While the suspension of disbelief in The Artist hinges squarely — and completely unmentioned — on the fact that we're looking at modern faces when we watch the film, a fallacy that undercuts its corny endgame nostalgia, it's occasionally good to see things the way they really were. Or as close to how they “really were” as possible. Tonight's brand-new 35mm restoration of the original 1925 version of Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush shows you the faces of the people — the down people, the poor people — as they were almost 100 years ago. The plot: Charlie Chaplin plays The Tramp, digging for gold in the Klondike, eating his shoes in the face of starvation and transmuting sadness and pathos into bonhomie and joy. It's the version that's been unavailable for decades — in 1942, Chaplin removed some scenes and included his own narration — and its orchestral score returns to its original form as well. Cinefamily — formerly Silent Movie — was one of the last places for decades in L.A. that you could see silent movies, and it's the spiritual ground zero for the world embraced in the current mania over The Artist. If ever there were a time to see the ghost of murdered Silent Movie owner Laurence Austin, this would be it. Cinefamily, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., Fri., Mar. 2, 7:30 p.m., $12. (323) 655-2510, cinefamily.org

Fri., March 2, 7:30 & 9:45 p.m., 2012

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