Chaplin’s The Gold Rush to Premiere in 4K at Cannes Ahead of Worldwide Centennial Release
The Chaplin Office and mk2 Films are excited to announce that a newly restored 4K version of Charlie Chaplin’s silent-era classic The Gold Rush will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, launching the Cannes Classics section on May 13, ahead of a coordinated global centennial release.
The 1925 masterpiece—written, directed, produced by and starring Chaplin as the iconic Tramp—will screen on the Croisette nearly 100 years to the day after its original premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles. The Cannes showing marks the start of a coordinated international rollout, with over 250 screenings scheduled across 70 countries on June 26, exactly one century after the film’s debut.
“After La Maman et la Putain by Jean Eustache in 2022, and Napoléon by Abel Gance last year, this year’s Cannes Classics will open with none other than the never-before-seen 4K restoration of Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush,” said Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux. “As we celebrate 130 years since the invention of the Lumière brothers’ cinematograph, Chaplin’s much-loved classic — blending adventure, romance and comedy — will mark its centenary with a special premiere on the Croisette!” The screening will be presented by Arnold Lozano, Director of the Chaplin Office/Roy Export SAS, Nathanaël Karmitz, CEO of mk2, and Gian Luca Farinelli, Director of the Cineteca di Bologna.
The new restoration draws from elements held by Roy Export, including materials originally prepared for Kevin Brownlow and David Gill’s 1993 reconstruction, enhanced by materials sourced from archives around the world, including the BFI National Archive, Blackhawk Films and The Lobster Films Collection, Das Bundesarchiv, Filmoteca de Catalunya, George Eastman Museum, and MoMA – Museum of Modern Art. The work was carried out by Cineteca di Bologna and L’Immagine Ritrovata. The music, originally composed by Charles Chaplin in 1942, was adapted, arranged, and conducted by Timothy Brock for this restoration of the 1925 version of the film, and performed by Orchestra Città Aperta.
“We’ve been working on Chaplin’s oeuvre for nearly thirty years,” said Gian Luca Farinelli. “This restoration brings us closer than ever to the film’s original release in 1925.”
Arnold Lozano added: “We are delighted to see this centennial release made possible through our long-standing collaboration with mk2 Films, Cineteca di Bologna and L’Immagine Ritrovata, ensuring that audiences worldwide can rediscover the film with unparalleled clarity. Audiences will experience the film’s rich detail, emotional depth, and its perfect blend of adventure, comedy and romance on the big screen like never before.”
A new international poster has also been unveiled, paying tribute to the enduring image of the Tramp and introducing the film to a new generation of audiences.
