That stated, that is an inherently democratic listing, which implies we’re not together with films the place a nasty king loses, solely to get replaced by a “good” king. So which means you received’t see The Return of the King or The Lion King, no model of Robin Hood and completely, positively no Dune.
And within the spirit of democracy, be happy to say any films we missed within the feedback. In spite of everything, not even the author of this text desires to lord over others, however would quite construct a group with others.
The Nice Dictator (1940)
Because the identify suggests, the king in query on this 1940 Charlie Chaplin traditional The Nice Dictator is a dictator, specifically Tomainian ruler Adenoid Hynkel (Chaplin). As Hynkel builds his huge navy empire, a barber (additionally Chaplin) offers with trauma from World Warfare I whereas residing in a Jewish ghetto ruled by his wartime ally Schultz (Reginald Gardiner). As Schultz earns the ire of Hynkel, the barber will get drawn into the bigger political milieu, resulting in the film’s most well-known scene. At Schultz’s urging, the barber, disguised because the dictator, pretends to by Hynkel and addresses the group.
The barber’s speech urging for peace and human connection throughout borders was as inspirational because it was shocking. By 1940, speaking footage had dominated Hollywood for greater than a decade, however Chaplin had been a silent holdout, making his spoken strains a shift for the actor. Chaplin was additionally a public anti-war crusader (regardless of agreeing to make the patriotic movie Shoulder Arms (1918), and his phrases carried extra power as Hitler and Mussolini waged conflict throughout Europe. Lastly, there’s the darkish reversal of The Nice Dictator, through which Hynkel himself will get mistaken for the barber and despatched to a focus camp, a bleak, however mockingly becoming, finish.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz doesn’t have a correct king, nevertheless it does haven’t one, not two, however three unhealthy leaders who get deposed over the course of the classical musical. The primary, in fact, is the Depraved Witch of the East, who dies in a housing disaster. The second is the Depraved Witch of the West, who shares the identical weak spot because the aliens from Indicators.
The third, in fact, is the Wizard himself, who insists that he’s an excellent man, regardless of working as a despot within the Emerald Metropolis. So when Dorothy and her coalition of rebels lastly problem him, the Wizard repents and decides to hitch them, stepping away from being a monarch. Certain, he pronounces the Scarecrow as a brand new “ruler,” which does bump towards our guidelines towards films through which kings exchange kings, however we’ll let that slide, hoping that Scarecrow realized a lesson concerning the energy of the folks whereas paling round together with his buddies.