The Cinematheque

New Restoration

“An old favourite!”

Michael Snow (Wavelength), Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time

Charlie Chaplin called The Gold Rush ​“the picture I want to be remembered by.” It is perhaps the masterpiece with more memorable, perfectly structured comic sequences than in any of his other films. The plot is a familiar—but majestically positioned—problem for the Tramp, who treks to the Klondike of 1898 in search of fortune, only to wind up snowbound in a hilariously unbalanced cabin, preyed upon by bears and ferocious fellow prospectors, and attacked by his own appetite. His hunger, for riches, shoelaces, and a cure to his New Year’s Eve loneliness, was a huge global hit with audiences upon its release, and, contrary to Chaplin’s desire to update the film in the sound era, still feels like the most vital ingredients for a cinematic laugh and cry, one hundred years later. This restoration of the original silent version, which premiered to thousands at Il Cinema Ritrovato this summer, is the result of a wide search for improving on the materials used for the 2012 re-release.

“The most beautiful film in cinema history … A classic very suited for taking children to see.”

Jia Zhangke (The World, Caught by the Tides)

“A riot … Chaplin manages to find humour in even the most desperate situations—a talent derived, no doubt, from growing up in abject poverty.”

Ben Sachs, Cine-File