By Gavin Boyle
Mk2 Films is bringing THE GOLD RUSH to a new generation of moviegoers after remastering the iconic silent movie to celebrate its 100 year anniversary.
“We have been working on Chaplin’s oeuvre for nearly thirty years, with the goal of giving back to each and every film all the beauty originally imagined by its author,” said Gian Luca Farinelli, director of La Cineteca di Bologna. “Each of Chaplin’s feature films has etched itself into the memory, cultural formation, and sentimental education of several generations of people. What more can Chaplin tell us? To answer this question, one must watch his films and realize that contemporary audiences laugh at the very same scenes people laughed at a hundred years ago.”
“The new restoration of THE GOLD RUSH is based on Kevin Brownlow’s research, and, thanks to new technologies and the discovery of new materials, it will bring us even closer to the version first screened on June 26, 1925,” Farinelli continued.
The remaster debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and will be released worldwide for more than 500 special screenings across 70 countries on June 26 — the movie’s 100 year anniversary, to the day.
“We are delighted to see this centennial release made possible through our long-standing collaboration with mk2 Films, Cineteca di Bologna and L’Immagine Ritrovata, ensuring that audiences worldwide can rediscover the film with unparalleled clarity,” said Arnold Lozan, director of Roy Export. “Audiences will experience the film’s rich detail, emotional depth, and its perfect blend of adventure, comedy and romance on the big screen like never before.”
THE GOLD RUSH follows a poor, lone prospector hoping to strike it rich during the gold rush. Seeking refuge from a blizzard, he finds himself trapped in a cabin with a criminal and another prospector. Later, he finds himself in a small boom town where he falls in love with a girl.
Related: This Charlie Chaplin Montage Will Make You Smile!
Later in his career, Chaplin released a “talkie” version of the movie complete with a narrator, music and sound effects. This re-release received two Academy Awards. In 1992, the movie was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
While encapsulating the iconic Chaplin style, THE GOLD RUSH includes the iconic “dinner roll dance,” along with the shoe eating scene. Though Hollywood seems to have lost its way in recent decades, it will be great for audiences to have the chance to see where the industry originated and understand the standard today’s studios need to be held to. Rather than viewing the industry as purely a money-making venture, THE GOLD RUSH will remind audiences that movies are first and foremost art.
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