Chaplin’s Final Film Coming to Blu-ray
From time to time, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will release a few of their catalog titles on Blu-ray without a press release, announcement, or prior fanfare. Film fans and collectors only become aware of these releases when the product appears as a preorder on Amazon and on other retail webpages. Such is the case for Charlie Chaplin’s final directorial effort, A Countess From Hong Kong (1967), which can now be ordered for its scheduled February 5th release.
This romantic comedy, written and directed by the comedian and starring Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando, is generally considered one of Chaplin’s lesser works. However, Chaplin completists like myself will be anxious to add this title to their collections, if only for the lush score (also composed by Chaplin).
I expect that the disc will be bare bones affair, which is a shame, because an audio commentary regarding the contentious shoot (neither Chaplin or Loren enjoyed working with Brando) could be a lot of fun. However, I’m happy that this film is getting any kind of an HD release.
Here’s the description of the film from the Amazon listing:
Charlie Chaplin’s final film is a delightful romantic comedy, filled with clever touches for which he’s famous. Written, directed and composed by Chaplin, it revolves around Russian emigre countess Natascha (Sophia Loren), forced into prostitution in Hong Kong, who stows away in wealthy American Ogden’s (Marlon Brando’s) stateroom to blackmail her way to the States. Since Ogden has a mind of his own, and can even resist Natascha’s charms, what follows is one of the funniest tugs of war ever devised! A wealth of talent supports the stars. There’s Chaplin’s Son, Sydney, as Brando’s cruise companion, Tippi Hedren as his icy wife, Patrick Cargill as the ultimate gentleman’s gentleman, and Margaret Rutherford as a dotty old dame. Chaplin himself tops it off with a cameo as the ship’s steward! The gags are pure Charlie and his actors make the most of them, sailing in and out of slamming doors – and outrageous situations – with ease.
