Chaplin:Monsieur Verdoux

 

 

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According to the commentary included with this 1947 film, Chaplin considered Monsieur Verdoux one of his best films. It would be more accurate to regard it as one of the best for illustrating his enormous vanity and self-obsession. In his 1940 film, The Great Dictator, Chaplin found humor in Hitler, who resembled him slightly in appearance and more than slightly in ego. In this film he finds a similar humor in a French serial killer who woes and murders women for their money. For Chaplin, the central figure in all human history and the only person who matters is always himself.

A better man would have used the film as a launching pad for actors younger, poorer, and less well-established than himself. Chaplin, who also wrote and directed it, sees it as another opportunity to strut his talents. No other actor was given a major role. Even the pretty young woman (Marilyn Nash) who has the second most important role merely exists to inflate our opinion of M. Verdoux. We are supposed to be impressed that, intending to kill her to test a new poison, he takes pity and lets her live. Chaplin is that self-obsessed.

In a city park, I once had to tell a man throwing knives at a tree just a few feet from a busy walkway that he had to stop. He defended his actions by talking about all those who die in highway accidents each year. I told the deluded twit that he was talking nonsense, that there was no relationship between the danger that one of his knives would bounce off a tree, hitting an child's eye and far away car crashes. In this film, Chaplin, scriptwriter and actor, is equally deluded. He really does think he i's demonstrating a superiority morality when he compares his murders to the millions who die in wars: '"As a mass killer,"' a smug and smiling Verdoux tells us, "'I am an amateur in comparison.'"

This film may be sick as a comedy, but it is worth watching for what it tells us about Chaplin's politics and, by extension, the politics of similar celebrities today. When G. K. Chesterton warned between the wars that Germany would start another and still more horrible war, he explained why pacifists and militarists "are always in alliance, by a fatal logic far beyond any conscious conspiracy."' By defining every aspect of war as evil, he wrote, they equate the arsonist with the firefighter. Chaplin does just that in this film, equating the French and English, who certainly did not want the war that had ended two years before, with Nazi Germany, which did. M. Verdoux (and by extension M. Chaplin) is claiming to be above any criticism we might direct at him. He is that vain and that self-obsessed. That's the main message this film carries.

'Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

I must take offense to scotsladdie's November 2001 "review" of "Monsieur Verdoux," since its ripped off almost verbatim from David Shipman's excellent book "Story of Cinema," which also is available from Amazon. Perhaps you should give Mr. Shipman the proper credit instead of scotsladdie. Otherwise, delete this particular review from you web site. Many thanks.

If the willingness to take risks is the mark of a great artist -- and I believe it is -- then Monsieur Verdoux is Charles Chaplin's greatest films. And amidst all the controversy stirred by his portrayal of a serial wife killer, it's easy to forget that it's also a hilarious black comedy with plenty of sharp lines that would have succeeded even without its sociological message.

Chaplin's ability as an actor is pushed to a new level on this film through his portrayal of a morally ambiguous, unscrupulous ex-bank clerk who has no qualms about putting a body into an incinerator in his backyard. While much has been said about this film's break with Chaplin's Little Tramp character, careful examination reveals that Henri Verdoux is just a logical, and daring, advancement in the character: The more devilish, sometimes sadistic sides of the Little Tramp taken to their inevitable conclusion, where comic mischief crosses over the line to villainy. And it's highly compelling, the perfect foil to Chaplin's most heartwarming films (eg. City Lights and Modern Times), allowing Chaplin to express an insidiousness hitherto unexplored. Martha Raye nearly steals the show as the airheaded, supernaturally unkillable Mme. Bonheur (the name itself means "happiness"), and Marilyn Nash is winning as the Belgian derelict who inspires a spark of compassion in Verdoux. The conclusion of this character relationship is one of Chaplin's most complex writing feats: Imagine the ending of City Lights twisted into a dark, steely, uncompromising version of itself.

There are certain moments when the film does threaten to fall into self-involvement -- in his later years, Chaplin did let his ego take ahold of his work -- but in the case of Monsieur Verdoux, he uses this larger-than-life persona so well, and it fits the character so snugly, that the ego becomes an advantage and adds to the depth of the character. And the script has none of the self-conscious mix of silent film and talkies that plagued The Great Dictator; Chaplin had grown quite well into dialogue writing, allowing him to formulate moments of murderous irony that are cuttingly funny. ("Don't pull the cat's tail...") I have no problems with the ending speeches in this film as I did with the final speech of The Great Dictator: In the context of this story, they fit in quite well. Verdoux at the end is a man who has given up all hope, and he seems to mock his own fate and character while unmercifully unveiling his anger at the world. The speeches are not meant to be taken for face value, and I find them thought-provoking and fascinating rather than moralistic or self-important.

I first saw this film at Symphony Space in New York City and the audience was laughing so hard it was in tears. With modern audiences generally less inclined to judge a film by its "moral standing" (Kill Bill, anyone?), Monsieur Verdoux can be seen for what it is: A hilarious, complex sociological examination which identifies social ills while at the same time taking part in it. In that, it is unique in the Chaplin canon and deserves to rank among his most important films.

A quick note about this DVD edition: For some reason, the bonus materials for this film are far less numerous than on the other DVDs in this series -- hence the single-disc package and lower price. By the standards of this series of reissues, the DVD materials are really quite scant -- a useful yet brief half-hour documentary featuring good insight from director Claude Chabrol, a trailer, some storyboards. The picture and sound are of good quality, however, and the film is one to own. Highly recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A charming, yet disturbing cinematic experience by Chaplin
Monsieur Verdoux (Charles Chaplin) is a sad story about Monsieur Verdoux who is a swindling murderer that charms women whom he marries for their assets which he sells after he has... Read more

Published on April 1 2004 by Kim Anehall

4.0 out of 5 stars message for 2004 and more.
A well written movie with twists and turns. It teaches a good lesson for 2004 and beyond.

Published on Feb 6 2004 by vma234

5.0 out of 5 stars charlie you have a dark side
Wow did he actully do that wow this is a good movie if you want to see a very good black and white killing movie watch monsieur verdoux. Read more

Published on Feb 3 2004 by Ryan Sanders

1.0 out of 5 stars Chaplin, the amoral windbag
Chaplin became unbearable to those around him as he got older. He fancied himself an intellectual, a humanist, a philosopher, a great composer (actually, his arranger wrote his... Read more

Published on Dec 24 2001 by Jmark2001

5.0 out of 5 stars BLACK COMEDY A'LA CHAPLIN.
It has been said that Orson Welles provided Chaplin with the idea of MONSIEUR VERDOUX and the latter seemed to have been attracted to Landru, the French Bluebeard, for his... Read more

Published on Nov 19 2001 by scotsladdie

5.0 out of 5 stars An underrated masterpiece.
This was probably Chaplin's last great masterpiece. This film shows what a talented actor and director he was. I doubt Woody Allen ever could have pulled this off. Read more

Published on Dec 9 1999 by Roy Dryden

4.0 out of 5 stars Monsieur Verdoux: To be taken seriously or not?
Looking further than the actual story of a serial woman-killer, viewers need to take into account that the story is set in France shortly after the second war, therefore Chaplin... Read more

Published on Oct 11 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Monsieur Verdoux-Thought provoking
Monsier Verdoux is an offbeat black comedy which keeps the most refined sentiments and the darkest brutality in constant contrast. Read more

Published on Sep 1 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars Unwatchable
The low point of Chaplin's career. His never-ending quest to be taken seriously led him to load his films with what he thought was SIGNIFICANCE. Read more

Published on May 17 1999 by Tom From NY

5.0 out of 5 stars MONSIEUR VERDOUX is a black comedy classic.
In MONSIEUR VERDOUX, Chaplin plays a Parisian Bluebeard who marries, then murders, his wives for their money. Read more

Published on May 12 1999

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