Charlie Chaplin is an actor/director of great stature. He was born April 16, 1889 and passed away December 25, 1877. Many films, including ‘The Kid’ and City lights’ are his most well-known works. He also believes in power, greed and war as evidenced by his speech at The Great Dictator.
Charlie was born and raised in London, England. His father was an actor/vocalist, while his mother was an actress/singer. His four marriages were the longest, and he was married again in his later years. He lived in America for 42 years but never became a citizen. After a tour he had taken with the wife, he was arrested and accused of being an communist. He then moved to Switzerland with his eight children and fourth wife. Chaplin was a demanding actor in Hollywood. He was known for his experimental nature and the willingness to do many shots of the exact same scene. He is also well-known for his silent and animated films, such as ‘The Great Dictator. Charlie Chaplin was the director and writer of “The Great Dictator”, a film he created. He played an Adolf Hitler-inspired character in the film. There were diplomats who were outraged at the possibility of this film being made. He was praised by many French people, authors, and other artists. It is certainly thought-provoking and captivating.
Chaplin plays two characters that are identical but very different. One is a poor Jewish barber while the other is a dictatorial tyrant. He’s trying to portray Hitler during World War II, while also trying to have some fun with it. The film opens with a Jewish barber fighting in World War II. He eventually falls into a coma and wakes up. After he wakes up from his coma, he returns to the same town where he grew up and attempts to become a barber again. However, he doesn’t realize how much the town has changed since he was a child. The barber can’t accept the change and finally switches with Hynkel to make a powerful speech about tyranny.
The powerful speech at the final of the film speaks volumes about how people should treat one another. Chaplin states that “the misery that is now upon” is merely the passing of greed. He is adamant that he did not accept the world as it was.
Charlie Chaplin was an exceptional person who wanted to do the best for others, in film and in life. He appeared to be a perfectionist. I read something about him. He would not allow actors to perform the roles he assigned. He would also do the same scene over and over to get different views and allow for experimentation. He seems to enjoy doing these things as he is dedicated to filmmaking. I doubt he had any evil intentions.
After watching his film, I feel that he was an individual who wanted the world better than it was. The film he made was meant to be a statement and to criticize the times. He wanted the world to be more free and not controlled by dictators. He has strong opinions about right and wrong. So he made his film. He believed that every person had the right and obligation to live how they wanted. You can see this in his last speech. He believed all the things we learned have changed us. We went from feeling people to thinking people. This topic was fascinating to me because I had never heard of Charlie Chaplin before. He was the guy who appeared in silent films. I was also drawn to his humor. I hadn’t heard of his film ‘The Great Dictator’ before watching it. Passionate about filmmaking, passionate and opinionated. Since I was five years old, film has been a passion of mine. I watch all the new films in theaters every day. Charlie’s film is a great example of how I am interested in films with messages similar to his. I don’t recall hearing of any other film that featured Charlie.
