Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940]

Amazon.co.uk Review

The Great Dictator was Charles Chaplin's first fully talking picture, a scathing comic assault on Adolf Hitler, which these days will mostly play like brilliant slapstick. But in 1940, with America still neutral, it was the boldest anti-Nazi statement Hollywood had then put on screen. The thin plot doesn't matter, being just a peg for writer-director Chaplin's almost consistently inventive and hilarious set-pieces featuring himself in the duel roles of Adenoid Hynkel, the ludicrous anti-Semitic Dictator of Tomania, and an innocent Jewish barber who happens to be a Tomanian hero of the Great War. In the latter role he affectionately spins a variation on his beloved Tramp character while briefly romancing a lacklustre Paulette Goddard, costar of his equally satirical Modern Times (1936).

Yet it's as Hynkel/Hitler that Chaplin really shines, from a side-splitting opening speech to some Duck Soup-style madness with rival leader Napaloni, played with flamboyant swagger by Jack Oakie. While the finale, a clarion call for a brave new world united by science and technological progress that seems to emanate straight from 1936's Things to Come, may jar, the comedic approach to a deadly serious subject has proved lastingly influential, from Dr Strangelove (1964) to Life is Beautiful (1997).

On the DVD The Great Dictator is presented in the original 4:3 black and white with strong, clear mono sound and a picture so sharp and detailed that, bar a few very minor instances of damage, the film could have been shot yesterday. Also included are French and Italian dubbed versions and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the soundtrack, which is best avoided. The disc features multiple subtitle options, including English for hard of hearing.

Disc Two begins with a superb 55-minute documentary, directed by film historian Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft, narrated by Kenneth Branagh and coproduced by the BBC. The Tramp and the Dictator goes seriously in-depth to explore the parallels between the world's most loved and hated men, drawing on many interviews and remarkable rare footage, including colour sequences of the making of The Great Dictator shot by Chaplin's brother, Sydney. Next comes the complete 25 minutes of that home-movie footage, including coverage of the original abandoned ending, and a seven-minute deleted scene from Sunnyside (1918), which inspired the barber scene. Finally there is a poster gallery and a scene from Monsieur Verdoux (1947) concerning the rise of Hitler and fascism. Marvellous stuff, though a commentary could have added considerably to the already remarkable silent colour material. --Gary S Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

I like people like us, simple-minded..........2008-01-09

or similar...perhaps this sentence stroke me most, and their genuine simple relationship. I laughed, and reflected, and smiled, and almost cried, and then gladly satisfied to have watched it.

Beyond Genius !!!.......2007-12-24

The Great Dictator is a beyond-excellent film. Charlie Chaplin succeeds in being both extremely funny and witty and yet at the same time provides a strong statement in his satire against fascism. The anti-Nazi speech by Chaplin at the end, with its values, is one of filmdom's great moments. Throughout this movie, I sensed there was some higher form of intelligence, beyond genuinely intelligent filmmaking, at work.

Brilliant Chaplin at his best........2007-11-29

This is one of the best, and bravest Chaplin efforts. A talkie as well. Hilarious from start to finish. A mockery of Hitler that will have you all laughing, except of course those born without a sense of humour.

Grab it when you can, it's a touchy subject and been shelved by many stores which is a shame, as Chaplin as usual always wins the day.

Is it really Chaplin or is it Hitler?

10/10

A great film to watch.......2007-06-05

I had only seen short clips of this film before watching it and was unsure what to expect. The film is a curious mix of slapstick humour, politics and high art, switching quickly from hilarious to serious and back again and again as the film goes on. Personally I like it: Chaplin brings together a great balance where there is not too much of any aspect in this film. There are enough laughs to keep the politics interesting and enough politics to prevent the laughter obscuring the danger depicted in the film. It is not the light entertainment of modern satires on dictators like Hot Shots but is a beautiful, informative and funny film. No matter which bits you watch it for you'll find the others good too.

As relevant as ever.......2007-01-28

I've just sat through this film for the first time in many years. It is supposed to be Chaplin after his glory days when he was past his peak. RUBBISH!!! It is a tour de force of satire which is as relevant today as when it was first shown in 1940. Only Chaplin had the audacity to mix slapstick with chilling scenes of human cruelty. One minute we're shown storm troopers being hit on the head with a comedy frying pan faces covered in paint. The next, the Jewish barber is being lynched by a mob of storm troopers with a noose around his neck being strung up on a lamp post. Chaplin's portrayal of the banality (and vanity)of evil is masterful; the dance with the globe is sheer Chaplin. The cackle he gives when he takes the world in his hands chills the blood. Let no-one tell you that this is Chaplin on the cheap. It is glorious cinema from a master film maker from start to finish. The closing speech, which has always come in for criticism as preachy, arched, contrived etc, is to my mind very moving and reminds us that dictatorship is closer than we nowadays like to think. Chaplin has been seen as generally out of fashion for some time. I hope that this view is coming to an end. I think in many ways he was ahead of his time and a film like The Great Dictator is a good example of this. This film is nearly 70 years old but has not lost its power to make us laugh. Neither has it lost its power to either shock or warn.

The DVD is excellent as well.

Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940]

Average customer rating:

A REAL Classic
Look up Hanna

Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940]
Starring: Kalpana (IV) , Sindhuja , Harisree Asokan , Premkumar , and Jagathi Sreekumar
Director: P.K. Radhakrishnan
Manufacturer: Cda Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000CGCSV
Release Date: 2003-11-17

Customer Reviews:

A REAL Classic.......2007-09-19

Look up Hanna.......2005-07-14

This movie is hyped up in some sort of frenzy; someone calls it a classic or likes the thought that someone is mocked and the next person repeats it until everyone gives this less than mediocre film a positive spin before viewing it.

This is Chaplin way past his prime still tying to be a keystone cop and using mundane slapstick humor years after the film industry became more sophisticated. From the first Scene you ask "This is a five star movie?" and it goes down hill from there. The sets are cardboard and the camera is still pretty much still.

If you kike film that mock the era a much better production was done by Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in "To Be or Not to Be" (1942).

The basic story is of a dictator and a barber that is not all there getting mixed identities. Chaplin gets to play both parts. The only redeeming value of the movie is the acting of Henry Daniell who played Garbitsch. Then again he is a veteran actor and can be seen in over 60 films including "Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green" as Prof. Moriarty.

All the people are over exaggerated stereotypes (maybe on purpose) and this distracts from the story like having a musical with songs not related to the movie.

If you can make it to the end of the film you get a long tedious speech in the style of Ayn Rand. The sun shines and the wind blows.

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