Chaplin's most personal film is one to make you laugh and cry. It's a film that even someone who's never heard of the Tramp has seen. Since I leave the actual review of the film in my film page and I don't consider picture and sound when I buy a DVD, I will go straight to the special features, like I always do.
All the special features appear on Disc 2 of the DVD.
As always, the special feature start David Robinson's introduction. Always entertaining, this one also doesn't disappoint. It gives a lot of information on Jackie Coogan and his relationship with Chaplin and the infamous Mildred Harris divorce. Like always, a good featurette.
The "Chaplin Today" documentary is next. We start off with what we heard in the introduction along with some information on Chaplin bringing his mother to the United States, and him signing up with First National. The rest of the show brings us to Iran where we talk to a filmmaker and his family. We don't understand what the filmmaker is talking about, but his grandson gives some interesting comments, while also imitating Coogan. A nice feature, that's also cute.
We then move on to a trio of deleted scenes concentrating on the mother. The first two are rather interesting, but the third one doesn't really work. Overall, I'm glad they were deleted, since the mother isn't a very interesting character.
"How to Make Movies" is the next piece we encounter. It's a very well-done film that shows Chaplin going around his daily work, and also playing a few rounds of golf. It's fun, and a great history lesson.
We follow that with a 1921 Jackie Coogan film called "My Boy." In it, Coogan once again plays an orphan who is taken in by a unlikely guardian and soon found by a rich relative. Unlike The Kid, this is a terrible film. It doesn't contribute anything to the DVD and is a waste of disc space. I'll explain how much I hated the film in my separate review.
We then go to the "Documents" section of the disc. The first one shows Chaplin having a backer's party, and having Jackie Coogan dance for the guests. It's a fairly entertaining piece that's a nice addition. Next is a fun home movie called "Nice and Friendly" featuring Chaplin, Coogan, Lord Mountbatten, and their friends. It's a very funny show that would have been a nice short released theatrically. We follow that with a very interesting news reel with Chaplin going back to Europe for the first time, and a not so interesting piece with Jackie Coogan visiting Paris. The "Documents" domain caps off with a wonderful clip showing Chaplin conducting for the 1972 re-issue.
Finally we have the usual finishing extras. We get three trailers, and while the first two are great, and the third one doesn't even show the film. Strange. Finally we have some great photos and posters. Finally the disc caps off with short clips from the other films in the Chaplin Collection. I consider this feature rather useless since we can watch the entire picture on the other DVDs (This part doesn't affect the final percentage).
Overall, I'd be surprised if any Chaplin fan doesn't want this DVD. Although I don't care for the film as much as other Chaplin buffs, it's still one of the best in the Chaplin Collection. The final percentage for The Kid: The Chaplin Collection is 85%.