The Great Dictator (1940)

The Great Dictator (1940) is Charlie Chaplin’s bold, black-and-white political satire that blends broad slapstick comedy with sharp drama and urgent wartime commentary. Chaplin plays two look-alike roles: Adenoid Hynkel, the bombastic dictator of Tomainia, and a humble Jewish barber who, after years of amnesia from World War I, returns to find his community subjected to escalating persecution. The plot follows their confused parallel fates as Hynkel pursues expansion and scapegoating while the barber, protected at first by a grateful soldier-turned-commander (Schultz), is drawn into resistance, romance with Hannah, and ultimately a momentous case of mistaken identity. Watching the film, you’ll experience a mix of laughs and discomfort: Chaplin’s physical comedy and theatrical caricatures provoke genuine amusement, while the film’s clear-eyed denunciation of fascism and anti-Semitism creates tension and moral outrage. The movie shifts between light, human moments in the Jewish ghetto and darker sequences of oppression, military posturing, and political theater—culminating in one of cinema’s most famous climactic scenes: the barber stepping into the dictator’s role and delivering an impassioned plea for humanity, tolerance, and peace. The Great Dictator is at once entertaining and provocative—an emotional ride that can make you chuckle at its slapstick, ache for its persecuted characters, and feel inspired by its final speech. It’s a historic, cinematic statement: satirical, humane, and surprisingly modern in its insistence on compassion in the face of tyranny.

Actors: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie

Director: Charles Chaplin

Runtime: 125 min

Genres: Comedy, Drama, War

8.6 /10 8.4 /10 8.5 /10