The Tramp and the Dictator (2002) (V)

Directors:

Kevin Brownlow
Michael Kloft

Writers:

Kevin Brownlow (narration) &
Christopher Bird (narration)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

A fascinating documentary that explores the making of Charles Chaplin's first "talkie" The Great Dictator...

Plot Keywords:

Anarchy | Archive Footage | Censorship | Fascism | Film Reel

Cast

Kenneth Branagh	...	Himself / Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sydney Chaplin	...	Himself

Runtime:

Germany:58 min (Berlin Film Festival) | USA:56 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

This documentary is featured on the 2-Disc Charlie Chaplin Collection DVD for 'Great Dictator, The (1940)' , released in 2003.

Movie Connections:

References City Lights (1931)

the story of a great film and of the history around

What can be said about one of the greatest movies in the history of cinema. It seems that a lot, and this documentary - actually a juxtaposition of two documentaries succeeds to tell a lot.

The first part focuses on the parallel biographies of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler, the genial artist who made people laugh and the horrible dictator who entered history as one of the most evil people to have ever lived. One of the revelations of the movie is that the two were born the same week, and their biographies had no few common things. Very interesting color footage from the film studios taken by Chaplin's brother Sidney add a lot and the commentaries are solid, without being extremely deep. The only other remarkable thing I learned is that Hitler may have seen 'The Great Dictator' and actually enjoyed it. The supreme beast had a sense of humor.

The second part is actually also interesting from a documentary point of view, telling the story of a few more Hitler films made during the war. The balance between art and propaganda inclined towards propaganda in most of these productions and none of course benefited from the genius of a Chaplin, so they were much less successful and are now forgotten.