The Great Dictator

Chaplin's Finest Hour

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Release Date: 1940
Rating: U
Running Time: 120 mins
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Starring Charlie Chaplin and Charlie Chaplin

'You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, a wonderful adventure'

The father of silent films, the king of comedy, the God of slapstick, the first real movie star, it's fair to say that Charlie Chaplin was no doubt an absolute genius. He is still to this date the man who received the longest ever standing ovation of twelve minutes for incalculable effect he has had in making motion picture the art form of this century. He was a clear icon admire by millions and he is still seen to have influenced so many of the stars acting today.

Directing, writing, producing, composing scores and starring in his films, the man is a clear auteur whose films have managed to stand the test of time and still have so many watched and loved; Modern Times (1936), City Lights (1931), The Gold Rush (1925) and my personal favorite among so many others, The Great Dictator (1940). Though it's almost 75 years on, I still find it a complete work of genius and one of the funniest films that I have ever seen. We begin at the end of WWI where we meet a German Jewish Barber who is a rendition of Chaplin's famous and well loved 'Little Tramp' character, and see him escape the British invasion of the German trenches in a plane  and return to his home of Tomania, (a made up version of Germany and Hitler's ideal fantasy of Germania). However moments later we see him  crash land and suffer a memory loss after finding out that the Germans have lost the war and are surrendering. Unaware of the world and what's been going on until he is released from hospital years later, he return home to the Jewish Ghetto only to find that a forceful dictator by the name of Adenoid Hynkel, a short tempered man for Osterich, has taken over. Sounds a bit similar to someone else.

Regarded as Chaplin's first real talkie where we hear he him speak, the film is able to explore much more, opposed to just being confined to the silent film world we're use to seeing 'The Little Tramp' living in. There's no denying that it's an incredibly clever and hysterically funny film that really does poke fun at the barbaric Nazis and of course Adolf Hitler himself, but as well as this, the audience still get to see Chaplin doing what he does best, run into trouble at every possible bend with incredibly comical circumstances. Having said this however, 'The Great Dictator' is not just a comedy but also a film about racial segregation, freedom and love, it really is coated with a strong and powerful meaning. Chaplin delivers at the end a truly moving speech, arguably perhaps one of the greatest speeches ever made and in fact is still relevant to what's going on today.  'Soldiers do not fight for slavery, fight for liberty, don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine hearts and machine minds'. As the film was released during early WWII, the film was highly regarded as a strong piece of uplifting morale for Britain and is able to say what everyone was thinking and feeling/

Though of course having made the film so early on during the war, Chaplin was unaware of Hitler's true intentions, particularly with the Jews and concentration camps, Chaplin actually stated that if he was aware of what was going on, he would never have made any scenes in a prison camp. What's interesting was that Chaplin wasn't sure whether to even make the film altogether, due to what was going on, but so many, particularly those in America, urged him to make it, and it clearly payed off as a highly successful and well captured piece of film.

Adolf Hitler, despite actually being a fan of Charlie Chaplin and basing his image on the comedian, had the film banned in Germany and it stayed banned until 1958. It was said that Hitler watched the film twice, once in private and once with others, but he never told anyone what he thought of it, Chaplin actually stated that he would've loved to have known what his reaction was, as I imagine would everyone.

If you have never seen a Chaplin film before, I'd strongly recommend 'The Great Dictator'. It's one that may be more relatable when viewed by a contemporary due to it actually being a 'talkie' unlike Chaplin's earlier films. And to put it plainly, it is not just a piece of propaganda for the allies, but a true masterpiece and perfect combination of comedy, drama, sorrow and love.

9/10