The Criterion Collection
Pop Culture Beast presents a Criterion-a-Day, reviewing Criterion titles daily, every other week (until we run out).
Spine #565
Written and Directed by: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert, Grace Hayle, Carter DeHaven and Paulette Goddard
Special Features: Audio commentary from Charlie Chaplin historians Dan Kamin and Hooman Mehran, The Tramp and the Dictator (2001) documentary paralleling the lives of Hitler and Chaplin, Two visual essays, color production footage shot by Chaplin's half-brother Sydney, Barbershop sequence from Sydney Chaplin's 1921 from King, Queen Joker, Deleted barbershop sequence from Chaplin's 1919 film Sunnyside, rerelease trailer and a booklet featuring an essay from film critic Michael Wood, Chaplin's 1940 defense of his movie, a reprint from critic Jean Narboni and Al Hirshfeld's original press book illustrations.
From the box:
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.
I may love movies but I do have a lot to learn. Most especially when it comes to classic cinema like this. To be honest, I'd never heard of The Great Dictator
. To be further honest, I'm not all that well versed in Chaplin's work at all (which makes me even more excited for a future installment of CAD featuring Modern Times!) so this title was an unusual way to jump into his work. The Great Dictator
is Chaplin's first real talkie and I was really interested to see how he handles the challenge. Well he was pretty flawless to be honest. Even as one who relied mostly on physicality in his films of the past, his delivery was extremely natural. I absolutely love his faux German speech. It's hilarious to hear him sputtering and spitting out words like wiener schnitzel and sour kraut. It is a really sweet and funny movie that has a deep message that rings true even today, despite the subject matter of the film. It really is timeless.
The entire cast is funny and give really great performances. I don't think any of the charm of the silent Tramp movies are lost on the move to talkies and the cast does a lot to maintain that. Although, there are some who say that the speech at the end of the movie is out of character for the tramp and to be honest I somewhat agree. The thing is that it's an important component to the movie and the story and it was a meaningful moment of the film.
If I had to come up with a negative it's that the movie is just a bit too long. It clocks in at about two hours and five minutes and despite the laughs and the charm, you do start to feel that time. That really is the only bad thing I can say about The Great Dictator
.Criterion has again delivered a wonderful transfer as the film looks just gorgeous. The picture is crystal clear and the audio top notch. As for special features, the disc has a few that supplement the film nicely including a documentary and some deleted footage. For me though, the most interesting wasn't on the disc but int he booklet. The small piece that Chaplin wrote in defense of the ending of this movie. It's really interesting to read his thoughts and his words on the matter.
All in all, The Great Dictator
is another great release from Criterion and a great film, if a little long, that makes for great laughs and an enjoyable watch. Criterion Collection #565
Pop Culture Beast Rating
9/10
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