I turned the word 'monkfish' into a derogatory term!
I turned the word 'monkfish' into a derogatory term!
Member since:17.01.2004
Reviews:14
Members who trust:4
Charlie Chaplin is probably the most well known movie actor ever, who progressed from his ten to fifteen minute short films, such as 'The Champion' (1915), to larger works such as 'Modern Times' (1936) and this, 'The Great Dictator' (1940).
The film follows two seperate storylines. The first is of the Dictator of Tomania, Adenoid Hynkel (Chaplin), who is planning to conquer the world; while the other is about the Dictator's double, a Jewish barber (also Chaplin), who had suffered amnesia after WWI to wake up to find that he has to live in the ghetto and that Hynkel's soldiers prowl the streets. Meanwhile, Hynkel has decided to go one further than his competetive 'friend' Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria, by invading Bacteria.
The film is obviously a parody of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis with Napaloni representing Mussolini. Of course, in 1940, America had yet to enter WWII (they did so in 1941 due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor), and at the time, America was selling munitions to both the Allies and the Germans.
'The Great Dictator' is a difficult film to watch. Although it is easy to laugh at the situation being portrayed in a Chaplin style of slapstick, it takes the true meaning of the film away and what it is truly trying to depict. Three scenes stand out like this. The first is the famous scene where Hynkel is dancing with a large blow-up globe in his quest to rule the world, and just when he has his hands clasped around it, it pops. There is a scene in a barbers with Hynkel and Napaloni on high-reaching seats, each trying to outdo the other by raising it closer and closer to the ceiling. And the third, is of the Jewish barber and four others who have decided that the one who finds a coin in his pudding must go and kill Hynkel - each tries to swap his coin from pudding to pudding without the others noticing, which totally mocks the courage of those in the ghetto.
However, it is a funny film, one cannot doubt that. It is enjoyable to watch but it just distracts from the big picture. It sometimes feels like Chaplin's Communist propaganda coming through the reels like 'Modern Times'. Because of this it leaves a lasting impression.
But is it anything new? Certainly in context as a parody about the Nazis - nothing like this had been attempted before. However, it still feels like just another Chaplin Tramp movie. On screen it has all of his motifs of skidding about the screen, mixed identity etc which is all well and good, but it is sadly Chaplin trying not to let go of the silent era where he had made his name. It feels that by 1940, he should have been moving on.
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Liked this film.. and your review too.. Nice work...S
eve6kicksass 19.01.2004 23:37
This is an outstanding film...In fact, I'm the one I requested for Ciao to be listed, though you seem to have beaten me to have written the first review. You should see my review on it, which will be posted soon...Chris xxx
![Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78519193.jpg "Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940] [DVD]")
![Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [DVD] [1940]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/97196169.jpg "Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [DVD] [1940]")
![Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [VHS] [1940]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/74889777.jpg "Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [VHS] [1940]")
Jan 19th, 2004
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