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Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator review

 Hello and welcome back. I am back once again with a new review, but this time on a fairly old movie. Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator was written, directed and acted in by Charlie Chaplin and it was released in 1940. Now this review is going to contain spoilers to the film, but you know it was made like 80 years ago, but now you have been warned so let's get right into it.

Theatrical release poster (The Great Dictator)


Synopsis: After getting wounded in the Great War a Jewish barber (Charlie Chaplin), he spends years in an army hospital, whilst a fascist dictator Adenoid Hynkel also (Charlie Chaplin) rises to power. When the barber returns to his neighborhood he finds out about the brutal changes that have taken place, whilst he was recovering and now he among his Jewish friends try to avoid persecution. 


My thoughts: I have always been a fan of Charlie Chaplin, ever sense my grandmother showed me City Lights for the first time and this film is just pure genius especially, when you think of the time when it was released. It was released in 1940, before the US was even involved in the war and before all the atrocities of the Nazi regime were even known. It critiques the dictators of both Germany and Italy and the ruthless deception of dictatorships. The film manages to present a very serious message in a comedic manner, but also has serious and very emotional moments. 

I also love the comedic scenes in this film, some of which are the classic silent era Chaplin slapstick, but also he incorporates sound very well to these scenes. One of my favorites is the scene where the barber is shaving someones beard to Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5


This is Charlie Chaplin's first talkie film, which he made amazingly well. He manages to keep those elements of slapstick humor what he is known for, but incorporates sound brilliantly and manages to control the mood of the viewer. It has those funny moments I mentioned, but as his first talkie he also managed to get in some great dialogue as well incredibly emotional scenes, such as the end speech the barber gives, while he is dressed as the dictator. People who have never seen the movie still have probably seen that scene, which is an amazing ending to the film.



Unfortunately this film is still very topical today, even though it has been 80 or so years, but hopefully humankind will learn from its mistakes and learn to live in peace.

Verdict: An amazing satirical comedy, with a great timing when released. Great fun, but also very emotional and even to this day unfortunately relevant and shows the ruthlessness of dictatorships. I could not give this film anything less than 9/10. It is truly amazing and you should definitely check it out. 

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