Slideshow
THE TRAMP AND THE DICTATOR
U.K, 2002
Directed by Kevin Brownlow, Michael Kloft
Narrated by Kenneth Branagh
Approx. 55 min. DCP.
“He’s the madman, I’m the comic. But it could have been the other way around.” Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler were both born in poverty just four days apart in April 1889—the two men’s lives continued to parallel more closely than just their mustache. Featuring interviews from close associates of both men—and the likes of Ray Bradbury, Al Hirschfeld, and Sidney Lumet.
Reviews
“Documentarians Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft are able to cut back and forth between the film and the home movies to show the same actions and sets from different angles, always to fascinating effect.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
“A must for film buffs, this accomplished piece of movie history will be mandatory viewing on specialty TV channels, in film courses and at festivals, and will have a long ancillary life.”
– Variety