THE GREAT DICTATOR
DIRECTOR: CHARLIE CHAPLIN
US, 1940
The US was not yet in World War II when Chaplin leveled his comedy arsenal at Der Fuehrer by playing the dual roles of Hitler-like Adenoid Hynkel and a Jewish barber who is a dead-ringer for der Nutsie. Puns, sight gags, and slapstick abound as Chaplin skewers fascism, balancing his attack with poignant scenes of a ghetto in the clutches of storm-trooping terror. “A truly great achievement by a truly great artist.”—The New York Times. (124 mins.)