Overrated and overhyped

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

This 1915 movie "The Champion" runs for half an hour and celebrated its 100th birthday this year. Accordingly, it is still a black-and-white film and also silent and by many considered one of the films Chaplin made during his peak. There's really only 2 options: either his short film period or his feature film period, which of course also included political messages in contrast to the short films. Anyway, I personally believe that this is not one of his finest works. Maybe, at age 25 he was simply still too young. Also in here is the very young Edna Purviance who was maybe 20 when this was made and she was at the very beginning of her career. There aren't really any memorable moments in this short film and Chaplin frequently manages to put nice focus on his dramatic and comedic scenes as well. But not here. The longer the film goes on, the more chaotic it gets and the more it would have needed at least a slight ounce of order. The last shot was nice though. Charlie gets his reward for winning the fight (against the world champion??? seriously?) and we see that it was deemed inappropriate to have people watch you during kissing. An interesting snippet looking at how things are today. That one shot is obviously not enough thou to let me recommend this half hour. Watch another Chaplin film instead.

Charlie walks with his bulldog and finds a "good luck" horseshoe when he passes a training camp that is looking for a boxing partner "who can take a beating".Charlie won't take a beating, that he has decided.After watching the others lose, he puts the horseshoe inside his glove and wins.Now the trainer prepares Charlie to fight the world champion.Can Charlie win this time.There's also a nasty gambler who wants him to throw the fight.And there's also some love in the air with the trainer's daughter.What a great silent short from Charles Chaplin.The Champion is from 1915 and it also stars Edna Purviance (Trainer's Daughter), Ernest Van Pelt (Spike Dugan), Lloyd Bacon (Second Sparring Partner etc.) and Leo White (Crooked Gambler).You can also see Billy Armstrong, Ben Turpin and Broncho 'Billy' Anderson.This is a perfect comedy.There's no stop to laughter once you get started.When Charlie trains for his match and he keeps getting hits on his nose.When he shows off to Edna with the weights.How he kisses the dog on the head before going into ring.And the fight itself is priceless! How he gets exhausted and swings from one side to another in the ring.And then we see the dog in the ring hanging from the behind of the opponent.Hilarious, just hilarious!

This is one of 5 Chaplin that are on the first DVD of Chaplin's Essanay Comedies. In general, compared to volume 2, the shorts on volume 1 aren't as well-made--because the DVDs are arranged chronologically. Chaplin's skill as a film maker and actor appeared to improve through his stay with Essanay Studios.This short is not great, but compared to the previous Essanay shorts, it is a major improvement. That's because this short is more like a mini-movie and is very plot-driven--something ALL great Chaplin shorts have in common. The final boxing sequence is funny but makes no sense--just turn off your brain and enjoy.By the way,...I like the dog in the film. Dogs like this are cool.

Like so many of Charlie Chaplin's early films The Champion has been subjected to a lot of tampering over the years. Depending on which print you see, the tough guy Charlie knocks out might be named Spike Dugan or Spike Henessy, his hefty opponent in the ring might be identified as Young Hippo or Bob Uppercut, leading lady Edna Purviance's presence during the training sessions may or may not be explained (in some editions she's identified as the trainer's daughter), Charlie's encounter with two cops might be deleted, and, all told, the film's running time could be anywhere from twenty minutes to as little as nine or ten. It's appalling what latter-day distributors have done to Chaplin's work; movies are renamed, scenes are rearranged or chopped out, and jokey title cards are added which are often unfunny, inappropriate and/or in poor taste. And on top of all that deliberate abuse the inevitable ravages of time and heavy usage have taken a toll on the quality of the prints themselves. Happily, however, and despite the rough treatment it has sustained, The Champion stands as one of Chaplin's funniest and most satisfying early comedies. The film boasts lots of sure-fire gags, colorful supporting players, and an especially vigorous and winning performance from the leading player himself.During his apprenticeship at Keystone in 1914 Chaplin learned the rudiments of filmmaking from Mack Sennett, who liked his comedies low and fast. Thus, in his earliest movies Chaplin is concerned only with action and gags, and doesn't seem to care whether the viewer likes his character or not; sometimes he's an out-and-out rotter. But with this new series for the Essanay company Chaplin learned, first, to slow down a little and let things unfold as they may. More importantly, he learned to develop a sympathetic character viewers could care about.The opening of The Champion shows Charlie sitting on a stoop with his only friend, an endearingly ugly bulldog named Spike, as they eat a meal. Charlie offers a sausage to Spike who, amusingly, chooses to eat only after the sausage has been properly seasoned. It's a charming scene and a leisurely one, and it sets an agreeable tempo. By the time the sequence is over, whether we've seen Charlie before or not, we like this poor guy and his ugly dog, and we're rooting for them. When Charlie decides to try his luck as a boxer he even manages to retain our sympathy when he employs less-than-ethical means to knock out his foe.Later, we're troubled when Charlie appears to flirt with the idea of accepting a bribe from a crooked gambler, but ultimately the crook gets what he deserves and Charlie is more The Good Guy than ever. This sequence, in some respects, is the funniest in the entire film. Gambler Leo White is hilariously hammy, and Charlie peppers us with gags using every available prop: the paper money he grips in his mouth, the gun that points every which way, and even Leo White's villainous mustache, which Charlie reaches over and twirls one step ahead of the villain.Everything builds towards the climactic battle. Chaplin fans taking the long view might regard this as a dry run for the big fight in City Lights, made in 1931, but for my money the boxing match in The Champion can hold its own as a great sequence in its own right. In addition to being well staged and beautifully timed, the scene features several notable participants silent film buffs will recognize. Charlie's tubby opponent in the ring is character actor Bud Jamison, at the beginning of a 30-year career supporting just about every prominent comedian of the era. In the stands meanwhile are two prominent players of the day, G. M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson and Ben Turpin. Anderson was among the very first Western stars, and also happened to be a co-founder of the Essanay company, producers of this film. Therefore Anderson was in effect Chaplin's boss, and his cameo (as a highly enthusiastic spectator) can be seen as something of a good-natured inside joke. Ben Turpin, on the other hand, had co-starred with Chaplin in his two previous comedies, but it's said that the two men didn't get along, and they went their separate ways after this point. Turpin is granted a very brief bit as a peanut vendor in the stands during the bout, clambering over spectators before he is bodily thrown out -- out of the stands, out of the film, and, in effect, out of Chaplin's orbit.In any event, the fight makes for a funny and exciting finale, and it provides Spike the dog with one last moment of screen immortality. (Sadly, the dog was struck and killed by a car shortly after this movie was completed.) For Spike's co-star, The Champion was not only a vast improvement over his earlier work, but the first of many classic comedies.