Chaplin plays two totally opposite roles in his first "talkie", giving a superb display of his boundless talent for both inspired comedy and powerful drama. One of his masterfully drawn characters is a Jewish barber facing the constant threat of storm troopers and religious persecution. The other is the great dictator, Hynkel, a brilliant lampoon of Adolph Hitler that is awesome proof of Chaplin's pantomime genius. The movie's famous highlight comes in its final scene, when Chaplin steps out of character and addresses the camera with an eloquent plea for the triumph of reason and humanity over mindless militarism. This speech is so moving that Chaplin was later asked to repeat it on national radio, and the film itself was voted one of the year's Ten Best by The New York Times.
This special edition box set of Chaplin's The Great Dictator also contains a CD soundtrack, a commemorative booklet featuring production stills and behind-the-scenes images from the film, lobby card prints, a collectible SenitypeŽ (35mm film frame), and a free rolled original US cinema poster (one sheet) in-pack mail-in offer.
DVD EXTRAS
'The Tramp and the Dictator' (55 mins) - a documentary by Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft. The production filmed in colour by Sydney Chaplin (25 mins). 'Charlie the Barber' (1919) (7 mins). Scene from Monsieur Verdoux (1947) (3 mins). Scenes from the films in the Chaplin Collection (23 mins). Poster gallery.
Technical Details
Certification: PG
Duration: 126 mins
Format: DVD
Region: 2
Cat. No: C201617(CDA ENTERTAINMENT)
Category: Comedy:General
