Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940] | ![Charlie Chaplin - The Great Dictator [1940]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DD3PSYQML._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Actor: Charlie Chaplin
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £13.99
Buy New: £4.97
You Save: £9.02 (64%)
New (2) Used (1) from £4.25
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 2769
Format: Black & White, Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 126 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321900376501
ASIN: B0000AISJP
Theatrical Release Date: 1940
Release Date: September 1, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: 2 Disc Set
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Great Dictator was Charles Chaplin's first fully talking picture, a scathing comic assault on Adolf Hitler, which these days will mostly play like brilliant slapstick. But in 1940, with America still neutral, it was the boldest anti-Nazi statement Hollywood had then put on screen. The thin plot doesn't matter, being just a peg for writer-director Chaplin's almost consistently inventive and hilarious set-pieces featuring himself in the duel roles of Adenoid Hynkel, the ludicrous anti-Semitic Dictator of Tomania, and an innocent Jewish barber who happens to be a Tomanian hero of the Great War. In the latter role he affectionately spins a variation on his beloved Tramp character while briefly romancing a lacklustre Paulette Goddard, costar of his equally satirical Modern Times (1936). Yet it's as Hynkel/Hitler that Chaplin really shines, from a side-splitting opening speech to some Duck Soup-style madness with rival leader Napaloni, played with flamboyant swagger by Jack Oakie. While the finale, a clarion call for a brave new world united by science and technological progress that seems to emanate straight from 1936's Things to Come, may jar, the comedic approach to a deadly serious subject has proved lastingly influential, from Dr Strangelove (1964) to Life is Beautiful (1997). On the DVD The Great Dictator is presented in the original 4:3 black and white with strong, clear mono sound and a picture so sharp and detailed that, bar a few very minor instances of damage, the film could have been shot yesterday. Also included are French and Italian dubbed versions and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the soundtrack, which is best avoided. The disc features multiple subtitle options, including English for hard of hearing. Disc Two begins with a superb 55-minute documentary, directed by film historian Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft, narrated by Kenneth Branagh and coproduced by the BBC. The Tramp and the Dictator goes seriously in-depth to explore the parallels between the world's most loved and hated men, drawing on many interviews and remarkable rare footage, including colour sequences of the making of The Great Dictator shot by Chaplin's brother, Sydney. Next comes the complete 25 minutes of that home-movie footage, including coverage of the original abandoned ending, and a seven-minute deleted scene from Sunnyside (1918), which inspired the barber scene. Finally there is a poster gallery and a scene from Monsieur Verdoux (1947) concerning the rise of Hitler and fascism. Marvellous stuff, though a commentary could have added considerably to the already remarkable silent colour material. --Gary S Dalkin
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 I Don`t Like Chaplin. But This Is A Masterpiece!!!!!! March 31, 2008
Daft (U.K.)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I titled this deliberatly. I don`t like Chaplin. I allways found his work "twee". I point this out as I am sure there are many like me out there, and it would be a real shame if you were put off seeing this masterpiece as a result of seeing his other work. It is a real work genius, of perfection. This is a film Orsone Wells would have been proud to have made. This is a film Mel Brooks would have been proud to have made! A younger Woody Allen could have had aspirations. Nobody else could come close to this. Mercifuly free of schmaltz, powerful, heartbreaking, genuinely shocking, witty, surreal and downright hilarious by turn, it should be part of the national curriculum. Began in 1938, a year before the war, Chaplin saw what was coming, and begged the world to wake up. This film was his alarm, no-one wanted to hear it. The studios withdrew their backing, politicians slandered him. He risked bancrupcy to show the masses what happening under Hitler, yet not for one moment does it fail to entertain. Buy the two disk version, watch the film to see a work of true genius. Watch the documentary.... I`m lost for words on the documentary, just please watch it.
 I like people like us, simple-minded... January 9, 2008
Rossella Spoto (london, UK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
or similar...perhaps this sentence stroke me most, and their genuine simple relationship. I laughed, and reflected, and smiled, and almost cried, and then gladly satisfied to have watched it.
Beyond Genius !!! December 24, 2007
Jay (Mauritius)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Great Dictator is a beyond-excellent film. Charlie Chaplin succeeds in being both extremely funny and witty and yet at the same time provides a strong statement in his satire against fascism. The anti-Nazi speech by Chaplin at the end, with its values, is one of filmdom's great moments. Throughout this movie, I sensed there was some higher form of intelligence, beyond genuinely intelligent filmmaking, at work.
Brilliant Chaplin at his best. November 29, 2007
Lupe Loco (Dorset UK)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is one of the best, and bravest Chaplin efforts. A talkie as well. Hilarious from start to finish. A mockery of Hitler that will have you all laughing, except of course those born without a sense of humour.
Grab it when you can, it's a touchy subject and been shelved by many stores which is a shame, as Chaplin as usual always wins the day.
Is it really Chaplin or is it Hitler?
10/10
A great film to watch June 5, 2007
G. Wake (Newcastle, UK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had only seen short clips of this film before watching it and was unsure what to expect. The film is a curious mix of slapstick humour, politics and high art, switching quickly from hilarious to serious and back again and again as the film goes on. Personally I like it: Chaplin brings together a great balance where there is not too much of any aspect in this film. There are enough laughs to keep the politics interesting and enough politics to prevent the laughter obscuring the danger depicted in the film. It is not the light entertainment of modern satires on dictators like Hot Shots but is a beautiful, informative and funny film. No matter which bits you watch it for you'll find the others good too.
|
|
|
