For this, the one-hundredth edition of our DVD of the Week, its producer, Monica Racic, and I wanted to do something special, and there’s no film more special than Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” from 1940, which I discuss in this clip, taken from the marvellous new restoration of it that’s forthcoming from Criterion. Chaplin is the transcendent figure in the history of cinema—he put the cinema into history with his comedy, and here—in his devastating comic mockery of Adolf Hitler and denunciation of the tyrant’s hateful and world-dominating madness—he turns his comedy into an act of vast historical moment. Throughout the week, I’ll be revisiting this profound and daring film, which restores the therapeutically furious essence of comedy: to tear away familiar and comforting illusions in order to reveal the full measure of the world’s grievous absurdity.
Goings On
What we’re watching, listening to, and doing this week, online, in N.Y.C., and beyond. Paid subscribers also receive book picks.
The Front Row
In “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper Leaves Out All the Good Stuff
The co-writer, director, and star of the Leonard Bernstein bio-pic omits crucial events, context, and characterization, resulting in an emotionally hollow film.
By Richard Brody
A Reporter at Large
China’s Age of Malaise
Party officials are vanishing, young workers are “lying flat,” and entrepreneurs are fleeing the country. What does China’s inner turmoil mean for the world?
By Evan Osnos
The Weekend Essay
The Hidden Harms of CPR
The brutal procedure can save lives, but only in particular cases. Why has it become a default treatment?
By Sunita Puri
2023 in Review
The Best Podcasts of 2023
With stellar shows about clothing, class politics, pop stars, and urban infrastructure, the year had something for everybody.
By Sarah Larson