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Wednesday 29 September 2010

The Great Dictator (1940)

"Commander Shutz: Strange, and I thought you were an Aryan.
A Jewish barber: No. I'm a vegetarian"

I would say that "The Great Dictator" is Charlie Chaplin's best movie ever. Mainly a spoof of Hitler, but also reminding us about tyranny in any form, the movie was Chaplin's first talkie. Probably the funniest aspect is his mockery of German: dictator Adenoid Hynkel stands up on the podium and rants something that sounds like: "Eh, de Holstein und de Aryan maiden und de strangulation itten. Kapeet! Kapatt! Deutsch Juden...grrr deutsch Juden!" Another great scene is when he's arguing with the Mussolini character about the Ostralich border, and their argument almost turns into a catfight.

Seeing how he pointed the finger at all tyranny, it's easy to see why HUAC used this movie to kick Chaplin out of the country. No matter, Chaplin ended up getting the last laugh; not only did the Oscars eventually give him an honorary Oscar, but the world remembers him as one of the greatest directors in history.

4 comments:

  1. I could watch Chaplin and Buster Keaton movies all day. check this video out, comedic twist on the Hitler/Chaplin thing:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxAuEnsCPuI

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