(aka 'A Comedy of Murders' or 'The Ladykiller')
USA 1947
"Monsieur Verdoux" is Chaplin's entertaining and controversial mish-mash
of wry philosophy, dark humor and smattering of physical comedy. It starts:
"My real name is Henri Verdoux, and for 30 years I was an honest bank clerk
until the depression of 1930, in which year I found myself unemployed. It was
then I became occupied in liquidating members of the opposite sex. This I did as
a strictly business enterprise to support a home and a family."
Whether seen as a political statement on society's moral-less rationalizations
or paradoxically as a simple and amusing light-hearted murder/thriller,
Chaplin's observances may be more heavy-handed than in any of his other films.
Still this works on many levels and any perceived 'failure' reviews could simply
unable to juxtapose their expectations from the noble 'little tramp' to a new dapper,
silver-haired protagonist - much less an executioner of women! Standing alone this film is
an unusually engrossing and sardonic expression. I put in the 'must-see'
category.
Posters
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Theatrical Release: April 11th, 1947
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution | Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC | |
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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:
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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. 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):
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| Runtime | 2:04:00 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.67 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • 'Inspiration
and Execution' (text) |
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| Comments: |
I never had a big problem with my early Chaplin Image Entertainment DVDs. The newer Warners do have better contrast (and extras) but this Image release has decent sharpness although it is rather 'dull' in the area of shadow detail. 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. There are a few interesting inclusions in this Image release with click-thru text screens and I was enjoying viewing it years before the new-ish Warners surfaced. I thank image Entertainment for their promptness and adhering to the correct broadcast standard (which shouldn't need to be said). |
DVD Menus
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Screen Captures
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Recommended Reading on Chaplin (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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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"
| 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:
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|
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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. 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):
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Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
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Gary Tooze
Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA |
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Thank You!
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