Bringemovies
← Browse TV Shows
The Dictator's Playbook
TITLE DETAILS

The Dictator's Playbook

2018-06-02 · 54 min / episode · ★ 7.6

Documentary

Learn how six dictators, from Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, shaped the 20th century. How did they seize and lose power? What forces were against them? Learn the answers in these six immersive hours, each a revealing portrait of brutality and power.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Creators
Mark Stevenson
Production companies
Cream Productions, Twin Cities Public Television
Countries
Canada, United Kingdom
Status
Ended

Top Cast

Tim BeckmannTim BeckmannNarrator

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Streaming

PBS, PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel, Thirteen, WETA+

Purchase

Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home

View authorized watch options on TMDb

Seasons & episodes

Recommendations

What's My Name | Muhammad Ali
★ 7.4
What's My Name | Muhammad Ali2019Documentary

Explore Ali’s challenges, confrontations, comebacks and triumphs through recordings of his own voice. The two-part documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who was a beacon of hope for oppressed people around the world and, in his later years, was recognized as a global citizen and a symbol of humanity and understanding.

Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson
★ 7.4
Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson2021Documentary

Oscar and Grammy Award-winning producer and artist Mark Ronson explores the intersection of technology and musical innovation with his heroes and fellow hitmakers – including Paul McCartney, DJ Premier, Charli XCX, Dave Grohl, and Questlove.

American Experience
★ 6.5
American Experience1988Documentary

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

American Masters
★ 7.0
American Masters1986Documentary

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All
★ 8.4
Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All2023Documentary

For the first time ever, global superstar, Ed Sheeran opens the doors to a definitive and searingly honest view into his private life as he explores the universal themes that inspire his music. This series follows Ed after he learns of life changing news and reveals his hardships and triumphs during the most challenging period of his life. Featuring exclusive footage behind his iconic hits, never-before-seen personal archive with his friends and family, and epic stadium performances giving insight into Ed’s world.

Top Gear
★ 8.0
Top Gear1978Documentary

Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.

Superpowered: The DC Story
★ 7.5
Superpowered: The DC Story2023Documentary

This docuseries takes an unprecedented look at the enduring and influential legacy of DC, allowing fans to rediscover the universe of characters, as well as the iconic comic book company’s origins, its evolution and its nearly nine-decade cultural impact across every artistic medium.

Mysteries at the Museum
★ 8.8
Mysteries at the Museum2010Documentary

Don Wildman unearths relics from the world's greatest institutions to reveal secrets from the past. He examines each artifact to illuminate history's most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters.

STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces
★ 7.8
STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces2024Documentary

Steve Martin is one of the most beloved and enigmatic figures in entertainment. Dive into his extraordinary story from two distinct points of view—past and present—as Martin reflects on how his beginnings led to his unexpectedly fulfilling life today.

Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
★ 7.4
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian2020Documentary

Executive producer Jon Favreau invites the cast and crew of The Mandalorian to share an unprecedented look at the making of the series. Each chapter explores a different facet of the first live-action Star Wars television show through interviews, never-before-seen footage, and roundtable conversations hosted by Favreau himself.

Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers
★ 8.1
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers2022Documentary

This docuseries captures the remarkable rise and unprecedented success of one of the most dominant and iconic franchises in professional sports. Featuring exclusive access to the Buss Family and probing, revealing interviews with players, coaches, and front office execs, this series chronicles this extraordinary story from the inside – told only by the people who lived it.

Leaving Neverland
★ 6.4
Leaving Neverland2019Documentary

Explores the experiences of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who were both befriended and sexually abused by singer Michael Jackson, and the complicated feelings that led them both to confront their experiences.

MegaStructures
★ 7.5
MegaStructures2004Documentary

MegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an educational look of varying depth into the construction, operation, and staffing of various structures or construction projects, but not ordinary construction products. Generally containing interviews with designers and project managers, it presents the problems of construction and the methodology or techniques used to overcome obstacles. In some cases this involved the development of new materials or products that are now in general use within the construction industry. MegaStructures focuses on constructions that are extreme; in the sense that they are the biggest, tallest, longest, or deepest in the world. Alternatively, a project may appear if it had an element of novelty or are a world first. This type of project is known as a Megaproject.

The Circus
★ 6.5
The Circus2016Documentary

Come one, come all to The Circus. This real-time documentary series pulls back the curtain on the current political stories, revealing the intense, inspiring and infuriating stories behind the headlines. Key characters and events are presented in real time, as they are happening.

The Kings
★ 6.9
The Kings2021Documentary

A four-part series featuring four champions who ushered in a boxing renaissance. The series showcases the dominance of Roberto Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard and their battles in and out of the ring.

Super/Natural
★ 7.4
Super/Natural2022Documentary

Utilizing the latest scientific innovations and leading-edge filmmaking technology, this documentary reveals the secret powers and super-senses of the world’s most extraordinary animals, and invites viewers to see and hear beyond normal human perception to experience the natural world as a specific species does — from seeing flowers in bee-vision to eavesdropping on a conversation between elephant seals to soaring the length of a football field with glow-in-the-dark squirrels.

The Hunt
★ 8.3
The Hunt2015Documentary

This major landmark series looks in detail at the fascinating relationship between predators and their prey. Rather than concentrating on ‘the blood and guts’ of predation, the series looks in unprecedented detail at the strategies predators use to catch their food and prey use to escape death. Sir David Attenborough narrates.

Nature's Great Events
★ 8.4
Nature's Great Events2009Documentary

Documentary series looking at the most dramatic wildlife spectacles on our planet, showing how life responds to natural events which can dramatically transform entire landscapes.

WWII in HD
★ 7.6
WWII in HD2009Documentary

WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel. The program focuses on the firsthand experiences of twelve American service members during World War II, including an Army nurse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second generation Japanese American and prisoner of war, and an Austrian Jewish immigrant. The twelve members recorded their time in both theaters and some had later interviews; found footage from the battlefield was paired with the stories of the twelve service members. The episodes premiered on five consecutive days, with two episodes per day. The series is narrated by Gary Sinise and was produced by Lou Reda Productions in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.

Down to Earth with Zac Efron
★ 7.7
Down to Earth with Zac Efron2020Documentary

Actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in a travel show that explores healthy, sustainable ways to live.

Similar titles

How to Become a Tyrant
★ 7.3
How to Become a Tyrant2021Documentary

The documentary series explores different political figures throughout history.

Mussolini: The First Fascist
★ 8.2
Mussolini: The First Fascist2022Documentary

Mussolini seized power in Italy in 1922, after his March on Rome. He would hold it in his grasp until his death in 1945, establishing a dictatorship that lasted more than 20 years. Long considered a buffoon and a second-rate dictator, Il Duce invented fascism that was imitated by Hitler, who viewed the Italian as his political master. He wanted to transform his country into a warrior nation and promised Italians a return to the grandeur of the Roman Empire. He governed by violence and trickery and was one of the first populist leaders of modern times, leading his country into the catastrophe of the World War II. But who was Mussolini, this former teacher who came from the extreme left to become a newspaper editor and creator of the Fascist Party? Why did he ally himself with Hitler? Were the Italians really behind him? With archives and interviews with the last-surviving witnesses of the era, this portrait takes a look back at one of the most notorious dictators of the 20th century.

Plots of Freedom – The Cry of Samba for Democracy
★ 10.0
Plots of Freedom – The Cry of Samba for Democracy2024Documentary

Enredos da Liberdade – O Grito do Samba Pela Democracia is a Brazilian documentary series available on Globoplay that delves into the pivotal role of samba schools during Brazil's transition from military dictatorship to democracy in the 1980s. Spanning five episodes, the series showcases how samba-enredo compositions became powerful tools of political resistance, addressing themes like censorship, economic hardship, and racial inequality. Through rare archival footage and interviews with prominent figures such as Martinho da Vila, Leci Brandão, and Rosa Magalhães, the documentary highlights the creative defiance of these cultural institutions. Each episode concludes with a reimagined performance of a significant samba, featuring artists like Teresa Cristina and Mart’nália, underscoring the enduring impact of these musical expressions in Brazil's democratic journey.

Despot Housewives
★ 8.0
Despot Housewives2015Documentary

Diktaturet
Not rated
Diktaturet2015Documentary

Verbotenes Begehren
★ 6.5
Verbotenes Begehren2023Documentary

Tehran Confidential
Not rated
Tehran Confidential2025Documentary

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC is the protector of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the military arm of the Supreme Leader. Also known as the Pasdaran, this deep-state mafia comprising 120,000 men has extensive powers, ensuring bloody repression of the people. No strangers to smuggling and trafficking, the IRGC’s economic empire is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The Supreme Leader Khomeini has allowed the organization to infiltrate the state and its members are now mayors, members of parliament and ministers, cultivating their networks at the highest levels. The IRGC is responsible for Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and cultivates not only the art of deterrence, but also a strategy of asymmetrical warfare via the militias and terrorist organizations they finance, arm, and control across the Middle East.

Inside North Korea's Dynasty
★ 6.6
Inside North Korea's Dynasty2018Documentary

The Kim family's dark and surreal story provides a fresh perspective on North Korea.

Evolution of Evil
★ 7.2
Evolution of Evil2016Documentary

Inside the minds of the heartless, corrupt, and cruel individuals who've seized control of their country through the infliction of appalling pain on their fellow man. From Kim Jong-il, to Osama Bin Laden, to Hitler, uncover the madness behind the merciless dictators responsible for unimaginable human atrocities that still haunt the world.

Dictator: The Hitler Interviews
★ 5.0
Dictator: The Hitler Interviews2025Documentary

What made him possible? His friends, his classmates, his co-workers, his admirers, his enablers. Many Nazis, several war criminals, few to trust. A series of unique and deeply disturbing interviews with some of Hitler's closest associates.

PRI: Crónica del Fin
★ 9.2
PRI: Crónica del Fin2025Documentary

In the past, there was only one path to success in Mexican politics: the path of the PRI. But the PRI is not just a political party; it is the institution that shaped Mexico's public and political behavior. It survived armed uprisings, student movements, economic crises, electoral defeats, and corruption scandals, but it was arrogance, corruption, inconsistency, and abuse of power that ultimately brought it down.

Stalin
★ 9.0
Stalin1990Documentary

Three years in the making, this comprehensive study of the Soviet dictator blends documentary footage and interviews with experts and surviving witnesses.

Tyrant
★ 6.7
Tyrant2014

The story of an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. Bassam "Barry" Al Fayeed, the younger son of the dictator of a war-torn nation, ends a self-imposed 20-year exile to return to his homeland, accompanied by his American wife and children, for his nephew's wedding. Barry’s reluctant homecoming leads to a dramatic clash of cultures as he is thrown back into the familial and national politics of his youth.

Freedom
★ 6.7
Freedom2000

Freedom is a short-lived 2000 American science fiction television show on the UPN network. There were 12 episodes filmed but only 7 were aired in the US. Some episodes were further aired internationally, and the full series is still occasionally broadcast in Brazil.

Tell Me How It Happened
★ 8.7
Tell Me How It Happened2007

Television drama series which has been broadcast on RTP1 of Rádio e Televisão de Portugal from 2007 to 2011 and since 2019. It recounts the experiences of a middle-class family, the Lopes (Portuguese: Os Lopes), during the last years of the Estado Novo. In February 2019, RTP announced that the series, after eight years shelved, would be renewed, with the storyline moving firmly into the 1980s. The first episode of the sixth season was broadcast on 7 December 2019 with the Lopes entering 1984.

Flash Gordon
★ 7.2
Flash Gordon1979

The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon, is an animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions. Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly as a reaction to the mammoth success of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977. The series was a homage to the original Flash Gordon comic strip and featured most of the original characters, including Flash's girlfriend Dale Arden, and the scientist Hans Zarkov. The series is still regarded as one of the most faithful adaptations, and one of Filmation's finest overall efforts. The basic story follows Flash and his companions as they travel to Mongo, where they are forced into battle by its ruler, Ming the Merciless, his daughter Princess Aura, and his army of Metal Men. To help their cause the heroes lead the formation of an alliance beginning with King Thun, leader of the Lion People; Prince Barin, ruler of Arboria; and King Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen. The original project was produced as a made-for-television feature film. When NBC saw the finished work, it was decided to turn the work into an animated TV series. The change in format resulted in the story being significantly expanded with a subplot of Ming secretly giving military technology to Hitler being dropped, as well as being set in the present day rather during World War II. When the series was cancelled after its 2nd season, the original footage was reassembled with the original soundtrack, including the final role of Ted Cassidy, and aired on primetime in 1982 as a TV movie, Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All.

Cuéntame cómo pasó
★ 7.1
Cuéntame cómo pasó2001

Recounts the experiences of a middle-class family, the Alcántaras, during the last years of the rule of Francisco Franco and the beginning of the Spanish Transition to democracy.

Julius Caesar
★ 6.1
Julius Caesar2002

Twenty year-old Julius Caesar flees Rome for his life during the reign of Sulla but through skill and ambition rises four decades later to become Rome's supreme dictator.

Aquarela do Brasil
★ 7.0
Aquarela do Brasil2000

During the Golden Age of radio, Isa dreams of a singing career. When her uncle is arrested, she moves to Rio de Janeiro and becomes entangled in a love triangle with Hélio and Mário.

Victory or Death
★ 6.9
Victory or Death2024

Under the regime of Augusto Pinochet in Chile, a group of young people declares war on the dictator. Their leaders are commanders Tamara and Rodrigo. Both leave behind their lives and families to fight against the dictatorship; together, they aim to change Chile and its history.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.