Chaplin's last starring feature film has long been regarded as one of his poorer efforts, but thanks to this DVD release we're reminded of the difficult circumstances he had to make the film under.
This disc is only available to buy as a bonus disc in "The Chaplin Collection: Volume 2" and "The Complete Chaplin Boxset".
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture As the youngest film in the collection you'd expect this transfer to be good, but what's on offer here is stunning, with excellent black and white contrast from a near flawless print.
Sound The 5.1 sound mix has little in the way of effects to play with, but the music score is elegantly placed around the speakers, with dialogue kept firmly in the centre.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Introduction David Robinson provides an efficient introduction to the film, pointing out that Chaplin was the first filmmaker to expose the paranoia in the US that was forcing people like himself out of the country. Shot in only 12 weeks (a record for Chaplin), Robinson highlights the problems of the movie while offering reasons for these deficiencies.
Chaplin Today: A King in New York Jim Jarmusch is the film director invited to talk in this new Jerome de Missolz documentary. Jarmusch discusses the depth he sees in the movie, plus we see newsreel footage of Chaplin coming to Britain, and rare colour footage of him in London.
Outtakes Despite there being 14 outtakes on offer here, most are scrappy moments, and alternate opening credit sequences.
Mandolin Serenade Chaplin won an Academy Award for his music score on "A King in New York", and this featurette shows him at work conducting the orchestra with somewhat flowery movements.
Additional Extra Features Also on the DVD are trailers, a photo gallery, film poster gallery, and a selection of clips from all the films in "The Chaplin Collection".
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Chapters: 20
Ratio: 1.33:1 (original fullscreen ratio)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and 1.0 (mono)
Audio Tracks: English, French and Italian
Subtitles: English and multiple languages
Captions: English, French and Italian
Menus: Static, with music
Special Features Subtitles: None of the special features come with subtitles apart from the David Robinson introduction.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.
A King in New York DVD (1957)