Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival: The Gold Rush (1925)

Charles Chaplin considered this poignant comedy his greatest achievement, and audiences have agreed for nearly a century. As the Lone Prospector, the Little Tramp travels to the Klondike seeking fortune but instead finds hunger, isolation, and heartbreak. From this premise, Chaplin crafted some of cinema’s most enduring sequences: – the starving prospector eating his shoe with the delicacy of a gourmet, the cabin teetering on a cliff’s edge, and the unforgettable “"dance of the dinner rolls.”" Yet beyond these iconic moments lies a remarkable synthesis of pathos and comedy that showcases Chaplin’s genius for transforming hardship into transcendent art.

4K restoration carried out by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, using elements held by Roy Export, including materials created by Photoplay and from archival material generously provided by the BFI National Archive, Blackhawk Films, the Lobster Films Collection, Das Bundesarchiv, the Filmoteca de Catalunya, the George Eastman Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

About Dan Kamin: Author of The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion, Dan trained Robert Downey, Jr. for his Oscar-nominated performance in CHAPLIN, after which Downey said, “Dan’s insights are amazing.” In addition, Dan created Johnny Depp’s comedy moves for BENNY AND JOON and played the wooden Indian in the cult classic CREEPSHOW 2. He performs his one-man shows internationally and is a popular guest artist with symphony orchestras.

Directed by Charles Chaplin