Charles Chaplin: My Autobiography
by Charlie Chaplin |
Discoveries: Charlie Chaplin
by David Robinson |
Charlie Chaplin and His Times by Kenneth S. Lynn |
Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema by Jeffrey Vance |
The Intimate Charlie Chaplin by May Reeves, Constance Brown Kuriyama |
Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin by Joyce Milton |
Charlie Chaplin: Interviews (Conversations With
Filmmakers Series) by Kevin J. Hayes, Charlie Chaplin |
Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary by Michel Comte (Editor) |
Check out more in "The Library"
At the
height of his success (after making The Kid and The Pilgrim), the most famous
entertainer in the world wanted to direct a different kind of picture. He left
First National and helped form United Artists. The first film he made for the
new company was this off-beat portrait of a Paris courtesan, part romantic
tragedy, part comedy of manners. It is only one of two Chaplin films in which he
does not star. Excerpt from Chris Dashiell's review at CineScene.com located HERE. |
Theatrical Release: September 26th, 1923
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: |
Distribution | Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC | |
NTSC (North America) - Individually from Warner: or in Warner Boxset Vol. 2 with City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin: |
||
PAL (Europe, Japan) - For Multi-region'er's (or those living in a PAL standard country) Beaver encourages the purchase of these PAL editions which are transferred from the same broadcast standard as the DVD playback (not sold individually). The Chaplin Collection Vol.2 - The Circus / City Lights /The Kid / Monsieur Verdoux / A King in New York / A Woman in Paris (missing bonus disc with The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin): |
||
Runtime | 1:30:48 | |
Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.71 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
||
Bitrate: |
|
|
Audio | Silent (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
Subtitles | None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Contains
Two Chaplin Films: King in New York (1957, 109 min.) & A Woman of Paris
(1923, 91 min., Silent) |
Comments: |
This image is fairly consistent and in reasonable shape and the Image Entertainment DVD holds up alright even if it is non-progressive (see combing evident in last capture). The audio (Chaplin's own score) is in reasonable shape but does suffer from its age occasionally with rough transitions from reel changes (I assume). The Extras are kind of neat with a slide show of stills of the original programme, some notes and the 1960s theatrical re-release. |
DVD Menus
Intertitle Sample
Screen Captures
Recommended Reading on Chaplin (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
Charles Chaplin: My Autobiography
by Charlie Chaplin |
Discoveries: Charlie Chaplin
by David Robinson |
Charlie Chaplin and His Times by Kenneth S. Lynn |
Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema by Jeffrey Vance |
The Intimate Charlie Chaplin by May Reeves, Constance Brown Kuriyama |
Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin by Joyce Milton |
Charlie Chaplin: Interviews (Conversations With
Filmmakers Series) by Kevin J. Hayes, Charlie Chaplin |
Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary by Michel Comte (Editor) |
Check out more in "The Library"