Les Temps modernes

Never a dull moment with the vagrant antics of Mr Charlie Chaplin as he seeks to impress on his audience the impact of living in the modern era. What would the little man make of the world today, as technology continues its drive to remove people from the workplace and replace them with more and more automation (who can blame them during pandemic times). A timeless classic that is perfectly geared, engaged and enmeshed for the unstoppable onslaught of technology and its perpetual modernisation - happiness beckons.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Modern Times" (1936) is my first movie which i saw that features Charles Chaplin. Saw it first time in 2015, but nevertheless it's a great movie. Comedy here is truly funny, and it's not just a comedy. It tells a story, with some underlying themes that are still kinda topical till this day – technology is changing, evolving, and if you are not keeping pace with it, you will have some hard times like our hero of this movie.

Acting here is very solid, actually i was surprised of how well acted this movie was – no one overreacted. Story itself is interesting and movie is very well paced – at running time 1 h 27 min it almost never drags and is entertaining from start till finish.

Overall, "Modern Times" is a black and white silent movie (there are some sounds actually) which safely can be viewed for the first time even in 2015 – 79 years after it's original release. It has some truly genuine comedic situations, it tells good story and pacing of picture is very solid. Maybe it is not possible to review this movie correctly now because it's very old, but great movies are great movies – they can be viewed no matter what.

... as I find it to be the combination of the most relatable and the funniest of his films.

Normally I start these reviews with a short synopsis of the plot with a few personal observations, but it's hard to do that in this case without it turning into a bunch of "And then's". I've read that Chaplin had the general idea of what kind of film he wanted to make in this case, and came up with the specific skits and gags he wanted, and then built a specific plot around it. It was unusual for Chaplin to put any of the women in his life into his films, at least while they WERE the women in his life, and it was also unusual for them to get away without having at least one child by him. Paulette Goddard managed to do both. So Goddard is "a gamin" - a street urchin, also known as Ellen. Chaplin is just "the tramp" character that he normally is.

At first, the tramp is all alone facing these "modern times" of the 1930s - a dehumanizing factory job that causes a breakdown, then he's falsely labeled as a Communist leader and instigator and jailed, and when released he finds himself looking for work among the many millions of unemployed during the Great Depression. His fate joins with Ellen when she is caught stealing a loaf of bread and he takes the blame for it to spare her from jail. When they both escape - they are both arrested for the thievery - they join forces and try to find happiness around the edges of society, finding jobs when they can.

This is Chaplin's last silent film, but it really is more of a mute sound film than a true silent. The factory boss speaks - "Get back to work!" and Chaplin himself sings the gibberish song towards the end of the film - the first time his voice had ever been heard on film. You can also hear the crowd noise in the cafe when Chaplin sings.

This film has lots of blatant anti-capitalist themes, based on Chaplin's long held beliefs and observations from a childhood rife with poverty, as well as the contrast of the America he found when he returned after being abroad for a good long time versus the one he left, before the Great Depression had taken hold. Had he not been playing his Little Tramp character while making all of these statements with his art, the film might not have been passed by the censors.

This mostly silent movie deals with a little man , a disgraced factory worker who goes insane from his repetitious job at an assembly líne . At the same time the exigent boss demands him for greatest efficiency and speed at work . As the unfortunate man moving from hapless factory worker to singing waiter and ultimately triumphing along the way .

An interesting and thought-provoking Chaplin film encompassing the tyranny of Machine over man, this great film has more relevance nowadays than ever. The pic contains a sour denounce on capitalism , industrialization and human explotiation . This is a vintage flick much in the fashion that sound films offended his pantomimist's sensibilities . This is a silent movie , being the only dialogue a song sung by Chaplin in gibberish Italian .Chaplin gives an awesome and sympathetic performance as a labourer who goes crazy and triumphs over adversity , just as Charles the film director proved victorious over sound . Chaplin also composed the score which incorporates the charming tune : Smile. His spouse to be Paulette Goddard is attractive in the femenine lead , playing a poor orphan. Look for a young Gloria de Haven , as one of Paulette Goddard's Sisters . She is the real-life daughter of Chaplin's assistant director .

The motion picture was masterfully directed by Charles Chaplin .This was one of the longest ones to that date . Chaplin previously directed 2 or 3 reel short movies, such as : Our hero, The fireman, Night at the show , The adventurer, The floorwalker, The cure , The inmigrant , The circus , Burlesque on Carmen , among others . After that , he made long feature films such as : The gold Rush , The kid , City lights , The great dictator , Monseur Verdoux , Limelight, A king of New York and his last one : A countess from Hong Kong . Rating 8/10 . Better than average . Well worth watching .

Part satire, part slapstick comedy, part melodrama; the great pioneer of film, Charles Chaplin, has created his own monument with this film. At the same time, 'Modern Times' was Chaplin's last goodbye to the era of silent film - which, remarkably, had already ended almost a decade earlier.

After nearly 80 years, this screen marvel still makes me laugh, cry - and think about the ongoing automatization of practically every trivial little thing in our lives. Modern times, indeed.

To me, this film is as entertaining and funny today as I imagine it was then, and it's certainly as relevant as it was then.

The tramp still rules. My vote: 9 out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/