6. The Great Dictator
Probably Chaplin's most well-known film to the average moviegoer because of its iconic final speech, The Great Dictator was his first film that completely embraced sound. A scathing criticism of Adolf Hitler released at the height of World War Two, Chaplin plays two characters: one an unnamed jewish barber and the other the tyrannical dictator Hynkel. Although stupendously successful upon its release, The Great Dictator marked the end of Chaplin's thirty year run as the world's most popular entertainer. In the coming years, Chaplin would receive much criticism for his political beliefs and a seemingly unending amount of paternity suits. While The Great Dictator has a number of classic scenes such as the final speech, the opening battle scene, a haircut set to Brahm's Hungarian Dance, and Chaplin's hilarious Hitler impersonation, the film as a whole is bit more uneven than the best of Chaplin's work and despite its earnestness, is a bit dull at times. Still, The Great Dictator is arguably the most important film Chaplin ever made and many hail it as one of his best. It was the third highest ranked Chaplin film on both Sight and Sounds 2012 list of greatest films and on IMDB's top 250. Despite its flaws, the film's boldness and audacity make it a better movie than most directors could ever hope to create.