MartinHafer This film was spurred on by Charlie Chaplin's film "The Great Dictator"--a film in which he made fun of but also warned the world of the evil beast, Adolph Hitler. And, not surprisingly, it is included on the DVD for "The Great Dictator".It begins by discussing similarities between the two men--such as being born the same month of the same year. And, how the two were polar opposites--Hitler was never accused of being the funniest man on the planet. However, much of the film was not about their similarities and differences but was more of a 'making of' featurette. It discussed such things as the obsessive nature of Chaplin and his directorial style as well as the reaction to the film when it was released.My reason for watching this, more than any, was that it was made by Kenneth Brownlow--one of the foremost experts on silent comedy and who had created the very best documentaries on Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd. Secondly, I love Chaplin's full-length films--though I should admit that "The Great Dictator" is among my least favorite of these films. Folks who adore this film would probably get a bit more out of the documentary. I also really preferred his film "Unknown Chaplin" (also by Brownlow) as it gave much more insight into Chaplin's directorial style. Still, it's well worth seeing and offers a few really nice insights into "The Great Dictator".

Petri Pelkonen Charles Chaplin was a world-renowned comedian who made several masterpieces.Adolf Hitler was his total opposite.But they did have something in common.They were both born in the same week of the same year, 1889.But as persons they were nothing alike.Chaplin was a humanitarian while Hitler was a cold-blooded murderer.Hitler's main target was the Jews, as we all know, and so many of them had their final destination at the concentration camp.He thought Chaplin belonged to the Hebrew race and Charles was called a "disgusting Jewish acrobat.Chaplin went and made a satire called The Great Dictator (1940).The Tramp and the Dictator (2002) tells a little about that classic, narrated by Kenneth Branagh.Many fascinating people talk about their relationship with Chaplin and this film.It's most enjoyable to listen to Budd Schulberg talk about Chaplin and the movie.He's a 95-year old author, a screenwriter and some other things, who's written stuff like The Disenchanted and Waterfront.We learn from this man, who was present at the Nuremberg trials, that he noticed The Great Dictator being mentioned twice in a list of films that had been sent to Hitler.Also Reinhard Spitzy, a member of Hitler's inner circle is convinced The Fuhrer did see the film.Charlie's son, Sydney Chaplin is there sharing his memories.Sadly, Mr. Chaplin died last March at the age of 82.He's remembered working with his father in two films, Limelight (1952) and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).The blacklisted screenwriter and producer Walter Bernstein, who's 90 now, has a few things to say.Ray Bradbury says that "Comedy is the greatest way to attack a totalitarian regime".Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. has something to say, so does caricaturist Al Hirschfeld and film critic Stanley Kauffman.Nikola Radosevic is a Yugoslav, who worked as a film projectionist during the war.German troops saw a bit of that movie, until an SS officer started shooting at the screen.We also hear the film director Sidney Lumet.He actually attended the film's world premiere.In archive footage we see people like Oona Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Henry Ford.And sure there's footage of Hitler and Mussolini.The film includes a remarkable footage in color, that shows the making of The Great Dictator.It was found in a suitcase in the cellar of Chaplin's Swiss home.We learn that he planned a completely different ending to the film, with soldiers breaking into a folk dance.The footage shot by the comic's elder brother Sydney shows us the strict directing ways of Charles.For film buffs like me, this documentary is a must-see.You learn so much of this classic known as The Great Dictator.

Michael_Elliott Tramp and the Dictator, The (2002) **** (out of 4)Charles Chaplin and Adolf Hitler were born days apart from one another but the two would collide in 1940 when the legendary director decided to make a spoof in The Great Dictator. The wonderful documentary digs into the making of that film and the impact it had on Chaplin for the rest of his career. It seems that every controversial movie ever made features different opinions on what actually happens as I've read that this film helped put a nail in Chaplin's career but this film points out that the movie did very well at the box office and much better than the director's previous films. Whatever the truth might be this is a very interesting documentary that features some great stories about the making of the film and Chaplin's opinions on making the movie had he actually known what Hitler was doing to millions of people. There's also some great stuff about Hitler apparently watching the film twice. One can only imagine seeing Hitler in a dark theater laughing at the spoof. Opinions seem to be mixed about the actual film but I think it's another great one from a director who made countless great movies. This documentary is a nice tribute to the movie and also features some behind the scenes footage, in color, showing Chaplin at work.

dromasca 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.