Great speech, but it doesn't address "the big contradiction". He says he doesn't want to rule or conquer or to harm people, then goes on to yell 'let's unite, let's fight'. That's how the military he decries, came to be; uniting to fight for liberty. I think his physical comedy is a more poignant and more potent form for achieving the goals I think he's after. For overcoming anger, fear and violence, (I think) you need acceptance, sensitivity and sacrifice.
I like this part of the great dictator, epic and satirical. I think what he spins here as Hitler is that Hitler had convinced himself that he was in the right. At the end of the speech the look on his face is unbelievable. This was actually his first picture with sound too, and in its day, the only movie to poke at Hitler.
the film itself actually does address the "big contradiction", dave, which is sort of the point.
it's been a bajillion years since i watched it, but if i remember correctly, he was just a normal dude who got accidentally thrust into the dictator role (sort of all "Life of Brian") and while he initially resists it, it quickly seduces him into the corruption of power.
that look on his face at the end of the speech is the sort of "oh my god what have i done?" vs "i LOVE this" contradiction-- hence the screaming nazi crowds they show.
weirdly/interestingly, he breaks entirely out of character at the end of the and addresses the audience (and the woman lying on the ground-- "Anna"), saying that the Jews of Europe will not be forgotten. Another irony, of course, is that they mostly were, with boatloads of refugees turned away from Allied nations and sent back to Europe to die in the camps.
Also weirdly, and rather inexplicably, in the biopic with Robert Downey Jr, they chose to present this film as having been hated by the American and British public, and having been a total failure-- they show people rioting in the theatre, throwing stuff at the screen, etc. In fact, it was one of his biggest (and final) successes.
4 comments:
Great speech, but it doesn't address "the big contradiction". He says he doesn't want to rule or conquer or to harm people, then goes on to yell 'let's unite, let's fight'. That's how the military he decries, came to be; uniting to fight for liberty. I think his physical comedy is a more poignant and more potent form for achieving the goals I think he's after. For overcoming anger, fear and violence, (I think) you need acceptance, sensitivity and sacrifice.
I like this part of the great dictator, epic and satirical. I think what he spins here as Hitler is that Hitler had convinced himself that he was in the right. At the end of the speech the look on his face is unbelievable.
This was actually his first picture with sound too, and in its day, the only movie to poke at Hitler.
the film itself actually does address the "big contradiction", dave, which is sort of the point.
it's been a bajillion years since i watched it, but if i remember correctly, he was just a normal dude who got accidentally thrust into the dictator role (sort of all "Life of Brian") and while he initially resists it, it quickly seduces him into the corruption of power.
that look on his face at the end of the speech is the sort of "oh my god what have i done?" vs "i LOVE this" contradiction-- hence the screaming nazi crowds they show.
weirdly/interestingly, he breaks entirely out of character at the end of the and addresses the audience (and the woman lying on the ground-- "Anna"), saying that the Jews of Europe will not be forgotten. Another irony, of course, is that they mostly were, with boatloads of refugees turned away from Allied nations and sent back to Europe to die in the camps.
Also weirdly, and rather inexplicably, in the biopic with Robert Downey Jr, they chose to present this film as having been hated by the American and British public, and having been a total failure-- they show people rioting in the theatre, throwing stuff at the screen, etc. In fact, it was one of his biggest (and final) successes.
Neat. I never saw the whole thing, but that all makes sense now.
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