"The Great Dictator" is a 1940 American political satire comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It tells the story of a Jewish barber who is mistaken for a ruthless dictator named Adenoid Hynkel, and is thrown into a series of absurd situations. The film criticizes Hitler, fascism, anti-Semitism, and the Nazi regime.
The film's production was met with controversy and backlash, particularly from the Nazi regime and American isolationists who feared that the film would provoke Germany and harm the country's relationship with the US. Despite this, the film was a commercial success and received critical acclaim, with many praising Chaplin's performance and the film's message.
"The Great Dictator" has since been considered a classic and one of Chaplin's greatest works. In 1997, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film's final speech by Chaplin, in which he directly addresses the audience, has become particularly famous and is still widely remembered and quoted today.