Rating: 
Summary: A Timeless Classic
Review: "Modern Times" (1936) endures as Charlie Chaplin's best feature-length film. A serio-comic look at the machine age and the Depression in general, it recaptures the effortless spirit of Chaplin's Mutual shorts while toning down the pathos of his previous features. In fact, the film's episodic structure is a delightful throwback to his early two-reelers. The inspired chemistry between Chaplin's Little Tramp and Paulette Goddard's Gamine forms the heart and soul of this timeless classic -- beautifully evoked in the memorable closing shot. Chaplin's ingenious utilization of music and sound effects is topped by the Tramp's famous "gibberish" song. No matter how many times you have seen it, "Modern Times" remains an unforgettable film experience.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic !!!
Review: A day in a life of Charlie!A true classic and a funny look at the industrial revolution, any one who has worked for a tyranical supervisor will enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: modern times a classic
Review: a must for all...... classic comedy, laughs and a real great story..
Rating:
Summary: The Man and the System
Review: A story about a man and the System (with big S). A life, a shedule "from... - to...". A Machine and such stuped creature - a man. Who belongs to who? Who serves to who? Who is alive?
Rating:
Summary: Enjoy the genius of Charlie Chaplin (one of AFI's top 100)
Review: AFI's (American Film Institute) top 100 films in 100 years (1998) gave Charlie Chaplin 3 spots (Gold Rush 1925, City Lights 1931 & Modern Times 1936). An incredible accomplishment since these are Silent Classics. Charlie Chaplin created the infamous "Little Tramp (Derby hat, goose mustache, bamboo cane & very large shoes with the shuffling duck waddle)" character who starred in all but two of his movies. Chaplin owned his own movie studio by the age of 22. He produced, wrote the scripts, directed, starred and did his own stunts in his movies. With "Modern Times" add writing the music to his talents. The eternal song "Smile" epitomized the theme of this machine age satire. In summary this silent (digitally restored picture, sound effects & musical soundtrack) classic "Modern Times" is a great picture to watch. Chaplin pokes fun at the industrial age of machine & automation. He believed the true motion picture was to be a visual experience not a talkie. This was his message to the audience. To challenge our ability to see the humor and drama unfold through his eyes. One classic scene where Charlie is swimming through the large gears & machine sprockets like taffy shows us the great imagination & genius of Charles Chaplin. Paulette Goddard (Chaplins wife at the time) plays the post depression poor girl. Indeed his greatest leading lady. This is the movie to experience the genius of Charles Chaplin.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoy the genius of Charlie Chaplin (one of AFI's top 100)
Review: AFI's (American Film Institute) top 100 films in 100 years (1998) gave Charlie Chaplin 3 spots (Gold Rush 1925, City Lights 1931 & Modern Times 1936). An incredible accomplishment since these are Silent Classics. Charlie Chaplin created the infamous "Little Tramp (Derby hat, goose mustache, bamboo cane & very large shoes with the shuffling duck waddle)" character who starred in all but two of his movies. Chaplin owned his own movie studio by the age of 22. He produced, wrote the scripts, directed, starred and did his own stunts in his movies. With "Modern Times" add writing the music to his talents. The eternal song "Smile" epitomized the theme of this machine age satire. In summary this silent (digitally restored picture, sound effects & musical soundtrack) classic "Modern Times" is a great picture to watch. Chaplin pokes fun at the industrial age of machine & automation. He believed the true motion picture was to be a visual experience not a talkie. This was his message to the audience. To challenge our ability to see the humor and drama unfold through his eyes. One classic scene where Charlie is swimming through the large gears & machine sprockets like taffy shows us the great imagination & genius of Charles Chaplin. Paulette Goddard (Chaplins wife at the time) plays the post depression poor girl. Indeed his greatest leading lady. This is the movie to experience the genius of Charles Chaplin.
Rating:
Summary: "Where's the Boss?"
Review: Caught between the cog wheels? Travelling down the conveyor belt? And guess who's at the controls???
If you are suffering from work woes, this film is a great one to watch. A co-worker at my last job recommended this film to me. We worked for one of those genome companies, some of us working in a production capacity, doing the same repetitive tasks ad nauseum. The, (in real life), multi-talented Chaplin in this film is a simple-minded factory worker who spends his day going through the same motions over and over again. He does get lunch breaks, but of course his day at work is not without its mishaps. Funny that a 70 year old film about modern times is still not dated.
This film was made in 1936 during the Great Depression, a time when money and bread were scarce, many people feeling the effects. The story line for this movie reveals some of these circumstances, but as Chaplin lives through them, as when he is forced to drink rum bursting out of casks shot by robbers of a department store, one of whom was a previous co-factoryworker, you can't help but laugh, and as the song says, 'just smile'.
Rating:
Summary: 'Where's the Boss?'
Review: Caught between the cog wheels??? If you are suffering from work woes, this film is a great one to watch. A co-worker at my last job recommended this film to me. We worked for one of those genome companies, some of us working in a production capacity, doing the same repetitive tasks ad nauseum. The, (in real life), multi-talented Chaplin in this film is a simple-minded factory worker who spends his day going through the same motions over and over again. He does get lunch breaks, but of course his day at work is not without its mishaps. Funny that a 70 year old film about modern times is still not dated. This film was made in 1936 during the Great Depression, a time when money and bread were scarce, many people feeling the effects. The story line for this movie reveals some of these circumstances, but as Chaplin lives through them, as when he is forced to drink rum bursting out of casks shot by robbers of a department store, one of whom was a previous co-factoryworker, you can't help but laugh, and as the song says, 'just smile'.
Rating:
Summary: Encore to Charlie, the Little Tramp
Review: Chaplin's Modern Times leaves us awed with various noteworthy marks. First of all, Chaplin endeavored to make his second sound film following City Lights (1931), in spite of the wide-conquering trend of talkie. Not only the background music but also occasional sound effects bring out the brilliance of the director. Second, even after two decades since his silver screen debut in 1914, the performance of Charlie the Little Tramp and Chaplin's directing had been matured, not faded, like a good wine. Those laughing spots fairly spread in the entire film proves it. Last but not least, you can never forget this film for the moment when the long-time silent Little Tramp finally open his mouth to sing!--for the first and final time, unless you count The Great Dictator (1940), the following film and another masterpiece of Chaplin. --After all those struggles, Charlie gets a job at a cafe, where his adventure partner the Gamine (Paulette Goddard; Chaplin's wife at that time) works as a dancer. Charlie is to wait and sing. As he can't remember the lyrics when rehearsing, the Gamine helps him writing the lyrics on his cuff for a cheat sheet. A fanfare goes and the Little Tramp marches in the floor stage performing an eccentric dance until he dances so hard that the cuffs are blown away. He frantically and desperately searches for the cuffs and the Gamine says (in the spoken title) "Sing! Never mind the words!"-- It is well known that Chaplin was the last resistant against talkie claiming the universality of silent films. What he performed in this "Titina" sequence, singing in the stateless language (still obvious it is conjured up with a few languages such as French or Italian) and storytelling by his brilliant pantomime. The audience in the film reacts the same way as we do: get a nice-surprise, laugh and applaud. With its theme song "Smile", composed by Chaplin, the performance of Charlie the Little Tramp is definitely one of the highlights of this film. Play it again, Charlie!
Rating:
Summary: A classic Chaplin satire.
Review: Chaplin's pantomime grace and suave elegance was lost after his last silent film was released. The last appearance of the most famous screen character of all time "The Little Tramp" makes it truly poignant, but it's a hilarious comedy classic with a wonderful and romantic performance from Goddard.
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