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The Great Dictator: Comedy's Sharpest Sword
The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin's first true sound film, is a brave work that fearlessly mocks fascism and dictatorship. Playing both a Jewish barber and the ruthless dictator Adenoid Hynkel, Chaplin showed how powerful a political weapon humour can be.Its …
Modern Times: A Critique of Industrialisation
In Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin sharply criticises the effects of mechanisation and the industrial revolution on the working class. The iconic scene in which the Tramp is caught between giant gears remains one of the strongest symbols of the human …
City Lights: The Summit of Silent Cinema
City Lights is considered one of Charlie Chaplin's greatest masterpieces. Although it was made at a time when sound film was rising fast, Chaplin chose to remain silent and proved the universal power of pantomime.The film tells of the Tramp's …
The Great Dictator: The Loudest Speech of a Silent Man
Why was the most powerful speech in film history delivered by a comedian? In The Great Dictator, Chaplin did not only satirise Hitler; he also cried out humanity's timeless need for peace.
What Would Chaplin Say If He Were Alive Today?
How would Chaplin's silent critique stand up to the modern world and its economic order? Buildings are taller and machines are faster today, but is the human spirit still caught between the gears of Modern Times? In the noise of …