The Gold Rush | The ALASKAthon

The Gold Rush is the last new-to-me film in the ALASKAthon, which means that my gap year is coming closer. This, I hope, is a good enough excuse for this review being somewhat rushed. There really aren't enough hours in the day, especially when in some of them, you get to see your friends for the last time in a year.

It might interest you that my aversion towards silent films has lessened quite a bit during the last year. From vehemently stating that "I hate silent films" to finding them okay to actually finding myself enjoy them once in a while, I have undergone what some call "a snobformation". Jokes aside, Chaplin delivers another heart-felt and fun comedy on a serious enough topic in this film. He once more shows off his physical skills and talent for physical comedy, while the story - of course - isn't complicated at all. The sets are amazing and the pieces that were actually filmed in real snow are rather impressive too. Sadly, Chaplin outshines most of the other actors, and the girl in particular doesn't get a very important or rememberable role. His "cabin friend" makes for a funny side character though, and he and Chaplin play off each other very well.

I'm happy I watched The Gold Rush, since it makes for an interesting change in the many recent films I watched for this blogathon. It seems that Alaska was never very popular among filmmakers but Chaplin saw its charm already in the dawn of the days of filmmaking. Again, I'm sorry if this review seems rambly and short. There was no other way.

SPECIAL ALASKATHON MOVIE BREAKDOWN

How capturing/ engaging/ interesting is the film? (out of 5 northern lights)

How gorgeous does the film - or the Alaska in it - look? (out of 5x Timothy Treadwell's hair)

How much does the film itself make you want to go to Alaska? (out of 5 sledges)

THE GOLD RUSH

1925 • USA • English

director Charles Chaplin

author Charles Chaplin

★ Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray

Guest post: Aesthetic similarities between The Nightmare Before Christmas and German Expressionist Art

There's a first time for everything, right? ...The lovely Brandon Engel, a blog-less blogger it seems, approached me with some ideas for articles he would like to have featured on my blog and they sounded so great that I couldn't reject him. Even if this article will make my own scribblings seem less original than ever. Here it is then, the first guest post on Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions...

It takes oddballs like Tim Burton and Henry Selick to infuse all of the macabre, sinister aesthetics of post World War I German Expressionist filmmaking into a Christmas film. You have to hand it to them, though! Consider the public response to the film. Audiences have been so receptive that even 20 years after the film’s initial release, the film is still heralded as a classic, and there is more Nightmare merchandise floating around than any goth teenager could ever possibly fit in their bedroom. Just consider all of the animated films that were produced over the course of the past twenty years...how many of them have completely fallen off the face of the earth? Nightmare has stood the test of time.