(Also, fun fact: Chaplin and Hitler not only had the same mustache but they were born the same day. It's like Chaplin was born to protest Hitler through this film. It's epic.)
As you write about this film in the comments below, please answer at least two of the following questions:
- Which Chaplin film was your favorite? Provide at least three reasons to back up your opinion.
- Which of the three great silent filmmakers (Lloyd, Keaton, and Chaplin) is your favorite? Provide at least three reasons to back up your opinion.
- Do you think Chaplin is funnier when he makes purely silent films or when he integrates sound? Why?
- Do you think the Jewish character in The Great Dictator is the tramp character that Chaplin usually plays? Why or why not?
- What is your favorite scene / moment in The Great Dictator? Why?
Genres Students: In addition to the above, please also answer the following question:
- Even though this film has sound, in what ways is it still a silent comedy? This question is intended to help you think more deeply about the nature of silent comedy as a genre.
And since I love it so much, here's a link to watch that final speech again. But don't just watch it, live it too:
i thought this movie was awesome in the way he made fun of the war but had so good and warming heart messages and the hard true in it. he's acting as a jew and hincle was great and different. cuz he played to opposites i thought this was interesting. with him doing a sound movie i like him in both cuz he is awesome in both . i think you should watch this movie for if you like the first world war or like to see charlie Chaplin the great ~yami gaia
ReplyDeleteIt's a big tie between The Kid/The Great Dictator for being my favorite Charlie Chaplin film. This movie was mostly about Charlie making fun of Hitler during the 1940's. That is actually one of the best parts of this movie. Every scene he's in as Hit... I mean Hynkel is freak'n hilarious.
ReplyDeleteThis movie has great acting. I feel like this is the one movie where the acting is so much better than Charlie's previous ones. The slapstick is so funny to watch mostly with Hynkel scenes. The scenes with Charlie as a jew is dramatically good. So they both have different moments in this movie comedy and drama.
Overall this one is one of my favorites from Charlie ether this or The Kid. If I was going to compare this to The General, I'm sorry Charlie fans but I like The General more than the great dictator but I still love this movie a lot
A
I loved 'City Lights' that was my favorite film that I watched from Chaplin. Maybe it's because it was cute, that's one of the reasons I liked it. I also liked it because of the need for change in it. The girl was blind and Chaplin clearly wanted to help her out and in the end he helped her to see and I think that's a great thing and that's probably why it's my favorite movie we watched.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Dictator is my second favorite movie by Charlie Chaplin, it was hilarious on many levels and a great film.
My favorite silent filmmaker we studied is probably Lloyd, it could because I spent a couple of days researching him for a power point but it's also because of his films. Lloyd always played the underdog, yet, he still had a smile on his face and it seemed his character always found the bright side in things and that was pretty refreshing. Instead of a 'sad' 'depressing' character he was happy.
Even though this film had sound it didn't have to much sound. Like the rule 'Show, don't tell," I thought it followed the rule very well. When something funny happened, it was shown and not told through sound or words. That's why I still think this is a silent comedy.
-Koren
I think this was my favorite Chaplin movie, because he is making fun of Hitler and making it funny by using the name "Hynkle", also because while it is a sound film, he still manages to add in the visual jokes more than verbal jokes. It's also pretty funny that he managed to play the two roles of Hynkle and the ordinary barber guy.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty hard to choose if Chaplin is more funny making purely silent films or when he integrates sound, because I just find it funny either way.
My favorite scene of this movie is probably the end speech because he talks about making peace and not war and it is just a good message to everyone.
-Man-Bear's Cousin j.k. no one calls me that
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ReplyDeleteI love Charlie Chaplin, he is my favorite because every single one of his movies are totally enjoyable from start to finish. And you can tell that he was the one to make the smoothest transition from back when they were completely silent to when they first incorporated sound from the others because the way he evolved his movies was creative and unique. My favorite movie is The Great Dictator his role for both the antagonist and protagonist was played beautifully. He is both great a film maker and an actor. I love his speech when he was speaking gibberish and the way he played with that through out as the parody Germany's language was wonderful. And the speech that is a total icon at the end was heart warming and inspirational
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of the three has been Charlie Chaplin. His films had more emotion for me, and had an overall deeper and meaningful feel than the other 2. I also find him funnier, with the way he gets into crazy situations and lies his way out.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the Jewish character was the tramp. I don't think the tramp would ever be a respected member of society, like the barber. The tramp never really had a big role in society, he was just there in the midst of it all. The barber was a soldier, and then returned to his respectable place of business to continue to live his life, where I feel the tramp would've milked the situation dry. They may have looked the same, but I don't feel like their personalities are remotely the same.
~Brennan Hanks
It's a difficult to pick out which one of Charlie's films I liked best, because I found them all to be just, really great. But I suppose mine would probably be the great dictator. I just thought it was really funny, I found most of the jokes, verbal and physical to be absolutely funny. It entertained me greatly. I also liked how they all of the characters were like, especially hynkle or however his name goes. He did act a lot like Hitler sure, but in such a comedic way, like when he spoke or screamed in german. It was just mostly random words that sound german. I really thought that they did the way scenes really well, like in the beginning of the film. The effects were really good for that time and it was just cool.
ReplyDeleteI think that my favorite scene in the great dictator would probably be when the barber makes his infamous speech at the end. It was just really beautiful, and all of what he said made sense and it was right. It was very meaningful and I thought what he had to say was amazing. Yeah I suppose I would call it one of the greatest movie speeches of all time. It definitely made me think, and I would hope that it did to others too.
I think The Great Dictator is a great film. Of all of the films I have ever seen in my life, it reminds me most of Dr. Strangelove. I like Dr. Strangelove more, but I still like The Great Dictator a lot. I like the way there was all the black comedy in the film, like the bullet proof vest bit, and still there was all Chaplin's signature physical comedy. I also liked the message against Hitler, dramatic scenes, and characters (especially Chaplin's characters) in the film.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Chaplin film is City Lights. Soon after I wrote my response for City Lights, in which I proclaimed it as being my favorite Charlie Chaplin film, I found out Stanley Kubrick loved Chaplin, and he loved this film in particular. As much as I love Stanley Kubrick, I must make it clear that I did not know of his liking of this film until after I wrote that response, so my opinion was in no way swayed by his. I just liked it the most of all Chaplin's films simply because I liked it, and I liked it for these reasons: 1. The story was the best for this one. It was very touching and emotional, while keeping the great comedy Charlie is known for. 2. The characters were the most realistic and relatable in this one. 3. The biggest reason of all for this being the best Chaplin film, even over The Great Dictator and Modern Times, as much as I like them, was the ending. I loved the ending for this film, and I think it is one of the most beautiful moments, not only in silent films, but in films altogether. Everything is right in this scene, the acting, the music, the writing, the feelings. The feelings: they are so strong, you really care for these characters by this point and they have finally come together again, and not only that, but The Blind Girl can now see, and the best part of it all (and the main reason that drives my liking of this scene, and thus this film) is that little bit when she realizes who he is, and as The Tramp is beginning to overflow with complete and utter happiness, so are you, as the viewer. It is a great feeling, a feeling that also comes out in The Kid when the kid is taken away by the orphanage but then retrieved by The Tramp, and in The Great Dictator when the Jewish Barber gives his speech, and in Modern Times when The Tramp walks into the sunset for the final time. It is a very strong feeling that can either be happiness, sadness, or a reaction to great beauty, that I now always, along the feeling of laughter, associate with the thought of Charlie Chaplin's great films. But of all of his films, I like City Lights the best, with The Great Dictator coming in a close second place, because as much as I like the great satire and black comedy of TGD, when it's a Chaplin film, there is nothing quite like silent Chaplin.
I do not think that The Jewish Barber is The Tramp for two reasons: 1, it calls him Jewish Barber in the opening credits and in the film, not The Tramp, and 2, Charlie Chaplin himself has confirmed that Jewish Barber and Tramp are not the same people. I think it's a bit of an absurd idea to begin with. Sure they wear the same clothes, but that doesn't automatically make them the same person. I suppose now I have said all that has been needed saying.
The Great Dictator is by far my favorite Chaplin film. I love Chaplin more when he makes sound films. To me, they are funnier.
ReplyDeleteKeaton is by far my favorite. He uses less title cards, he is deadpan, and he's just awkward. I love it.
The Jewish Barber is not the Tramp. Chaplin has said so himself.
My favorite scene is when he is one the chair and he keeps raising it to seem bigger than the other man.
This has to be one of my favorite Chaplin movies. it definitely was really well written, (except maybe the ending, it was a little anti-climactic.) but it was really funny all the way through.
ReplyDeleteI have NO clue who is my favorite, learned to love all of them equally.