It is supposed to be such a great movie, but I didn't like it. There is no humour that appeals, it is all too weak. The only good thing about it was the speech the jewish barber made in the end.

Charles Chaplin was one of the first and one of the greatest actors directing himself. "The Great Dictator", which he also wrote, premiered in 1940 while Hitler was growing stronger and stronger in Europe. Looking back, it's hard to imagine a movie more current. Not surprisingly, it was banned in Germany until 1958. The speech in the end of movie has, rightly so, long since reached a level of immortality.

Charles Chaplin is well known for his silent movies, with The great dictator to be one of his first sound movies. He stepped out of his comfort zone. At an area of Hollywood where political stances are forbidden to be shown in productions, he took a stand. He broke the 4th wall, and utilized his traditional popular 'Tramp' persona. All for this movie, debuted 1940. It is a declaration of war on the breech of human rights, horrendous act and discrimination. It was a time which Nazi Germany is at the prime of their power, and the Ally forces, which was then only recently established, had suffered numerous defeats in the European ground even world wide. Fair is to say that, at the year 1940, there were quite a few signs that Nazi German would ascend to world domination.He had nothing to gain from making this movie at that time, and everything to lose, he could face a disastrous controversy and be black listed for all his work. He could be jobless, homeless and on the run for the rest of time. But he made this satirical movie as his stance toward the atrocities committed by the actual dictators of the world. He put his life on the line.It is easy for us to condemn Hitler and Nazi Fascists now. It is easy for us to speak up against them or write papers, novels and films about that matter. Will you still have done it, in 1940? Will you? He did. It isn't a perfect movie production, limited perhaps by time and by technology. But the Actors and Actresses were fantastic. and It deserves a perfect vote for their outstanding performances and the plot. It has no special effects, yet it echoed through a century.His final speech in the movie, albeit controversy is what I view as one of the finest moments in movie history. He spoke to his audiences, millions around the world, in those few minutes. His true passion, conveyed in a fashion that mimics (satirically) Hitler's speech pattern, has reached their souls.I recommend that everyone should watch this movie again, given the political turmoil around the world recently, and remember what this movie, the history and the great men and women fought for our freedom have tried teaching us.

In his very first 'talkie' film. Charlie Chaplin proves as he did with his silent work to be impressive and inspirational in this now classic comedy/drama parodying the events leading up to and during the Second World War. The film opens with a Jewish soldier fighting on a fictionalised version of the Western Front for the nation of Tomania. After a near-fatal plane crash, the barber loses his memory and spends twenty years recovering in a hospital, during the same time his country and people are undergoing a radical revolution in the name of a new dictator named Adenoid Hynkel. Considered taboo and even downright dangerous at the time, The Great Dictator shows Chaplin to be more than just an outstanding actor and comedian, but a remorseful and courageous human being standing up to the real world troubles at the time and using his voice as a weapon. This is not just apparent in the beautiful and unifying speech that Chaplin delivers in the third act, but in his depiction of dictators and corrupt rulers. The film will have you laughing, cheering and even crying by the soul-touching finale, which challenges the very concept of human nature and the slow demise of mankind. While Chaplin may have come to pass, his legacy has well and truly lived on in what some consider his finest work. The only minor flaws are a lack of a real soundtrack that could have boosted the emotion, especially in the more serious scenes and some recurring gags that loose their comedic value by the end. 9/10