A Jewish barber looks exactly like Hynkel, the dictator of Tomainia, and the 2 get mistaken for each other. The barber ends up in front of a huge crowd, where he gives a speech for peace. This is Chaplin's first sound film. It is his funniest and his most openly political, a direct attack on Hitler made while the world was still unsure whether to fight.
The Great Dictator is a 1940 comedy, drama and war film directed by Charlie Chaplin. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (2 cinematography, 1 psychology and 2 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Dr. Strangelove uses several of the same techniques.
Borrowing the physical comedy of silent films, such as pratfalls, precisely timed gags and expressive body language. It is a nod to where cinema came from.
How this film uses it
The Barber's scenes play like Chaplin's old silent Tramp films. You get carefully timed gags with shaving tools, a face that says everything without words and a body that carries all the comedy. This is a sound film about a world being destroyed by speeches. The man who beats the dictator does it with physical comedy, and that is the film's political point.
Where to see it
The Barber's barbershop sequences. You get silent-era physical comedy inside a sound film, and the Tramp's body language is used on a new crisis in history.
Pairing the main character with a second character who mirrors them. The double shows what the hero wants, fears or secretly is.
How this film uses it
Chaplin plays both the Barber and Hynkel, so they share the same body. The film's politics depend on the fact that you can't tell them apart by looking. The oppressor and the victim look the same. Power is the only thing that separates them, and nature has nothing to do with it. This is the boldest political claim the film makes.
Where to see it
The final mix-up. Because the 2 men look identical, one can be swapped for the other. The whole film depends on that swap, and here it drives the plot.
Using absurd humor, farce and caricature to attack a political target. The jokes make the target look ridiculous and get past defenses that a serious argument would hit.
How this film uses it
Chaplin made Hitler look ridiculous with the globe ballet, the fawning generals and the Phooey's vanity. He did it at a time when many powerful people treated fascism as a serious political program worth engaging with. That made the comedy a political act. Fascism runs on staged awe, and laughing at Hitler took that awe away from him.
Where to see it
Hynkel's globe dance. The dictator's dream of ruling the world is staged as a ballet. The physical comedy makes his huge ambition look absurd.
Having a character look into the camera and speak to the audience, also called breaking the fourth wall. It makes you feel like their confidant and reminds you this is a film.
How this film uses it
The final speech breaks every rule of fiction. The Barber turns into Chaplin himself, a man speaking straight to the world in 1940 about fascism, hope and what people could be. I feel like this is the film's most formal moment and its most human one. The comedian puts the comedy down to say what he means.
Where to see it
The final speech. Chaplin looks into the camera and drops the story. The message goes to the real audience the film was always made for.
Filming absurd material in documentary style, with handheld camera, natural light and newsreel-like staging. The serious look makes the content funnier and exposes how staged political events are.
How this film uses it
In the Hynkel scenes, Chaplin copies the look of Nazi propaganda. You see the rallies, the newsreel coverage and the staged ceremonies. He uses fascism's own style of filming to expose it. The satire works best when the copy is most accurate. The Phooey scenes land because they look like the real footage.
Where to see it
Hynkel's rally sequences. Chaplin copies the look of fascist rallies and makes it slightly worse each time. The realistic style shows you how much of political authority is theater.
Questions
The Great Dictator: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does The Great Dictator use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in The Great Dictator (1940): Silent Comedy Homage, Psychological Doubling, Black Comedy as Political Weapon, Direct Address and Documentary Realism as Satire.
Who directed The Great Dictator?
Charlie Chaplin directed The Great Dictator, released in 1940. CineCode also covers Modern Times (1936).
What films are similar to The Great Dictator?
Films that share techniques with The Great Dictator include Dr. Strangelove (1964), Persona (1966), Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971).
