14 December, 2022
Hello friends, here I am writing this blog on review of Charlie Chaplin's two famous movies 'Modern Time' and 'The Great Dictator'.
∆ Charlie Chaplin :
Charlie Chaplin is an English actor who, in the early 1900s,rose to fame and popularity in the silent film industry. He became most recognizable through his iconic Tramp character, a social outcast with a kind heart. In 'Modern Times', the Tramp finds himself living amidst poor financial conditions heightened by massive unemployment.
∆ 'Modern Times'
'Modern Times' is one of the most famous films of Charlie Chaplin. The film highlights the dehumanising impact of technology but he plays the story mostly for laughs.
When watching the movie,many Americans were poor and unemployed, and that is shown clearly throughout the movie. 'Modern Times' does not shy away from showing the horrors of American life at the time. Despite its comedic nature, the movie has a tragic core. Our main character- Charlie Chaplin, works at a factory.
The movie gives its audience insight into the era’s worries and thoughts regarding employment and capitalism. Those ideas can still apply today, and the message of 'Modern Times' remains relevant.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also hit the American economy severely. With businesses shutting down and millions of people losing their jobs, the unemployment rate rocketed. People struggled to make ends meet, whereas the high, mighty corporations prospered, which is also true for the Great Depression. Whereas people in the Great Depression wanted jobs and were unable to get them businesses today are struggling to find workers. While COVID-19 might be a primary factor in this, the issue is complex.
'Modern Times' speaks on that complexity.
One idea frequently discussed today is the exploitation of labor. Workers are unhappy with how they are treated by management, and they will not force themselves to endure that.
The opening clip of the movie shows sheep running in a field, implying that workers are sheep. Chaplin shows how employment and capitalism value practicality over individuality of the workers, stripping employees of any personality or autonomy. Corporations and companies own the workers, and multiple shots suggest that work eats its workers, using and abusing them until they’re exhausted or driven mad.
Chaplin saw the assembly line as abusive, and the character he plays works in a factory. It makes me wonder what Chaplin would think of conditions today. Would he believe that they’re better or worse?
These messages tend to be very dark and disheartening, but that is not how Charlie Chaplin ended the movie. Through the use of music to set the mood, the Tramp character decides that no matter how bad his life is, he can still be happy because of the love he has for the people around him.
∆ 'The Great Dictator'
The Great Dictator is a 1940 comedy film starring, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. A Jewish barber loses his memory after a plane crash. When he finally tries to make sense of his surroundings, he finds himself subjected to a dictator’s tyranny.
The Tramp character had been a staple of Chaplin’s comedy routine for decades, but here he did not revisit him for the first time ever. Though many would argue that The Barber is The Tramp as they look similar.
This is a political satire that is a comedy at its core, but also a genuinely moving message drama in that now iconic ending speech. Although some would find that ending objectionable as being overly serious,but that ending is the true heart of the whole picture. It was crucial for Chaplin to include that speech having in mind that this was the period when the US was still in a fine relation with Nazi Germany, so people needed to be woken up from their dangerous slumber and realize the reality that is the worst political party in human history.
"Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don't hate! Only the unloved hate, the unloved and the unnatural.The power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power, let us all unite! Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future, and old age a security."
This speech is beautifully written and simple enough, but still contains so many incredible lines that promote peace and love in the world. Chaplin skillfully mixes drama and comedy here, but overall this is a pure comedy as there are so many comedic situations interspersed throughout.
Another highlight has to be the barbershop sequence. This scene was absolutely remarkable in mixing Wagner’s music with the haircutting action on screen brilliantly. Another standout scene was the first meeting of Hannah and The Barber. She is a fantastic character, so courageous and so admirable in her human qualities. Chaplin’s acting is of course incredible and this is in my opinion his career-best work.
To sum up, the acting is uniformly amazing, but also the dialogue is fabulous and the sound is fantastic. The cinematography is also superb as the film’s more cinematic moments such as that ending were impeccably crafted.
