The Great Dictator (1940)

This film, which is directed by, written by, produced by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. Despite the fact this film was released in 1940 and his previous film was released in 1936, this is Chaplin's first talking picture (The Jazz Singer, the first talking picture, came out in 1927). This film satirizes Nazism and Adolf Hitler. In the film Chaplin plays the dictator of a fictional nation along with and a Jewish barber living in a ghetto. The plot basically tells what happens as the war progresses. The plot was sort of slow at times, but overall it wasn't bad.

As for the acting, it's kind of hard to really rate. This is the first time I've seen any of Chaplin's work and he seemed pretty good I guess. His comedic style, while good, seemed very strange in a film of this nature. I didn't find many parts of the film all that funny, but I didn't think the film was ever inappropriate in its use of would-be comedy. The supporting cast was nothing special, but they were adequate. The star of this film is Chaplin and he plays his two roles rather well.

Overall, this is quite different. This is one of Chaplin's most highly-regarded films, his best box office success, and easily his most popular talking picture. The film's message is a good one and I think the film addresses it well. Chaplin's speech at the end of the film is rather uplifting and offers a lot of hope, but on the other hand it's depressing in the sense that the film was made in 1940 and the atrocities against the Jewish people were far from over at the time of this film's release. I'd say this film was good, but I wouldn't rank it amongst my favorites. Chaplin is known for his comedy and this just seems like a strange type of film to use comedy. The satire was good, but strange at the same time. Still, I'd like to see some more of Chaplin's work.

76.5/100
C

UP NEXT: Witness for the Prosecution.

Chester Conklin and Billy Gilbert, also in the movie, were actors from the silents making the transition to sound.
Chaplin was always known for being on the cutting edge in his movies with regard to being provocative. This was the last time his "Little Tramp" character would be in any of his films, just as a sort of reincarnation as a Jewish barber. This would be his last film until 1947's "Monsieur Verdoux."
Sadly, he would fall victim to the Communist manhunt of the late 40s and early 50s. He had never bothered to become a U.S. citizen, even with all the years he had lived here. In 1952, he was officially banned from reentry to the U.S. after attending a reception for one of his movies in London. He would come back in the early 1970s to accept an Oscar before passing in 1977.
I've always enjoyed his movies and when in high school, I did mime for speech contest for 2 years with vague parallels to his work.

laprimamirala wrote:

Sadly, he would fall victim to the Communist manhunt of the late 40s and early 50s.

Yeah, I was reading about that. People sure were stupid back then, everyone is a Communist Supposedly when he got his Oscar in 1972 he received a 5 minute standing ovation which remains the longest ovation in the history of that award.

On a different Chaplin note, for those Chaplin fans who have TV, Turner Classic Movies is having a Chaplin day or something on August 2 - their first movie of the day has nothing to do with Chaplin but every single movie/short/documentary the rest of the day is Chaplin.

Wish I had TCM

I just got it a couple months ago. Now that TV is over for summer it's pretty much the only channel I use. Combine that with a DVR and I have tons of movies at my disposal. I think I'll go watch Ben-Hur right now.

you will enjoy it! Looking forward to your thoughts.

laprimamirala wrote:

you will enjoy it! Looking forward to your thoughts.

I'm at the entr'acte right now. It's not what I was expecting so far (I thought it was about the life of Christ or something) but it hasn't been bad. Still waiting for the chariot scene....

EDIT: How long is this entr'acte!?!?

I think the Sound of Music was the last film I saw that actually had an intermission with music as part of the film.
Chariot race is about 3/4 of the way through.
Christ is definitely a secondary role but permeates throughout the entire story.

laprimamirala wrote:

I think the Sound of Music was the last film I saw that actually had an intermission with music as part of the film.
Chariot race is about 3/4 of the way through.
Christ is definitely a secondary role but permeates throughout the entire story.

I've seen a few with intermissions....this one, Gone with the Wind, and I think The Birth of a Nation. I really want to see Lawrence of Arabia which also has one (I think).

Yeah, I noticed Christ is mentioned and stuff but since the title of the book was Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ I thought he'd be a main character. Actually, this is probably better as it doesn't necessarily require the viewer to be Christian to enjoy it.

On an unrelated note, while waiting for a baseball game to come on last week I caught a little bit of Jeopardy and the final jeopardy question (category was 1960s Oscar Winners) was "this 227 minute 1962 film does not feature a woman in a speaking role and won 7 Oscars". NONE of the contestants got it right - they guessed Ben-Hur (a 50s movie), Dr. Strangelove (a short film that won no Oscars), and The Longest Day (it's long and from 1962 but has women). I got it right in like 3 seconds - I felt smart

Spoiler:

What do you win?

I just watched this...

I agree with catbox is everything that he said. The plot seemed slow at times and the comedy was a bit strange in a movie like this. This isn't my favorite Chaplin movie as I prefer his silent Tramp movies. I guess I didn't get it. The speech at the end was the best part of the movie and the score rises because of it.

74/100