If you’re already excited for Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator, do yourself a favor and check out a film it’s sure to be compared to, and one that was made at the same time the dictator that inspired it was still very much in power, Charlie Chaplin’s classic The Great Dictator.
The Great Dictator was Chaplin’s first talky following the small bit of gibberish that was included at the end of Modern Times, which was coincidentally the first Chaplin feature Criterion issued on Blu-ray as they have only recently started adding the comedy master’s films to the collection. And just like Modern Times, Criterion presents The Great Dictator with a flawless transfer and superb audio track and a bevy of features worth digging into.
If you’re unfamiliar, The Great Dictator features Chaplin in dual roles, one as a Jewish barber and the other as a Hitler-esque dictator. Over the course of the film the decisions of one affect the other leading up to a final speech that features Chaplin as he seemingly breaks character and speaks directly to the audience as himself. The features on this disc and the included essays will remind you, as the film premiered in 1940, it was a highly controversial feature and one that didn’t escape Hitler’s attention. In fact, this disc suggests Hitler may have watched it himself on more than one occasion.
The features begin with a brand new audio commentary with Chaplin historians Dan Kamin and Hooman Mehran. The two deliver a lot of information, historical context and behind-the-scenes details you may not have otherwise known, but as with most Criterion releases this heavy on special features, the commentary acts as a concise and slightly more detailed recap of everything else the disc has to offer.
Next are a pair of visual essays, one detailing an abandoned Chaplin feature centered on French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, that was said to have morphed into The Great Dictator and a second one which uses stills and historical imagery to discuss the making of The Great Dictator. One of the more curious little nuggets of information was how some of the crowd scenes were created by placing Grape Nuts cereal on a vibrating tray. How do they come up with these ideas?
Additionally, there’s a look at a 1921 barbershop short directed by Chaplin’s half-brother, Sydney Chaplin, called King, Queen, Joker, which features Sydney playing dual roles. The short served as an obvious influence on a similar scene in The Great Dictator as evidenced by a second feature showing the two scenes intercut with one another to exhibit the similarities. This is capped off with a lengthy, nearly 8 minute barbershop shaving scene, that was cut from Chaplin’s 1912 film, Sunnyside.
Finally, the best and most engaging feature on the disc is the 60-minute Turner Classic Movies documentary “The Tramp and the Dictator” from 2001, which details the parallel lives of Chaplin and Hitler as the two were born the same week of the same year, and while living different lives found their paths crossing in Chaplin’s satire of the dictator. Included in the feature is behind-the-scenes footage of the making of The Great Dictator as filmed by Chaplin’s half-brother Sydney. And while it is interesting to see the footage, it is just as interesting that it was actually shot in color on 16mm Kodachrome film. This footage is also presented in its entirety in a separate feature totaling almost 27 minutes, but it does not come with accompanying audio.
The Great Dictator is Criterion’s second Chaplin film they’ve issued and just like Modern Times it’s a flawless and well-worth-the-money release for those that declare themselves Chaplin fans. Criterion was also smart in beginning with two of Chaplin’s most successful films (The Great Dictator actually was his most successful). I’m curious, though, as to what they’ll release next. Gold Rush would be my personal suggestion, simply because I think it is visually the most stunning of Chaplin’s films that I have seen. But, I haven’t seen all of Chaplin’s work so something new to me the next time around would be just as enticing.
Nevertheless, as long as they keep giving the same kind of treatment they have with The Great Dictator and Modern Times they should continue to be worth the purchase.
