Alicia I love this movie so much

Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Carlos André It's really amazing, how timeless this movie is. This is the first Chaplin movie that I saw (and I intend to watch more), I was blown away to how funny it still is, with already 100 years-old! I think that this is probably the main characteristic of a classic (or a masterpiece), it's a movie that doesn't matter when you see it, it stills good. And Shoulder Arms is definitely one of those cases.The humor here is silly, but at the same time is also really clever, and this is my favorite aspect of it. At the end, is hard to judge something that old, I really don't have a clear path in mind of how to rate something like that, so I don't know, I might be being unfair or overvaluing it, so, anyway, you really must see it, in order to see what is your opinion about it.Probably the only thing that bother me sometimes was the score, it repeats a lot, but, again, I get all the scenario behind the production (age, technology).In short, I think that Shoulder Arms is a classic, timeless, and Chaplin is definitely one of the most influential people in film story, if you see guys like Johnny Depp out there today and likes it, you had to thanks Charlie for that.

binapiraeus Shortly before the end of World War I, Charlie arrives as a recruit at the front. First, he waddles patrolling through the trenches, carefree as always, but after a while the hand grenades that keep exploding around him DO make him feel a little uneasy, and he starts dreaming of home... However, there he is now in France, ready to fight the German enemy (whose troops are being presented, of course, at their most ridiculous - a microscopic officer shouting at his huge soldiers, all wearing spiked helmets and groveling before the ridiculous little guy!) And soon Charlie develops into a fearless hero: he captures 13 enemy soldiers (and declares: 'I surrounded them!'), then he becomes a first-class shot, and then he volunteers for a dangerous mission - and only starts feeling a little uneasy when he's told that he might never return... But, there he goes, disguised as a tree trunk, to spy on the German soldiers in the woods, playing hide-and-seek with the dumb 'krauts'; while his best friend, on another dangerous mission overhearing the Germans' conversations and telegraphing their plans to his comrades, is captured...Charlie, meanwhile, finds refuge in the bombed-out house of a pretty young French girl (Edna Purviance, of course) - but not for long, until both are captured and brought before the ridiculous and lustful German officer; and then the Kaiser himself (played once again by Charlie's brother Sydney, who also plays his comrade!) pays a visit to the troops - but what does Charlie do to him?? See for yourself - you won't believe it...Hearing about this hilarious plot, it may seem a bit strange and maybe even tasteless to make such a 'light' comedy about War, and even while the REAL War is still going on - and yet, Charlie once more makes the whole thing look so natural, with all the realistic elements of the trenches, the bombed-out houses, the shooting, the explosions... and AMIDST all that, his gags work just like always! Of course, the War was almost over, and victory was already guaranteed; and so, Charlie was now (after he'd made REAL efforts to help the US army, selling War Bonds and making educational shorts on his own expenses) able to show all the absurdity of war in the shape of a simply HILARIOUS comedy - certainly one of the BEST he produced for First National! A historical document today - and at the same time a WONDERFULLY crazy piece of entertainment...

ackstasis Charles Chaplin's 'Shoulder Arms' of 1918 was his longest film to date, though, at just over 45 minutes in length, it was not quite a feature film. With World War One just drawing to a close, many popular entertainers of the time were doing their part to inspire their native troops, and Chaplin was no exception. And so the lovable Tramp went to war! The film begins with the Tramp in training, and the character is hilariously inept at even the simplest military drills, including marching and gun-slinging, much to the disgust of his drill sergeant. The Tramp then finds himself in the trenches, faced with a more formidable foe, though the Germans eventually turn out of be infinitely more incompetent than even he. The uproarious moment when the Tramp declares that he single-handedly captured thirteen German soldiers by "surrounding them" had me in stitches.There are plenty of other great moments in this film. Chaplin awaking to find his sleeping barracks underwater and being unable to literally find his own feet is hilarious, as is his ingenious use of a tube from a record player to sleep beneath the surface.However, the most memorable scenes in the film undoubtedly involve Chaplin skulking behind enemy lines disguised as a tree. The reactions of the bumbling German soldiers, unknowingly just metres from a sworn enemy, as they are single-handedly disabled one-by-one are highly amusing, especially when one soldier grapples an axe with the intention of cutting down a tree for firewood.This is a very enjoyable film, and one of the best of Chaplin's pre-1920 efforts. Highly recommended.

Cineanalyst The big names in cinema tried to do their part for the war effort, and Charlie Chaplin was no exception. This patriotic and propagandist picture, "Shoulder Arms", is part of his contribution, although the war was nearly over by the time of its release. The tramp goes to war, humorously accomplishes acts of heroism and kicks the Kaiser in the bum. It's a very funny film, although I don't think it nearly one of his best. It's with "A Dog's Life" as his better output for First National before he made his early masterpiece "The Kid". They were his first three-reelers, which contain sustained, more elaborate gags than he could usually orchestrate in his two-reel shorts at Mutual.It can be difficult to balance a pro-war message with slapstick antics and scenes of burlesque on the front, but one wouldn't think so watching "Shoulder Arms". It's also preferable in many respects to a "more serious", dramatic work with a similar message, such as Griffith's "Hearts of the World". Chaplin had become a true virtuoso of screen comedy by this time; he makes it look effortless. He knew very well by then that a film with fewer gags--with more elaboration, refinement and careful timing--could be better than any knockabout, Keystone-type farce with a dozen pratfalls a minute. The sequence where Chaplin is disguised as a tree is a pertinent example. Even with wars raging, Chaplin can lift the spirits of millions.