The poor have to bear more risks and costs to survive - Review of "The Gold Rush"

Aug 13, 2025#电影43

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"The Gold Rush," a film by Chaplin released in 1925, finally premiered in China 100 years later. This version is a restored score edition lasting 95 minutes, longer than the original silent version. It retains subtitles while removing voiceovers, which were considered less effective. The visuals are clear, allowing audiences to see the characters' expressions well on the big screen. The film is a comedic love story featuring classic humorous scenes, such as eating a shoe and dancing with a dog. Despite the laughter, it conveys the protagonist's loneliness and despair as a homeless prospector with almost nothing. Although the film ends happily, it highlights the harsh realities faced by the poor, who are more likely to suffer dire fates in real life. The protagonist's return to town would likely involve hard labor and mistreatment by the wealthy. While love seems unattainable for the poor, there remains a glimmer of hope through hard work and risk-taking. Chaplin's other films, like "Modern Times" and "City Lights," also depict the struggles of the homeless but lack a happy ending, making them feel more realistic. "The Gold Rush," despite its optimistic conclusion, still reflects the difficulties of the impoverished, serving as a message of hope for their lives.

The Gold Rush is a film directed by Chaplin that was released in 1925 and finally premiered in China 100 years later. This release is a restored version with a score, lasting 95 minutes, which is longer than the original silent version of 72 minutes. It retains the subtitles and removes the narrated voiceover, which is said to be less effective. The picture restoration is quite good, with clear visuals, allowing the audience to see the characters' expressions clearly on the big screen.

This film is a romantic comedy and features many classic funny scenes, such as eating a shoe, turkey hallucinations, dancing with a dog, the bread dance, and the cliff cabin. After the laughter, the audience can feel the loneliness and sadness within the protagonist. The male lead, a vagabond searching for gold, has almost nothing. Although the film has a happy ending, in reality, the fate of such poor individuals is more likely to be freezing to death in the snow, starving, being beaten to death by others, being eaten by bears or people, or falling off a cliff and dying. Even if he is lucky enough to return to the small town alive, he is more likely to be doing heavy snow shoveling work, being ordered around, scolded, or even beaten by the wealthy. A beautiful girl seeing a poor man is more likely to walk away to avoid him, and even if they meet again, she is unlikely to remember him, making love almost impossible. However, the poor can still have hope, through their own efforts, taking more risks, and paying more costs, with a certain probability of becoming wealthy and realizing their dreams.

Some of Chaplin's films I have seen before, such as Modern Times and City Lights, also depict the experiences of vagabonds but do not have happy endings, feeling more realistic. Although The Gold Rush has a happy ending, everyone can still feel the difficulties of poor people's lives. The film's happy ending is the director's blessing and hope for the lives of the poor.