The Great Dictator

Show & Culture

The Great Dictator is a visionary film. Released in 1940, Charlie Chaplin's first talkie is a moving appeal for peace. Chaplin plays a double role: a humble Jewish barber and a certain moustached despot named Hynkel, who clearly resembles a certain Nazi leader. With beautiful music composed by Chaplin himself, performed live and conducted by Timothy Brock, look out for two memorable scenes: the sequence in which the barber listens to Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 on the radio (pay close attention, as every orchestra sound matches a precise movement by the barber!) and the scene where the Dictator plays with a globe to the sounds of Wagner's Prelude to Lohengrin... Legendary!