NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (March 2025): Criterion have transferred Charlie Chaplin's A Woman of Paris to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration of the 1976 re-release version, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack featuring a score composed by director Charlie Chaplin" and the package includes a 7-minute longer version with "Alternate score from 2005 created by conductor Timothy Brock, based on music by Chaplin, presented in uncompressed stereo".

Further text screens inform us "The 4K restoration of A Woman of Paris (1923) used a second-generation full-frame dupe negative, deposited by Roy Export S.A.S. with Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna and selected as the best available element. The film was restored by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in 2019 in association with Roy Export S.A.S. as part of the Chaplin Project. Music by Charles Chaplin. The present orchestra accompaniment is conducted by Timothy Brock and based upon Chaplin's 1976 score for A Woman of Paris and on a selection of his 1952-1969 composition sketches, restored and orchestrated by Brock - recording by the Orchestra Città Aperta."

Back in 2000 we reviewed Image Entertainment's interlaced DVD that included A King in New York and A Woman of Paris HERE. It showed rounded corners and was not from this newer restoration with faded contrast. This new 1080P is a significant improvement, deeper black levels - more balanced contrast - and we have compared a few captures below to indicate that. This new HD presentation looks wonderful on my system - let's consider this film is over 100 years old.

NOTE: We have added 66 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use linear PCM mono track (24-bit) with original English intertitles. No original Chaplin-composed score existed - silent films relied on live accompaniment, with theaters using cue sheets Chaplin provided suggesting mood and tempo (e.g., romantic themes, dramatic swells). These varied by venue. In 1976, nearing the end of his life, Chaplin revisited A Woman of Paris for a re-release through United Artists. He re-edited the film slightly and composed an original orchestral score - the first time he personally scored it and is considered by the estate to be the definitive. This starts with a text screen stating "Sound restoration used the DAT tapes recorded from the original 35mm magnetic tracks and preserved by Roy Export S.A.S." A Woman of Paris also has the version with the Timothy Brock score. In 2004, Brock transcribed 13 hours of previously unheard compositions by Charlie Chaplin from a rediscovered acetate recording of Chaplin improvising on piano. This led to the creation of a new score for A Woman of Paris, a film Chaplin originally directed without composing its music (unlike his later works). Brock’s score, premiered in 2005 at Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, Italy, reimagines the film’s emotional landscape - its tale of Marie St. Clair’s love, loss, and redemption - through Chaplin’s own musical voice, unearthed decades later. It is in linear PCM stereo here on this Blu-ray. He’s since conducted it multiple times, including a 2011 performance at Kino Babylon in Berlin and a studio recording with Orchestra Citta Aperta in Rome and London. This restoration aligns with his role as a custodian of Chaplin’s musical legacy, a relationship that began in 1998 when the Chaplin estate tapped him to restore the score for Modern Times. His work bridges historical preservation and modern performance, making him a key figure in reviving the art of silent cinema music. Audio quality is superb via the lossless. Criterion include the English intertitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers supplements. As well as the 1.5 hour version with alternate score from 2005 (created by conductor Timothy Brock based on music by Chaplin) there are quite a few extras starting with a 5-minute introduction by Chaplin scholar David Robinson (Chaplin: His Life And Art.) There is also a new 23-minute video essay by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance (Chaplin: Genius Of The Cinema.) Chaplin Today: “A Woman of Paris,” is a documentary from 2003 by Mathias Ledoux and runs 26-minutes featuring interviews with actor Liv Ullmann and filmmaker Michael Powell. It was on the 2004 Warner DVD. We also get the French-produced, 9-minute "Archive Commentary: About “A Woman of Paris,” documentary by Arnold Lozano, managing director of Roy Export S.A.S - copyright owner of the films of Charles Chaplin made from 1918 onwards (except A Countess from Hong Kong), from the time when he owned his own studios, including his most famous titles such as The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights, The Circus, Modern Times etc.. It offers optional English subtitles. There are 5-minutes of excerpts from an audio interview with Chaplin Studios cinematographer Roland Totheroh, deleted shots from the original 1923 film, archival footage and three trailers. The package has liner notes with an essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson (30-second Cinema: the 50 Most Important Ideas, Genres, and People in the History of Movie-making, Each Explained in Half a Minute) and notes by Brock on the 2005 score.

1923's A Woman of Paris is Charlie Chaplin's feature-length silent drama, notable as one of his few directorial works where he doesn’t star. It was produced by his company, United Artists, and it’s a departure from his slapstick Tramp comedies, showcasing a sophisticated, melancholic narrative about love, sacrifice, and societal expectations. Chaplin appears only in a brief, uncredited cameo as a train porter. The story follows Marie St. Clair (Edna Purviance - discovered as a pretty stenographer spotted sipping coffee at Tate's Café on Hill Street in Noe Valley and would appear in 33 of Chaplin's productions,) a young woman in a small French village who plans to elope to Paris with her lover, Jean Millet (Carl Miller), an aspiring artist. A misunderstanding - Jean’s father prohibits their marriage, and Marie’s stepfather locks her out - leads Marie to leave for Paris alone on a train. Jean, delayed by his father’s sudden death, misses her departure, and their lives diverge. In Paris, Marie transforms into a glamorous kept woman, mistress to the wealthy, cynical Pierre Revel (Adolphe Menjou.) A year later, she reconnects with Jean, now a struggling artist in Paris with his mother. The film’s subtitle, "A Drama of Fate," was Chaplin’s push for gravitas, but its working title, Public Opinion, hints at an unfulfilled critique of societal judgment that got softened in the final cut. The Criterion Blu-ray offers the film - looking and sounding impressive with Chaplin's 1976 score and trims, an alternate version - 2005 Brock score in stereo, an introduction, video essay, documentaries, deleted scenes, booklet and more. This is very strongly recommended to Chaplin and silent-era fans.

Gary Tooze