The first thing I noticed after popping this in was the absolutely gorgeous, crisp clear picture. You expect a Criterion release to look good but this was literally the best I have ever seen this film. The second thing I noticed, is what anyone would notice, the muscles of my mouth forming an involuntary smile, which soon gave way to chuckles and finally belly laughs. But beyond it's entertainment value The Great Dictator offers true pathos. Chaplin knows when to turn the humor off but how to turn what could have been the stuff of sappy melodrama into a moving testament to human dignity. This is not a movie that can be explained, but one that should be watched whenever demagogy threatens to devolve into war.
Chaplin stars in a dual role as mild mannered Jewish barber and Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania, a tyrannical anti-semitic despot bent on eradicating the world of Jews. When the barber finds himself mistaken for Hynkel he seizes the opportunity to undermine the vast conspiracy that threatens all of mankind. The film is full of the slapstick that made Chaplin a household name all over the world and contains some of the best such sequences ever put on film including the famous barber chair duel between Hynkel and Napaloni - Dictator of Bacteria. Balanced against those however are frightening images of Hynkel railing in pitch perfect imitation of the need to rid the world of Jewish vermin. At such times the camera moves in for tight close-up rendering the generally benevolent Chaplin's features into something monstrous and terrifying. Such is the face of evil when fully exposed.
The Great Dictator opened in London rubble during the Blitzkrieg. many people (Jews and non-Jews alike) discouraged Chaplin in the making of what would be his masterpiece. It's release could not have been more timely, and of course, predates American involvement in the war. Nonetheless Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself sent word to Chaplin how important it was for the director to make his film, to get it seen.
Besides the commentary by Chaplin historians Dan Kamin and Hooman Mehran, the Criterion Collection has also included the excllent The Tramp and the Dictator, a documentary tracing the path both Hitler and Chaplin took towards their eventual confrontation, pointing out their similar backgrounds and possible inspirations as well as the development of The Great Dictator. Rare color production footage, deleted scenes and sequences from other Chaplin films and two new visual essays by Chaplin archivist Cecilia Cenciarelli and biographer Jeffrey Vance are augmented with a thick booklet of essays from Chaplin himself, film critic Michael Wood, critic Jean Narboni, and illustrations by Al Hirschfeld.
Another classic film I do dearly love is on Blu-ray and again I wonder what's point.
While Criterion are the Gods of transfers, is the picture quality of the Blu-ray that much better than that of their DVDs which are already far better than any other company.
I know that the price difference is only 6 bucks between the two on Amazon but you could buy movie munchies with that six bucks or put it towards said munchies. Or rent.
I have several of the Classics on Blu-ray and a couple are Criterion and have also seen them on DVD and the picture quality while it was really good wasn't that much better.
Where Blu-ray comes into it's own for me is in films that use a lot of bright colours in it as well as a lot of low level sounds, I could definitely see Apocalypse Now on Blu-ray.
I have already commented on the Blu-ray release of Kiss Me Deadly, one of my all time favorite films from my favorite film genre, Film Noir, and I have the same trepidation with it's release.
I've never been a great lover of new technology.
While I don't hate it and see it's uses in fields such as medicine I guess I'm just getting a little overwhelmed with the seemingly constant changes of technology in entertainment.
The best Criterion treatment of a film this year and they reserved it for Chaplin. The commentary and extras are what make Criterion editions so revered and their inducted films so appreciated.