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The Great Dictator

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The Great Dictator

G

Released Oct 15, 1940

2h 8m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

52 Reviews

95%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

After dedicated service in the Great War, a Jewish barber (Charles Chaplin) spends years in an army hospital recovering from his wounds, unaware of the simultaneous rise of fascist dictator Adenoid Hynkel (also Chaplin) and his anti-Semitic policies. When the barber, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Hynkel, returns to his quiet neighborhood, he is stunned by the brutal changes and recklessly joins a beautiful girl (Paulette Goddard) and her neighbors in rebelling.

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Critics Consensus

Charlie Chaplin demonstrates that his comedic voice is undiminished by dialogue in this rousing satire of tyranny, which may be more distinguished by its uplifting humanism than its gags.

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Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

Chaplin’s iconic speech at the end of the film is only too relevant nowadays.

Feb 7, 2025

Full Review

William Goss

Film.com

The first full-blown talkie from the biggest star of the silent era, complete with a message that Chaplin couldn't have sent more loudly or clearly.

Jun 1, 2011

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TIME Magazine

Through no fault of Chaplin's, during the two years he was at work on the picture dictators became too sinister for comedy.

Sep 3, 2010

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George Orwell

Time and Tide

What is Chaplin’s peculiar gift? It is his power to stand for a sort of concentrated essence of the common man, for the ineradicable belief in decency that exists in the hearts of ordinary people, at any rate in the West.

Oct 2, 2023

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... confronts the hatred and anti-Semitism of Hitler’s Germany in the days before America’s entry into World War II while lampooning the despots responsible.

Aug 19, 2023

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Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

It works wonderfully, but The Great Dictator will perhaps be remembered most fondly for Chaplin’s moving closing speech.

Sep 26, 2022

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Garrett B

A humorous political satire comedy from Charlie Chaplin

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/25

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Jacob B

My idea of the perfect satire: biting, genuinely funny, ageless and ecumenical in its truly moving final speech. Chaplin was never better.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/25

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Kim S

Hysterical movie with a serious, inspirational ending. I love it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/25

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William B

Outstanding plot. Awesome message.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

Full Review

Mason M

I really liked the fist half of The Great Dictator, but I lost a lost of interest in the second half. I thought it picked back up in the ending though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/13/24

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Peter H

Charlie Chaplin, you absolute dawg. This 5’5 lil gangster directed, wrote, produced, and composed the score (not to mention playing both of the main characters) for the single greatest comedic film ever made, and he did it all at a time when Gandhi was still alive. The comedy of this film is beyond brilliant. Blending a dry subtlety with bouts of ferocious slapstick is no easy task, but harder still is tackling such prickly material (especially in his time) with such an exuberance of nuanced confidence that you ground everything in wondrous character work, build your farce upon that storytelling, and then deploy character and conversation driven comedy as the catalyst for the satirical goal. This film is a culmination of everything that comedy ought to be. Phenomenally directed, with a message that (while obviously relevant in all eras) spoke transcendent volumes in 1940, “The Great Dictator” not only features perhaps the greatest monologue in the history of film, but also contains one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen from any actor, ever. Comedy has never been the same.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/21/24

Full Review

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Charlie Chaplin

Director

Charlie Chaplin

Adenoid Hynkel

Paulette Goddard

Hannah

Jack Oakie

Napaloni

Reginald Gardiner

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The Great Dictator: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

After dedicated service in the Great War, a Jewish barber (Charles Chaplin) spends years in an army hospital recovering from his wounds, unaware of the simultaneous rise of fascist dictator Adenoid Hynkel (also Chaplin) and his anti-Semitic policies. When the barber, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Hynkel, returns to his quiet neighborhood, he is stunned by the brutal changes and recklessly joins a beautiful girl (Paulette Goddard) and her neighbors in rebelling.

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Producer: Charlie Chaplin
Screenwriter: Charlie Chaplin
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Charles Chaplin Productions
Rating: G
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 1940, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2017
Runtime: 2h 8m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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