Chaplin's Essanay Comedies

I just purchased Chaplin's Essanay Comedies. I have been a silent film fan all my life and appreciate the talent and style that went in to the productions. Charlie Chaplin is one of the greatest comedians ever to appear on film. I have collected his works in various formats over the years, from Super 8mm to VHS, Laser, DVD and now Blu-Ray. Flicker Alley should be commended for restoring these classic gems, but here is why I can not give this release 5 stars.First, if I wanted to purchase this collection on DVD, I would have looked for the DVD release. Why must we get DVDs also when we wanted the Blu-Ray version? Flicker Alley could have saved us money if they didn't include the DVDs, in their own separate case. I total waste for someone who is only going to watch the Blu-Ray version.Second, concerning the restorations. They have elected to replace all of the title cards and give you a black screen with more modern, white lettering? While the font is readable it does not match the fonts or title cards used in the original prints. Any silent purist would notice this right away. While this may seem unimportant to some, it may bother those who have been silent film fans for a number of years.Other than the two complaints, this will probably be the best you will see these films. I just wish they would have restored and recreated the title cards.

Love the silent Chaplin comedies.

This product is an insight into Chaplin's early work. Much of it is ongoing slapstick, probably hardly scripted. But it reveals the film industry in it's infancy. More sophisticated work would be done by Chaplin and others soon after.

These Chaplin short films from his time with the Essanay company have been restored and look fantastic. Watching films made 100 years ago in this quality amazing.

The picture quality and music are outstanding.

Its a great collection, so funny. Chaplin is truly a comic genius

I am amazed at how well Chaplin's Essanay shorts from 1915 are preserved on this Blu-ray DVD. I think we are starting to get close to seeing these shorts as audiences saw them in theaters more than 100 years age. These shorts are very dated and the story lines are highly repetitive, but anyone who is looking to purchase Chaplin's Essanay films is already a very intense fan and understands the nature of the content on these discs.

Only he can make every one laugh; WITHOUT saying anything! Buster Keaton placing a close second! AND an INCREDIBLE ACROBAT too!

These are far from Charlie's best films, but the Tramp is still captivating even in shorts that are subpar. The quality of restoration here is superb, patchy but such is the nature of the subject matter. The music accompaniments are wonderful, and throughout these films you can get a great feel for Chaplin's development as a filmmaker. It goes without saying that this is not the place to start with Chaplin, you should be watching the feature films first (any of the silents except A Woman of Paris) and then his later shorts at Mutual and First National, or perhaps his talkies (Limelight is a stunning film.) Overall though this is a fantastic collection, and as long as you know what to expect then I doubt you will be disappointed.

Here it is Chaplin and his essanay years with his tramp character at its best. The picture quality is so outstanding that the films look like they were made yesterday or though their black and white they have been restored so well that you can't even see one dot or line from the negatives or original reel they just look brand new I would highly recommend this to any Chaplin fan that wants to bring him into the 21st century

Complete collection restored but very uneven quality. Better was to follow

The main feature film "Triple Trouble" is an obvious upscale from DVD/SD material (the bonus UK version "Charlie's Triple Trouble" interestingly is a proper HD restored film). Confirmed by BFI. So not all are restored films.The first pressings came with a slipcover that had incorrectly "with music by Carl Davis" printed on it.

Can't go wrong. Excellent quality restorations. Brilliant short films. Good value for money.