#565: CHAPLIN, Charles: The Great Dictator (1940)

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CHAPLIN, Charles (United States)
The Great Dictator [1940]
Spine #565
Blu-ray


In his controversial masterpiece The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. Chaplin, in his first pure talkie, brings his sublime physicality to two roles: the cruel yet clownish "Tomainian" dictator and the kindly Jewish barber who is mistaken for him. Featuring Jack Oakie and Paulette Goddard in stellar supporting turns, The Great Dictator, boldly going after the fascist leader before the U.S.'s official entry into World War II, is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin's famously impassioned speech.

125 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writer


Charles Chaplin was 51 when he wrote and directed The Great Dictator.

Other Chaplin films in the Collection:

#799: The Kid (1921)

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-two page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Wood, Chaplin’s 1940 New York Times defense of his movie, a reprint from critic Jean Narboni on the film’s final speech, and Al Hirschfeld’s original press book illustrations.

Commentary

By Chaplin historians Dan Kamin and Hooman Mehran.

Two visual essays

One by Chaplin archivist Cecilia Cenciarelli and one by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance.
The Tramp and the Dictator (2001)

Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft’s documentary paralleling the lives of Chaplin and Hitler, including interviews with author Ray Bradbury, director Sidney Lumet, screenwriter Budd Schulberg, and others.
Color production footage

Shot by Chaplin’s half-brother Sydney.
Barbershop sequence

From Sydney Chaplin’s 1921 film King, Queen, Joker.
Deleted barbershop sequence

From Chaplin’s 1919 film Sunnyside.
Rerelease trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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