The Dictator (2012 film) comparisons to the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup" and Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator"." The film has officially been banned in Tajikistan, described as "unlikely" to be shown in Turkmenistan, shortened to 71 minutes by the censorship in Uzbekistan, and banned from screens two weeks after its premiere in Kazakhstan. In Pakistan, only the censored version has been released. Rumours were circulating that the film has been also informally banned from showing in Belarus, but state officials denied this referring to deficiency of properly equipped movie theaters suitable for showing the film distributed exclusively in digital format. The film was also
The Great Dictator work for years, and began filming in September 1939. Hitler had been previously allegorically pilloried in the German film by Fritz Lang, "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse". The film was well received in the United States at the time of its release, and was popular with the American public. The film was also popular in the United Kingdom, drawing 9 million to the cinemas, despite Chaplin's fears that wartime audiences would dislike a comedy about a dictator. It was the second-most popular movie in the US in 1941. The film was banned in several Latin American countries, where there were