Review of The Great Dictator (1940) by Barbara O — 04 Jun 2008

It's hard what to make of this film. It's certainly a very polished, gleaming effort with great set and costume design creating a pastiche of 'Fascist chic' from a simply visual angle. Chaplin is an incredibly versatile actor, proving a transition to sound filmmaking as an effortless step for the comedian, and there are some brilliant scenes of comedy as he evokes 'Hynkel' with all the manic rage, aggression and passion as his Teutonic counterpart.

It's also interesting to see the whole system made a mockery of rather than go through the traditional route of recreating its horrors (though yet to be fully realised at the time of filming). And the final speech pleading for the world to live in peace is an astonishing polemic, something timeless that could invisibly be transported to today's world.

It's perhaps the physical comedy that lets the film down, with Chaplin's balletic pratfalling seeming tired and without punch in the slapstick sequences without even musical accompaniment, let alone sound effects.

But overall it's a daring film and one that does put into perspective just how stupid and unpleasant it all is.