After finishing Deus Ex: Human Revolution the other day I was reminded of this...
This amazing speech was from the the 1940 film the Great Dictator, a comedy film produced, written, directed and starring comedy legend Charlie Chaplin. At the time the United States was still at peace with Germany so Chaplin's condemnation of Hitler and his fascist regime was a controversial topic. Of course eventually the world saw that his criticism were well placed after they found out what he was doing in Germany at the time. But according to a eye witness account Hitler had actually seen the film twice. Apparently when Chaplin found out about this he replied by saying "I'd give anything to know what he thought of it".
So do I...
While that is an amazing factoid in itself the amazing speech Chaplin delivers in the film's finale is constantly cited as a classic Hollywood moment. This was Chaplin's first speaking movie and he slaved over the speech to ensure that each word served a purpose and wasn't wasted. It's a magnificent speech that outlines the true lost nature of humanity as we strive for excellence and reminds us what we've lost when consumed by violence, hatred and greed. It's with these amazing leaps and bounds that this progress is costing the human race its own humanity. This was made 70 years ago and this message rings louder today then it has ever before. A truly timeless message and rightfully so this film was selected to be preserved by the United States National Film Registry.
Charlie Chaplin speaks in silence, and silences us when he speaks.
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