Has anybody seen Charlie Chaplin's movie, the Great Dictator?

Question

What did you think? Was it to contraversial? Was it an important piece of work durring WWII?

Answer 1

It's one of my favorite films. Many people find the final speech preachy--and, of course, it is, but I love it just the same. Chaplin spoke from his heart.

The idea was considered controversial when Chaplin first conceived of it and word got around that he was going to make a satire about Hitler and Mussolini, but by the time the film was ready for release most of the world had come to realize that the two dictators were a pair of out-of-control megalomaniacs and deserved to be spoofed.

Adolf Hitler = Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomania (a.k.a. The Fooey)
Benito Mussolini = Benzini Napaloni, dictator of Bacteria (a.k.a. Il Diggaditchie)

Wonderful movie. I have many favorite scenes, including Hynkle greeting Napaloni at the railway station and the Fooey's speech to the world (hilarious fake German).

Best line:

Commander Shultz: "Strange, I always thought of you as an Aryan."
The Jewish barber: "I'm a veget-aryan."

Answer 2

Oh, yes, many times. And if I see a DVD of it, I will for sure buy it. It is a genuine cinematographic classic. It was not so much controversial as instantly popular, as far as I understand, although I am just a little too young to have been around when it was new. But Chaplin was at or near the height of his career at the time, and he made the very good point that Hitler was a terribly dangerous maniac in an artful way. The perfect scene is when he plays with the globe as a beach ball, doing a dance that is virtually a ballet, and in the end, it explodes.

Answer 3

I have. The story itself is quiet good, although the ending was rather an anticlimax.


From Wikipedia I got that it was Chaplin's first dialogue picture. It The Great Dictator (1940) was an act of defiance against Adolf Hitler and Nazism, filmed and released in the United States one year before it abandoned its policy of isolationism to enter World War II. The film was seen as an act of courage in the political environment of the time, both for its ridicule of Nazism and for the portrayal of overt Jewish characters and the depiction of their persecution. Chaplin played both the role of a Nazi dictator clearly modeled on Hitler (with a certain physical likeness), and also that of a Jewish barber cruelly persecuted by the Nazis. Hitler, who was a great fan of movies, is known to have seen the film twice (records were kept of movies ordered for his personal theatre). Interestingly, Chaplin and Hitler were born only four days apart (Hitler was born on April 20, 1889).

Answer 4

Yes, I have seen it and it was extremely impressionable in my opinion. I thought I once read that Chaplin had won the Oscar for Best Actor for the role but he refused to accept it, but I could be wrong.

Watching CC play dictator Adnoid Hinkle *sp?* in one scene then the meek Jewish barber in the next scene was amazing. It is in my list of top 10 films of all time and as been for years

Answer 5

Brilliant piece of work even today and controversial at the time - Hitler was pretty popular around the world in the thirties. At least until he started invading other countries.

Answer 6

I love that film!

And yes, it was contraversial, but in a silly comedy kinda way. I'm trying to think of a modern example, but I'm drawing a blank.

Answer 7

I saw it on TCM a few times. It was pretty hilarious, but in modern times comparable to a BUSH comedy sketch - but other than lambasting our country - he lambasted Germany and wasn't all that accurate. Although his speach at the end was very correct. It was mostly comedy - like the scene where he's dressed up like hitler and starts to dance and sing.

Answer 8

i sure have, it was one of his best. he did a funny rendition of a hitler-like character. didn't he play two characters? a meek mild one and that hitler like one. as i remembered, i think one of his wives was the actress that also starred in it. the only controversial thing i thought is that chaplin really gave it to the germans, chaplin being jewish and then mimicking someone almost like hitler. i loved it.

Answer 9

Yep, I have seen it. No, I don't think it was controversial. Yes it was a great piece of work. It definitely makes you think about a lot of things. And besides, it was pretty funny.

Answer 10

Halarious, even though im 15 my dad loves it and he showed it to me and when i was little i heard a lot about it when i use to live in India. classic stuff.