This week watch the film City Lights, a movie directed, written, edited, and scored by its star, Charles Chaplin.

After watching the film, which is found on the Silent Comedy disc, answer the following four questions:

1. Chaplin made City Lights as a silent movie at a time when Hollywood had already switched to sound.How does the director make fun of sound films ("talkies") in the opening sequence of this movie?

2. In the scene when the Little Tramp meets the Blind Girl for the first time (pictured on the left), why does she think that he is a rich man?

3. Film critic Roger Ebert writes that City Lights "comes the closest to representing all the different notes of Chaplin's genius: it contains slapstick, pathos, melodrama and grace." In a well-developed essay pick four (4) different scenes from this film and show how they illustrate these different elements of Chaplin's art.

4. The close-up of the Little Tramp that concludes this film is one of the most often discussed images in cinema. Discuss the emotions that you see in Chaplin's expressive face, and how do these feelings relate to the events that have developed in the story.

Procedure: Answer all the above questions with complete sentences. The answer must be written on the answer sheet which you can download HERE. Do not type this assignment. Staple both pages before you get to class.

NB: Any deviation from the above rules will result in a loss of points. No late homework will be accepted. Any homework handed in late will receive a grade of 0%.

Due Date: October 28, 2011.

Quiz: Study the above questions, the film, and the notes that you took while watching Chaplin's work. There will be a quiz based on the film City Lights on October 28, 2011. No notes will be allowed during the taking of the quiz.

Point Value: Written homework - 40 points; Quiz - 40 points.