The Great Dictator (5 Stars)

This is the November selection for the "Best Of Cinema" series, and it really qualifies for that category. Last time I watched it, in the comfort of my own home, I only gave it four stars. It deserves more. I disagree so much with my review that I feel like deleting it. I shan't give a link to it, but I realise that my regular readers know how to find it.

My main complaint about the film in the past was that the names and places are renamed. Watching it today, it doesn't bother me. It's a satire, and it's always obvious who and what the film is about. It was made in 1940, after the Second World War began, but before America joined the war. At this time there were many Americans who sympathised with Hitler and wanted America to join the war on Germany's side. We can be grateful to Japan for preventing this.

The film shows us Adomine Hynkel, the leader of the country Tomainia, which has grown strong 20 years after losing the First World War. His main policy is that he wants to eliminate the Jews. For this reason, he's gathered them into ghettos where they can be prepared for delivery to concentration camps.

Unknown to Hynkel, there's a Jewish barber who looks identical to him. The barber remains unnamed. Does he need a name? He was just a meaningless Jew, one of six million. He could have been anyone. The only thing that made him special was his similarity to Hynkel.

Most of the film is humorous. Charlie Chaplin's slapstick is brilliant. Everyone in the cinema was laughing, even though I'm certain they'd all seen the film before. It's only in the last 20 minutes that the film becomes serious. The Jewish barber is put on stage to speak to a rally, but it's no longer the Jewish barber speaking, it's Charlie Chaplin himself. After making everyone laugh, he wants the audience to listen to his message.

Best of cinema? Yes. It's included in the top 100 list of many film critics. Not in my list, sorry, but it's in my top 200.

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