The Great Dictator (1940)

Directed by

Charlie Chaplin

Written by

Charlie Chaplin

Cast

Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert, Emma Dunn, Chester Conklin

Genre

drama film, comedy film, war film, parody film, slapstick, comedy drama

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 05m

Rated

NR

Rating

8.3 of 10 from 3,734 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Charlie Chaplin plays both a cruel dictator and a gentle Jewish barber who looks just like him. The film mocks fascism and Adolf Hitler while showing the barber's struggle to survive persecution.

satiricaldarkly comicprovocativeurgentwittyboldhumorouspointed

What happens

The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. Having been the only major Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, Chaplin made this his first true sound film. Chaplin's film advanced a stirring condemnation of the German and Italian dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, as well as fascism, antisemitism, and Nazism. At the time of its first release, the United States was still at peace with Nazi Germany and neutral during what were the early days of World War II. Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator and a persecuted Jewish barber. The Great Dictator was popular with audiences, becoming Chaplin's most commercially successful film. Modern critics have praised it as a historically significant film, one of the greatest comedy films ever made and an important work of satire. In 1997, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Great Dictator was nominated for five Academy Awards—Outstanding Production, Best Actor, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Supporting Actor for Jack Oakie, and Best Music (Original Score). In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he could not have made the film had he known about the true extent of the Holocaust at that time. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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