The Gold Rush (1925)
★½ — The Gold Rush (1925)
Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, and starred in The Gold Rush, releasing it through his own United Artists-distributed production company at a budget of just under a million dollars, a considerable sum for an independent production in 1925. The film was inspired partly by accounts of the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, and reportedly by photographs of the Donner Party, whose survivors famously resorted to cannibalism. Chaplin would later cite it as the film he most wanted to be remembered for, and it went on to gross four times its budget, cementing his status as the most commercially powerful filmmaker of the silent era. A re-edited sound version with Chaplin's own narration and musical score was released in 1942, and that is the cut most commonly seen today.
In 2025 it's just way too boring. Silent cinema, even a legend like Charlie Chaplin, just doesn't cut it nearly 100 years later. It's not particularly funny, it's really slow paced and the ragtime soundtrack becomes grating. I just don't see how anyone is rating this super highly.
Rating: ★½ | Year: 1925 | Watched: 2025-04-15
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Amazon Prime Video · Now TV · FilmBox Live Amazon Channel · Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Charlie Chaplin: The Kid (1921) · The Circus (1928)
More with Charlie Chaplin: The Kid (1921) · The Circus (1928)
More from the 1920s: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · The Docks of New York (1928) · A Throw of Dice (1929)
More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
