The Great Dictator - Chaplin Collection (Limited Edition Collector's Set)

Starring:Chaplin, Goddard, Oakie, Gardiner
Studio: Creative Design Art
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
Since Adolf Hitler had the audacity to borrow his mustache from the most famous celebrity in the world--Charlie Chaplin--it meant Hitler was fair game for Chaplin's comedy. (Strangely, the two men were born within four days of each other.) The Great Dictator, conceived in the late thirties but not released until 1940, when Hitler's war was raging across Europe, is the film that skewered the tyrant. Chaplin plays both Adenoid Hynkel, the power-mad ruler of Tomania, and a humble Jewish barber suffering under the dictator's rule. Paulette Goddard, Chaplin's wife at the time, plays the barber's beloved; and the rotund comedian Jack Oakie turns in a weirdly accurate burlesque of Mussolini, as a bellowing fellow dictator named Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria. Chaplin himself hits one of his highest moments in the amazing sequence where he performs a dance of love with a large inflated globe of the world. Never has the hunger for world domination been more rhapsodically expressed. The slapstick is swift and sharp, but it was not enough for Chaplin. He ends the film with the barber's six-minute speech calling for peace and prophesying a hopeful future for troubled mankind. Some critics have always felt the monologue was out of place, but the lyricism and sheer humanity of it are still stirring. This was the last appearance of Chaplin's Little Tramp character, and not coincidentally it was his first all-talking picture. --Robert Horton

The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)
Average customer rating:

great films and a great collection

The chaplin masterpiece collection

You can't do the impossible...

Satisfied

I became a Chaplin Lover

The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)
Starring: Chaplin Collection
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin)

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Chaplin Mutual Comedies - Restored Edition

Charlie Chaplin Short Comedy Classics - The Complete Restored Essanay & Mutual Collection

ASIN: B000096IBS
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Amazon.com essential video

Charles Spencer Chaplin, the London ragamuffin who became the most popular man of his era, gets his proper due with this deluxe package of four classics. Each two-disc set begins with an excellent new digital transfer of the picture and remastered sound. The Gold Rush, Chaplin's 1925 masterpiece, puts the Little Tramp into the snowy Yukon; it includes such celebrated sequences as the "Dance of the Rolls" and Chaplin's uncanny metamorphosis into a large chicken. Both the original silent version and Chaplin's re-edited 1942 release (for which he added his own musical score and narration) are included. A documentary on "Chaplin Today" looks at the film through the eyes of Burkina Faso director Idrissa Ouedraogo. Modern Times (1936) is Chaplin's peerless take on the machine age; his ballet on the assembly line remains one of the great images of modern man driven mad by mechanization. The DVD extras include a couple of (somewhat extraneous) vintage promotional films about the wonderful world of mass production, the famous Chaplin composition "Smile" performed by Liberace (huh?), and penetrating comments on the film by the Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.

The Great Dictator is Chaplin's comic undressing of Hitler, boldly released in 1940. An absorbing documentary, "The Tramp and the Dictator," details production of the film, and color footage shot on the set provides fascinating behind-the-scenes material. Limelight (1952), in which he plays a fading vaudevillian, is Chaplin's magnificent elegy on his own career. Extras include a deleted scene, the entire Oscar-winning score, and Bernardo Bertolucci on the film's emotional impact: "I don't cry often, but here my tears flow." Each film has a loving introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson--but newcomers to Chaplin should watch the movies first, as the extras give away endings and the best jokes. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

great films and a great collection.......2006-12-30

What can i say, If you are a fan of Chaplin, then you cannot go without this collection. for every film you get a whole second DVD with extras. Every film is remastered, and although some are in black and white, still look amazing.

The chaplin masterpiece collection.......2006-12-15

In my view every chaplin movie is good, and if your a chaplin fan like I am then you will love this lovely collection.

You can't do the impossible..........2006-08-05

Although this set tries to do the impossible, it cannot. But it is a very good collection of Chaplin films.

So, to start with, let me cover what is great in this set.

First, the films are as clearly presented as possible, with great sound, pretty good mastering, and good clarity of image. The speed of projection, a subjective topic at best, is quite carefully handled, and seems to be quite good for the most part. (This only affects the silent Gold Rush, btw.)

The restoration of the original silent Gold Rush is excellent, and a welcome addition to the canon. I don't bother arguing over which version is better, silent or sound, because they both exist in our world and such arguments end up amounting to mere preferences.

Which brings me to the first impossibility. It is IMPOSSIBLE to present a "definitive" version of most any Chaplin film, due to the cuts and changes he made in them over the years, and the variation in the editions originally issued. In addition, there are some bits from the original release which simply don't exist in a quality comparable to the quality of the current versions, and which could not be edited in without comprimising the quality.

The Chaplin family made a decision, and stuck to it. They decided to issue the films in the final approved versions, with cuts intact. They also decided to include all cuts as additional material, so that we don't lose what was taken out. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but sometimes a decision must simply be made and stuck with, and the Chaplin family went with this. Not everybody will be satisfied, but the choice has been made.

The additional materials are often good, but equally often pointless. The good stuff includes the Great Dictator documentary, lots of home movies and still, and various sequences from older films that are relevent to the title. The bad stuff includes the truly boring "Chaplin Today" documentaries, which are a great example of material trying to prove a point but instead shooting itself in the foot. I regard these documentaries as another example of doing the impossible - by trying to argue that Chaplin is relevent today (and I think he is), the directors end up proving otherwise. Some things can't be won through argument, but only through experience.

One troubling aspect of this set is that, instead of tranferring the movies fresh from film to NTSC video, the films were transferred from film to PAL video, and then converted. This changes film speed a bit, and introduces unavoidable artifacts and degrades the video quality. While not as bad as the HORRENDOUS "Phantom of the Opera" fiasco, it's a shame that we cannot see these films in their top quality without getting imported dvds from overseas in the original PAL format.

That all said, we have here four (or five) Chaplin films in possibly the best quality possible in a neat package with lots of goodies. There are plenty of quibbles with this set and it's companion, but the fact is that this is as good as it might ever get, until an even better format comes along. The films are wonderful, and it's nice to have a good edition of them again.

Satisfied .......2006-02-21

The collection arrived on time, it was in good condition. Worth watching ... Enjoy

I became a Chaplin Lover.......2006-01-07

I at first decided to look into it, so I went to my school Library which had this collection. All I did was watch a couple films, one from each set(They have 2 sets). I loved both of those films, City Lights and Modern Times. So that determinded my purschase. I recommend it and the pictures are good. They also have music and subtitles set up and even lots of special features. Worth learning something and you can't get that by other sets for that price. Get IT!!!

The Great Dictator - Chaplin Collection (Limited Edition Collector's Set)

Average customer rating:

The Great Dictator
Overrated Chaplin
A Brilliant Skewering of Hitler and Other Things...
This is a great Chaplin film
Chaplin's comment on fascism is his first talking film...

The Great Dictator - Chaplin Collection (Limited Edition Collector's Set)
Starring: Henry Bergman , Charles Chaplin , Chester Conklin , Henry Daniell , and Robert O. Davis
Manufacturer: Creative Design Art
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Anti-War Films | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Modern Times (2 Disc Special Edition)
City Lights (2 Disc Special Edition)
The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)
Limelight (2 Disc Special Edition)
The Circus (2 Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B000096IB8
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Amazon.com essential video

Since Adolf Hitler had the audacity to borrow his mustache from the most famous celebrity in the world--Charlie Chaplin--it meant Hitler was fair game for Chaplin's comedy. (Strangely, the two men were born within four days of each other.) The Great Dictator, conceived in the late thirties but not released until 1940, when Hitler's war was raging across Europe, is the film that skewered the tyrant. Chaplin plays both Adenoid Hynkel, the power-mad ruler of Tomania, and a humble Jewish barber suffering under the dictator's rule. Paulette Goddard, Chaplin's wife at the time, plays the barber's beloved; and the rotund comedian Jack Oakie turns in a weirdly accurate burlesque of Mussolini, as a bellowing fellow dictator named Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria. Chaplin himself hits one of his highest moments in the amazing sequence where he performs a dance of love with a large inflated globe of the world. Never has the hunger for world domination been more rhapsodically expressed. The slapstick is swift and sharp, but it was not enough for Chaplin. He ends the film with the barber's six-minute speech calling for peace and prophesying a hopeful future for troubled mankind. Some critics have always felt the monologue was out of place, but the lyricism and sheer humanity of it are still stirring. This was the last appearance of Chaplin's Little Tramp character, and not coincidentally it was his first all-talking picture. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

The Great Dictator.......2007-06-25

In his first-ever talkie, writer-director Chaplin ferociously lampooned the sadistic politics and fiery rhetoric of Hitler, juxtaposing his mustachioed Little Tramp character with Der Führer himself, whose unintelligible rantings Chaplin plays to hilarious effect. The most political of Chaplin's films, "Dictator" combines slapstick humor and vicious parody; in particular, portly actor Jack Oakie's Mussolini-like incarnation of Napaloni, dictator of Bacteria, is pure genius. Notably, Chaplin's pointed criticism of the Nazis occurred before Hollywood at large was daring to follow suit. (Most brilliant sequence: Hynkel's sublime dance with a balloon-like globe.)

Overrated Chaplin .......2007-05-26

Having heard for many years of this famous film, I finally caught up with this 2 disc set and looked forward to the viewing event with enthusiasm. Why was I so disappointed?

As a piece of film making, it is very ordinary. It plays like a cartoon with cardboard sets, a poorly developed story without much logic and some corny gags, many of which can be seen in the skits of Benny Hill who incidentally Charlie Chaplin admired tremendously. Paulette Goddard is poor and most of the supporting cast have little to do with the notable exception of Jack Oakie who wildly burlesques the famous character he imitates and is quite funny. There are a few jewels like the dance with the globe but most of the humour is pretty basic. By 1940, Hollywood was capable of much more sophisticated satire.

However, the DVD print is excellent and the film really can not be appreciated without an understanding of the context of its release. Accordingly, the DVD contains an excellent documentary which follows the lives of Chaplin and Hitler, who co-incidentally were born within a week of each other. As a result of the documentary, I watched the film again and there is no doubt that it was an extraordinary undertaking by Chaplin to make the film at all. His final speech resonates and is patently sincere. The film opened to controversy and I asked my 89 year old mother if she recalled it. Her reply was enlightening. She said that she was never much of a fan of Chaplin but she specifically avoided this film when it was released because her own world was turned upside down by the events of the day and at the time the uncertainty about her own future was such that she felt Chaplin's film was offensive. I am sure she was not alone.

The DVD contains a few other extras which are variable. There are scenes from other Chaplin films, clearly included to encourage purchase of those DVDs. There is also some rare home movie footage in colour of the making of the film but it quickly becomes boring to watch.

A Brilliant Skewering of Hitler and Other Things..........2007-03-24

Charlie Chaplin's first sound film, "The Great Dictator" is a film that puts his genius on display for everyone to see. As a silent clown, Chaplin was unrivaled (arguably, some people say Buster Keaton was better) but few people could have expected him to be as good with a soundtrack. In, "The Great Dictator" (playing two roles) he brings the same amount of humor and poignancy he brought to his earlier films. Some people even say that this film is his masterpiece, although I still think "City Lights" was his best. Here Chaplin plays Adenoid Hynkel and a variation on his little Tramp character, this time playing a Jewish barber. The barber was in the war, but suffered a head injury and wound up in a hospital for many years suffering from amnesia. Once he's released, he finds his little town to be quite different from what it used to be. The dictator Hynkel has turned his town into the "ghetto" where all the Jews are met with disrespect and forced to paint the word "Jew" on their storefront windows. Since the barber doesn't know about this, he decides to fight back. He's almost arrested, but a man he saved in the war (who happens to be one of Hynkel's top generals) saves him. As usual, the barber also falls for the girl Hannah (Paulette Goddard, Chaplin's real wife at the time), a homely laundry maid. The movie warns us in the beginning: "The resemblance between the dictator and the barber is absolutely coincidental." That's not quite the case here and the final speech at the end is one of the best things Chaplin ever wrote. Besides skewering Adolph Hitler, Chaplin also managed to target Benito Mussolini (called Benzino Napaloni in the film) and the scenes between Hynkel and Napaloni are some of the funniest in the film. Playing two roles gave Chaplin the chance to do two things. Continue his reign as the king of silent comedy with the barber character and show his talent for spoken humor with the dictator character. Some of the funniest moments are his moments of slapstick however. Two of the scenes that stand out in my mind are when the barber throws a can of paint on a stormtrooper and another when he hops into a trunk in a moment of fright. Great scenes! In my opinion, however, "The Great Dictator" falls short of being a masterpiece. Despite having a few really good moments in the beginning, I felt it took a while to really get off the ground. There are some very memorable and very funny scenes in the movie though, but "City Lights" and "The Circus" (for example) were both better. Overall, "The Great Dictator" is a minor masterpiece by Chaplin and a film that proves that Chaplin was way ahead of his time.

GRADE: B

This is a great Chaplin film.......2007-03-20

You cannot go wrong with the purchase of this DVD.
It will become one of your favorites.
It is classic Chaplin funny.
From beginning to end, Mr. Chaplin created a lasting masterpiece.
Even the creators of Seinfeld borrowed a bit from this movie, the part about the blonds and the brunettes.

Some critics have said that his speech at the end of the movie was "out of place"? No way.
The critics missed the point of the whole movie.

There is an Italian comedic actor who recently tried to do what Chaplin did, taking on the subject of what happened to the Jews, and sadly he did not succeed.

The copy of this movie on this DVD is in excellent shape.
A very clear picture through out the movie.

Chaplin's comment on fascism is his first talking film..........2007-01-02

Hynkel, dictator of Tomania, is a spoiled child who becomes angry when he cannot gets what he really wants... And what he simply wants is nothing less than the world...

In one of the extraordinary scenes of Chaplin art, Hynkel performs a ballet with the 'world' which bursts when he thinks he has it in his grasp...

Chaplin also has some biting words on war and war films... In a scene at the beginning of the movie, which takes place during World War I, the Tomanian messenger crashes the plane and thinks... He is about to die... In a state of delirium, he begins to say ridiculous words... The empty double-talk continue ascending into a brilliant take off on all the heroic death scenes of War films...

In another scene when he becomes a fugitive in the Jewish ghetto and assumes command of the resistance fomenting rebellion among the old men, he plans to kill the dictator... One of the group must kill the ruthless conqueror of Austerlich... Whoever is chosen will naturally die, but his heroic death will be rewarded and his name will shine like a star in Tomanian history...

The sequence in which he and four other characters eat cream cakes containing coins to determine which shall sacrifice his life to murder the dictator is a bitter hilarity filled with great fear...

For all its disappointing shortcomings, "The Great Dictator" is still a significant movie for the ironic tones of the film adding something that neither Chaplin nor anymore else could have given it: the irony of history... The necessity to murder Hynkel presages the assassination attempt against Hitler by his generals... The force of the original satire is only surpassed by history's imitation of art...

With a splendid sequence like the duck-shooting accident which leads to the dictator being mistaken for the humbly Jewish barber and vice versa, "The Great Dictator" is Chaplin's first talking movie... This time 'Charles' and not 'Charlie,' wanting to say more through his movie and not through an amusing comedy, the last in which he uses his celebrated 'Tramp Character.'

{Two (2) Charlie Chaplin Limited Edition Collector's Box Sets from the Chaplin Family Collection} The Great Dictator / Modern Times [DVD] (1937-1940)

Average customer rating:

{Two (2) Charlie Chaplin Limited Edition Collector's Box Sets from the Chaplin Family Collection} The Great Dictator / Modern Times [DVD] (1937-1940)
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Manufacturer: Creative Design Art
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All-new digital transfers and audio elements of both pictures from the Chaplin family vault; soundtracks remastered; two heavy, vinyl cases.
GREAT DICTATOR: Two disc Dvd Set, including rare behind-the-scenes footage and making-of documentaries; exclusive soundtrack CD
Distinctive art poster; a commemorative booklet; collective Limited Edition Senitype and corresponding 35mm film frame; photo stills; additional features
MODERN TIMES: Two Disc Dvd Set, including several rare features; soundtrack CD; beautiful art poster
A commemorative booklet; collective Limited Edition Senitype and corresponding 35mm film frame; photo stills; additional features

ASIN: B000MC54XY

Product Description

Charlie Chaplin stands alone as the greatest entertainer of modern times! No one on earth can make you laugh as heartily or touch your heart as deeply... the whole world laughs, cries and thrills to his priceless genius! GREAT DICTATOR: In Chaplin's satire on Nazi Germany. Dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double... a poor Jewish barber... who one day is mistaken for Hynkel. MODERN TIMES: The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

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