---
product_id: 5329100
title: "The Great Dictator (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]"
brand: "charles chaplinjack oakiecharlie chaplin"
price: "KD 7.80"
currency: KWD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.com.kw/products/5329100-the-great-dictator-the-criterion-collection-dvd
store_origin: KW
region: Kuwait
---

# The Great Dictator (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

**Brand:** charles chaplinjack oakiecharlie chaplin
**Price:** KD 7.80
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Great Dictator (The Criterion Collection) [DVD] by charles chaplinjack oakiecharlie chaplin
- **How much does it cost?** KD 7.80 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.kw](https://www.desertcart.com.kw/products/5329100-the-great-dictator-the-criterion-collection-dvd)

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- charles chaplinjack oakiecharlie chaplin enthusiasts

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## Description

In his notorious masterpiece, The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin (City Lights, Modern Times) offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. Chaplin (in his first pure talkie) brings his sublime physicality to two roles: the cruel yet clownish “Tomanian” dictator and the kindly Jewish barber who is mistaken for him. Featuring Jack Oakie (Thieves’ Highway, Lover Come Back) and Paulette Goddard (Modern Times, The Women) in stellar supporting turns, The Great Dictator, boldly going after the fascist leader before the U.S.’s official entry into World War II, is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin’s famously impassioned plea for tolerance.

## Product Details

- **Genre:** Comedy
- **Format:** Black & White, Full Screen, Multiple Formats, NTSC
- **Contributor:** Billy Gilbert, Charles Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin, Henry Daniell, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner
- **Language:** English
- **Runtime:** 2 hours and 5 minutes

## Images

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Scourge Of The Double-Cross: a 'stache-to-'stache duel.
  

*by J***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 7, 2017*

i've never doubted or disputed that Charlie Chaplin was brilliant bordering on genius. i've just never revered him quite as i do The Marx Brothers or Monty Python, or even necessarily The Three Stooges.the reason for this, which i confess may not be quite fair, is that i've never managed to "click" with silent cinema. i'm at a particular loss to seen the appeal of silent comedy. as far as i can tell, it always seems to boil down to the same basic punchline, namely really frenetic music making the world run at about 20 times it's normal speed.but i hasten to add that his considerable talent was always perceptible, and this film more than confirms my suspicion that if he'd worked exclusively in the sound era, he might very well measure up to those comedians i most idolize. (additions to the aforementioned include Jack Benny, Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, and '70s-era George Carlin.)as if just to bear me out, The Great Dictator was the single biggest moneymaker of Chaplin's career, and has been called his masterpiece more than once.it's also his most controversial work. you can still tell that it's one of the ballsiest films ever made, but curiously, not all the reasons it was such a gamble remain readily apparent. the major obstacle Chaplin faced is that it came along a few years before any hostilities were officially addressed, before America had even considered getting into the war. there were stories of what the Nazis were up to, but they tended to be sketchy at best. Chaplin, among others who were uneasy about Hitler, was up against a consensus of opinion that, however tragic, it was ultimately none of our damn business. and because Hollywood's major studios at the time had a standing policy of not "rocking the boat" when it came to political issues, Chaplin was left to produce the film independently.ironically, it was felt that Chaplin was entitled to a more modest potshot at Der Fuhrer. for as long as people had known who Hitler was there had been jokes about his appropriating Charlie Chaplin's trademark mustache. ultimately, of course, this is about as scandalous as the baby-boomers swearing off haircuts after falling under the spell of The Beatles. even so, there was actually a time when, as far as many could tell, it was the extent of Hitler's tyranny. Hitler was actually a legitimate celebrity for at least a decade before it became all too clear that 'stache plagiarism was the least of his atrocities. now there's a twist ending worthy of O. Henry.the plot is a variation on The Prince & The Pauper. the former is represented by "Adenoid Hynkel," a Mad Magazine-esque caricature of you-know-who. the latter is represented by, in his last cinematic bow, Chaplin's iconic Little Tramp. he'd long known well that his signature role's formula wouldn't have the same magic in a "talkie," but nonetheless felt compelled to pay homage to the character to whom he owed his career. so Chaplin gradually develops his hapless barber hero from the familiar mute version to a character more readily compatible with what cinema had become. it's a seemingly natural progression, enabling the beloved character to go out with the proverbial bang.as for the Dictator, Chaplin's masterstroke is to reduce him to a delusional, petulant spoiled brat. in fact, this "spiritual leader" is such a temperamental, volatile figurehead that one wonders how such a doofus manages to get into office in the first place, let alone hold the nation together when he he gets there. this actually semi-dovetails with something that's always puzzled me about Hitler. did he really, as the story goes, sway Germany on rhetoric alone? seriously, how could someone basically scream at the audience the way he did and come off as anything but a delusional lunatic?alas, success in both the artistic and the financial senses of the word couldn't save the film from a certain stigma. at best, some called it mere gossip, an overreaction to to a story of which we'd only heard a part. at worst, there were already no few Nazi supporters in the States, who came out of the woodwork to picket the film and accuse Chaplin of misinterpreting if not slandering a distinguished elder statesman. it remained divided enough an issue to, two years later, similarly plague Ernst Lubitch's similarly themed To Be Or Not To Be. (although granted, that film's failure had more to do with star Carole Lombard's untimely death than any political rhetoric.) the truth would out, but not just yet.tragically, Chaplin himself came to have regrets about the film. he later said that, while it was certainly enough to outrage and frighten him, he had only a layman's understanding of the situation. if he'd had fuller knowledge, particularly of what went on in the concentration camps, he probably wouldn't of bothered. at the very least the film wouldn't of been a comedy.it's frankly depressing to think that outside influences could bring about such misgivings for creating about such a masterpiece. but at least they were too late to prevent Chaplin's assault on Hitler. we need laughter, particularly when confronted with what someone claims is no laughing matter. and indeed, since that was Chaplin's forte, that's how he should approach the matter. Hitler could supplant basic human rights, but he couldn't defend himself from ridicule.it's interesting to note that a few months before, The Three Stooges had launched their own assault on Hitler in what is sometimes called their own finest hour, You Nazty Spy! Moe Howard, who frequently cited this as his personal favorite Stooges episode, launches just as merciless a caricature, and due to the act's slapstick nature, resulted in an even more chaotic cluelessness on the part of their version of a despot. so well received was it, in fact, that by the end of the year there would be a sequel, I'll Never Heil Again! this may not prove much else, but is a reassurance that Chaplin wasn't a lone voice in the wilderness. others were on the same page.and of course, when the truth finally did "out," Der would-be Fuhrer's legacy had such staying power that nearly 30 years later, Mel Brooks could take some of the piss out of his with The Producers...and again when he converted it to a Broadway musical 30 years after that!today, when we can't so easily hide from the truth, the film has a new Achilles heel in a certain maudlin quality. most obviously, the ersatz Fuhrer's final speech. the inevitable switcheroo has taken place: the Dictator is detains by his own authorities, and the barber, masquerading as his doppleganger, finds himself having to address the nation and/or world his his place. here Chaplin finally gets to his central point: doesn't Germany realize what a psychotic lunatic they've handed the reins to? isn't it obvious he can't be trusted? why are we listening to this ogre when we should be pooling our efforts to topple his regime?by slipping so abruptly out of character to deliver a Roosevelt-esque "fireside chat," some have argued, he goes from an everyman underdog to a preacher.second most obviously, Paulette Goddard's character, serving chiefly as an idealist beacon of hope, has a certain Little Mary Sunshine quality which, according to some, is rather out of place.you could also argue that it provides a misleadingly pat solution in it's implication that this one speech is all it takes to make the land of Tomainina come to their senses and throw off the shackles.these naysayers are half right. such, frankly, sap would absolutely be detrimental to a simple comedy for comedy's sake like, say, Austin Powers or The Naked Gun. The Great Dictator, however, is aiming much deeper. (it certainly wouldn't be the only Chaplin production to make such use of the human element.) the film can't make it's point without acknowledging that it's target is a colossal cataclysm who tends to have less than rosy effects on the people in his wake. Chaplin had a serious message lurking within his humor.in any case, serious or comedic, what's even the point of making such a film if you're not gonna take a stand?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Tame And Yet Chilling
  

*by P***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 18, 2023*

This is a story about a dictator modeled on a certain A Hitler. Chaplin plays both the dictator and a Jewish barber which, as might be imagined, eventually causes some interesting developments.A lot of this is very funny, and some of the fun is from moves that appear to go back to the silent film era. Other parts are not funny at all, as might be imagined given the subject matter.Nothing really nasty happens, although some bad things do. That is what makes it tame.But the depiction of stupidity in high places causing problems that threaten their own hold on power is chilling and up-to-date in our time.I watched this mostly because it plays a central role in /Iron Sky/. Feel free to have a different reason to watch it, if you decide to do so.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Resemblance to Hitler Is Purely Co-Incidental
  

*by J***Y on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2022*

In The Great Dictator (1940), Charles Chaplin creates a comedic imitation of Nazi Germany and its leader Adolf Hitler. Charlie Chaplin directed, wrote, produced, starred in, and scored the movie, which rarely seems to be the case in films. There is not much of a specific plot to the movie, but more an embarrassing representation of characters that represent Hitler, Mussolini, and the fascist party. Chaplin intertwines many elements to criticize the fascist leader and antisemitism of the time. Having Chaplin play the Jewish barber was ironic because it makes the overarching point that this supreme leader is essentially the same as the people he is eradicating. Chaplin comically includes the opening caption, "Any Resemblance Between Hynkel the Dictator and the Jewish Barber is Purely Co-Incidental."  Another example of Chaplin making bold moves in offense to Hitler is how he portrays Hynkel in a boyish manner. Chaplin presents Hynkel as an angry child, poking fun at Nazi Germany's leader at the time. When Hynkel is giving his speech and saying Weiner schnitzel and sauerkraut in a German accent, Chaplin is further playing up stupid comedic jabs.Some of the lines included in the movie take serious shots at Hitler's motives and actions during the time period. At one point, Hynkel sends one of his men to a concentration camp, and this man says to him, "Your cause is doomed to failure because it's built on the stupid ruthless persecution of innocent people. Your policy is worse than a crime; it's a tragic blunder."Many advised Chaplin not to make the film for fear of censorship issues, but he went forward with it anyway. Not only was he told it would run into censorship issues with Nazi-occupied countries, but oddly in Britain and the U.S. as well. Even after these warnings, Chaplin went ahead with the film, which ended up being a wild success. The speech at the end of the movie is incredible, Chaplin makes you feel like you are in the audience at the speech, and his words come across as timeless. He addresses the issues in the movie and at that time globally while seemingly addressing future conflict among citizens of the world simultaneously.

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*Last updated: 2026-01-22*