The Great Dictator

Charlie Chaplin took on Hitler, fascism, and the Third Reich in this 1940 classic (his first speaking role; Chaplin maintained his silence even as his iconic Tramp ambled through the first decade of the sound era), using comedy and satire to confront the hatred and anti-Semitism of Hitler's Germany in the days before America's entry into World War II. The Great Dictator is one of the actor-director's masterpieces, with Chaplin filling two roles: “Adenoid Hynkel,” dictator of Tomania, and a lookalike Jewish barber. Jack Oakie costars as Napaloni, ruler of Bacteria and a dead ringer for a certain Italian strongman. The film soars when Chaplin plays to his strengths (as in a balletic pantomime with Hynkel bouncing a globe like he owns the world), and the filmmaker ends on a serious note with a climactic speech that makes a passionate plea for peace, understanding, and tolerance. Chaplin once said that had he known the true extent of Hitler's horrors, he would never have made the movie, but there's nothing belittling here. Newly remastered for DVD and a Blu-ray debut, extras include audio commentary by Chaplin historians Dan Kamin and Hooman Mehran, the excellent 2001 documentary The Tramp and the Dictator, archival behind-the-scenes footage, two visual essays, and a clip from Sydney Chaplin's (Charlie's half-brother) 1921 film King, Queen, Joker. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Axmaker)