This is an ingenious and darkly humorous film. Over newsreel footage and home movies, Jay Rosenblatt shares with us intimate details about reprehensible historical characters such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco and Mao -- often times using their own words -- and in the process sheds light on some of the personalities that shaped the 20th century, for good or ill. The end result doesn't humanize then so much as its throws their horrible crimes into sharp relief. They don't teach this kind of stuff in school, but they should.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Film clips of the 20th century's great dictators with narration in first person combine to form a fascinating portrait of power and evil.

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Edie Sedgwick in Outer and Inner Space (1966)

Human Remains

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