The Great DictatorPG

Directed by Charlie Chaplin | USA | 1940 | 2h 5m | Starring Charlie Chaplin, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert

After serving in World War I, a Jewish barber spends years recovering in an army hospital, unaware that a ruthless, anti-Semitic dictator – who happens to look just like him – has risen to power. When he finally returns home, he’s shocked by the brutal changes in his once-familiar neighbourhood and joins a courageous young woman in resisting the new regime. In this daring and controversial masterpiece, Charlie Chaplin delivers both a scathing parody of Adolf Hitler and a clever reinvention of his own iconic comic persona.

Join us on Thursday 8th May (3.30pm) for a screening introduced by freelance critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson.

Reviews

‘Charlie Chaplin’s first talkie, made over a decade after the introduction of sound, stands as a brave and controversial piece of filmmaking.’
★★★★
Jamie Russell, BBC

Pamela Hutchinson is a freelance critic and film historian. Her books include BFI Film Classics on The Red Shoes and Pandora’s Box. She is a columnist for Sight and Sound and she runs the silent film website SilentLondon.co.uk.

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Great Dictator between May 4, 2025 and May 8, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 24th September)

15:30

Young Mothers 12A
1h 46m | French w/ English subtitles
Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Two Days, One Night) deliver an unflinching, empathetic portrait of teens raising babies in a state shelter. This Cannes-winning drama captures dignity, hardship, and hope in the face of systemic neglect.

Book here

18:00

Caught Stealing 15
1h 47m
Austin Butler and Matt Smith star in Darren Aronofsky’s (Black Swan) darkly comic 90s-set crime thriller. A burned-out ex-ballplayer agrees to cat-sit, then plunges into New York’s violent underworld, dodging gangsters in a chaotic fight for survival.

Book here

20:30

The Ceremony 15
1h 32m | Arabic, Kurdish, & Romanian with English subtitles
Two undocumented Romanian workers in rural England face a moral crisis that could destroy their friendship. Jack King’s award-winning debut is a visually arresting, slow-burn drama about survival and finding common ground in desperate circumstances.

Book here


Tomorrow (Thursday 25th September)

15:30

Sorry, Baby 15
Deaf/HOH subtitles
1h 43m
Eva Victor writes and stars in this tender, darkly funny debut about healing from trauma. When a friend’s visit highlights her own emotional stasis, Agnes begins confronting the past, inching toward a new future in this heartfelt comedy.

Book here

18:00

Young Mothers 12A
1h 46m | French w/ English subtitles
Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Two Days, One Night) deliver an unflinching, empathetic portrait of teens raising babies in a state shelter. This Cannes-winning drama captures dignity, hardship, and hope in the face of systemic neglect.

Book here

20:30

Caught Stealing 15
1h 47m
Austin Butler and Matt Smith star in Darren Aronofsky’s (Black Swan) darkly comic 90s-set crime thriller. A burned-out ex-ballplayer agrees to cat-sit, then plunges into New York’s violent underworld, dodging gangsters in a chaotic fight for survival.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!