From Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, dictators have shaped the world we live in. How did they seize and wield power? What forces rose up against them or resisted them in secret? How did they finally come to the bitter end? This series answers those questions in six immersive hours, each a revealing portrait of brutality and power.
Dictator's Playbook They were ruthless men with unchecked power, controlling their people with an iron fist. Suppressing all dissent, they demanded absolute loyalty, jailing, or killing those who opposed them. They ruled by force of personality, but were plagued by secret fears and private demons. They were dictators - tyrants who shaped the twentieth century and left their mark on our own.
From Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, dictators have shaped the world we live in. What drove their thirst for domination and control? How did they seize and wield power? What forces rose up against them or resisted them in secret? How did they finally come to the bitter end?
Today, with authoritarian leaders on the rise from the Philippines to Venezuela, these questions are more relevant than ever. We’ll answer them in six immersive hours, each a revealing portrait of brutality and power.
As we meet the most ruthless rulers of recent history, we’ll trace their rise and fall - and discover that they traveled a well-worn path. As different as these men were from each other, all of them followed a series of essential steps, from seizing power to eliminating enemies - an unwritten Dictator’s Playbook.
Episode one: Kim Il Sung
Episode two: Saddam Hussein
Episode three: Benito Mussolini
Episode four: Manuel Noriega
Episode five: Francisco Franco
Episode six: Idi Amin
Producer: Matt Booi, Patrick Cameron
Executive Producer: Michael Rosenfeld, David Brady, Kate Harrison Karman
Production Company: Twin Cities Public Television (KTCA)
Production Year: 2017
Copyright Year: 2018
Rating: TV-14
Narrator: Tim Beckmann
Number of Discs: 2
Length: 360 minutes
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH)
Language Track: English
Audio Format: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen