Modern Times

Rating:
Summary: The difficults of a work life
Review: I want that review because that was a great film and now i am studyng the modern times

Rating:
Summary: My favourite of this first series of Chaplin reissues.
Review: It helps that Modern Times is one of Chaplin's best films, period, running a close second behind City Lights (I hope that's next on the re-release list). And happily, unlike The Gold Rush, which was ruined by awful sound choices, the Modern Times DVD offers a clean transfer of the film with all the beloved original elements intact as far as I could see and hear, plus a host of extras.

The film itself is the most briskly paced of Chaplin's feature-length films. And his writing is sharp, unhindered by the sermonizing which permeates his last works. The dilemma facing our Little Tramp this time is something all of us can relate to: For the first time, we see him thinking ahead, wanting to have a future, to form a family, and working towards that end. Chaplin's physical-comedy skills are at their peak: Witness the extended takes of the rollerskate scene, and the factory assembly line. Even if the 18fps (sometimes 16fps) film speed made everything look faster than it really was, it's still impressive physical co-ordination requiring flawless execution, since Chaplin rarely edits using coverage.

In Modern Times we see one of the first truly well-rounded Chaplin heroines. The radiant Paulette Goddard was Chaplin's best leading lady, her high spirits and lively presence being a much better foil for Chaplin than the starry-eyed icons of perfection that were Georgia Hale, Edna Purviance, or Virginia Cherrill. She just has more star quality and brings a quirkier, more animated personality to Chaplin's films, balancing them nicely.

And the gags -- some of the best in the Chaplin canon. The eating machine always has me rolling on the floor; the nonsense song is terrific (the DVD offers a "karaoke" version which, though a novelty, does tell us finally what the lyrics actually are); and all the machine gags are fast-moving gems.

The bonus materials include a long outtake and several documentaries. "Chaplin Today" features guests Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, the French filmmakers behind the film Rosetta, and though their film-historian banter is not entirely to my taste, they do bring up some insights that I hadn't observed about Modern Times.

In all, a great release, and a great DVD to have for movie nights. It's a wonderful presentation of a comedy classic.

Rating:
Summary: My favourite of this first series of Chaplin reissues.
Review: It helps that Modern Times is one of Chaplin's best films, period, running a close second behind City Lights (I hope that's next on the re-release list). And happily, unlike The Gold Rush, which was ruined by awful sound choices, the Modern Times DVD offers a clean transfer of the film with all the beloved original elements intact as far as I could see and hear, plus a host of extras.

The film itself is the most briskly paced of Chaplin's feature-length films. And his writing is sharp, unhindered by the sermonizing which permeates his last works. The dilemma facing our Little Tramp this time is something all of us can relate to: For the first time, we see him thinking ahead, wanting to have a future, to form a family, and working towards that end. Chaplin's physical-comedy skills are at their peak: Witness the extended takes of the rollerskate scene, and the factory assembly line. Even if the 18fps (sometimes 16fps) film speed made everything look faster than it really was, it's still impressive physical co-ordination requiring flawless execution, since Chaplin rarely edits using coverage.

In Modern Times we see one of the first truly well-rounded Chaplin heroines. The radiant Paulette Goddard was Chaplin's best leading lady, her high spirits and lively presence being a much better foil for Chaplin than the starry-eyed icons of perfection that were Georgia Hale, Edna Purviance, or Virginia Cherrill. She just has more star quality and brings a quirkier, more animated personality to Chaplin's films, balancing them nicely.

And the gags -- some of the best in the Chaplin canon. The eating machine always has me rolling on the floor; the nonsense song is terrific (the DVD offers a "karaoke" version which, though a novelty, does tell us finally what the lyrics actually are); and all the machine gags are fast-moving gems.

The bonus materials include a long outtake and several documentaries. "Chaplin Today" features guests Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, the French filmmakers behind the film Rosetta, and though their film-historian banter is not entirely to my taste, they do bring up some insights that I hadn't observed about Modern Times.

In all, a great release, and a great DVD to have for movie nights. It's a wonderful presentation of a comedy classic.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for kids
Review: Kids just love the old silent movies just as much as cartoons. Expecially if there are as comic and timeless as Chaplin.

Rating:
Summary: Chaplin's best
Review: Modern Times (1936) is quite possibly the defining picture of Charlie Chaplin's career. I've been renting Chaplin movies lately and Modern Times is by far the best one that I've seen. The Little Tramp (Chaplin) is a factory worker who has been working on the assembly line a bit too long. Even not on the line, he finds his hands making the movements that he did when working. He goes a little kooky and finds himself taking the blame for stealing bread to protect a young woman (Paulette Goddard). The Tramp also inexplicably steals from a couple of merchants and requests that the police officer nearby pay for it. This lands him in jail. He gets out, but lands himself right back in jail when he appears to lead a communist workers revolt.

The film focuses on the Tramps relationship with the woman as well as his attempts to work in the factory (several different jobs). The funniest stuff is in the factory as Chaplin lets loose with his trademark physical humor. I think this is Chaplin's best and most well-crafted films and if he is only remembered for one film, it should be this one.

Rating:
Summary: Laugh & Tears as the Tramp struggles...
Review: Modern Times is the last silent film that Charles Chaplin created in a time when talking was common on the silver screen. Once more Chaplin takes roll as the Tramp where he is exploited as cheap labor that can be used whenever needed, since the Tramp's options are rather limited due to his monetary needs. However, even an honest hard worker such as the Tramp can suffer from burn-out and go astray as he is sent to a mental institution. Cured and recovered he departs from the institution, but ends up in the wrong place at the wring time and is sent to jail. Modern Times displays the socio-economic needs and vulnerability of the poor who fall outside the system. At the same time, the film displays gentle love and care that provides a base for hope and dreams for those who are struggling for a happier and better life. Overall, Modern Times presents an excellent cinematic opportunity that gives both laughs and tears, which will leave some pondering the structure of the society.

Rating:
Summary: Laugh & Tears as the Tramp struggles...
Review: Modern Times is the last silent film that Charles Chaplin created in a time when talking was common on the silver screen. Once more Chaplin takes roll as the Tramp where he is exploited as cheap labor that can be used whenever needed, since the Tramp's options are rather limited due to his monetary needs. However, even an honest hard worker such as the Tramp can suffer from burn-out and go astray as he is sent to a mental institution. Cured and recovered he departs from the institution, but ends up in the wrong place at the wring time and is sent to jail. Modern Times displays the socio-economic needs and vulnerability of the poor who fall outside the system. At the same time, the film displays gentle love and care that provides a base for hope and dreams for those who are struggling for a happier and better life. Overall, Modern Times presents an excellent cinematic opportunity that gives both laughs and tears, which will leave some pondering the structure of the society.

Rating:
Summary: The Tramp In The Machine
Review: MODERN TIMES opens with its credits being printed out over a close-up image of a clock ticking interminably forward. The film's first real shot is of mindless sheep being herded through gates, which fades into an image of factory employees exiting a subway stop on their way to work. Looking at this from a modern standpoint, one can only think that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This is a film that I can watch over and over again. It's not just that it's an incredibly funny film. It's not just that its satire of modernization and industrialization still rings true today. It's that each aspect of the filmmaking pulls together to form something greater than each individual part. The story ranges from big topics concerning the Great Depression and dehumanization, while successfully balancing that with the small love story between the tramp and the gamin. In a theme that would be revisited even more powerfully in LIMELIGHT, the two characters need each other, depend on each other and simply have no reason to exist without the other. The comedy tickles while the tragedy touches. No other director in film history managed to find that equilibrium with such skill.

This is rightly hailed as the last great silent movie, albeit one made several years after sound has become the norm. I still get a kick out of the fact that the only intelligible voices come solely from machines. Chaplin is making a silent film using sound technology, meaning he has the option to take the best of the both worlds. His next film, THE GREAT DICTATOR, wouldn't quite get this mixture right, but it's a success here. The film can go for several minutes at a time with no meaningful talking or sound effects, and then suddenly jump into an unexpected gag involving voice. The mixture of sound and silent set pieces was inevitable at this point in film history, but I've never seen it pulled off as well as Chaplin does it here.

While disc one contains the film itself in beautifully restored condition, the second DVD is full of extras. Most important is the "Chaplin Today -- Modern Times" documentary. This is more or less structured around two French directors (Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne) discussing the film. Absolutely fascinating stuff. They analyze the film's jokes, its metaphors and its themes. They talk about everything from the number of frames per second shot to the number of gags that revolve around food. Also included in the documentary is some footage of Chaplin meeting Gandhi. I have nothing to add; I just had to mention it.

Chaplin's nonsense song, the tune he sings at the end of the film in faux Italian, is the subject of two extras. The first is an extended version, featuring a final verse that never made it to the final edit. The second is a Karaoke version of the song (I'm not making this up). And speaking of Chaplin's music, there's an excerpt from 1950s TV of Liberace himself (of all people) performing "Smile" -- the theme from MODERN TIMES. Great rendition of a great song.

There's also a short (ten minute) documentary from 1967 called "Por primera vez" ("For The First Time") in which peasants in a tiny village in Cuba are shown a movie for the first time. It's a fascinating look at what film means to people who have never actually watched one before. The reason for its inclusion on this DVD is that the film in question is, of course, MODERN TIMES. It may be an odd choice for their first film experience given that the story of a factory worker undergoing a nervous breakdown may not be something that relates well to people who rarely even see automobiles. But the villagers laugh at the right places and seem genuinely enthused. The documentary is well worth watching and will fascinate anyone with an interest in the societal ramifications of film.

The picture restoration on the main feature is also fabulous. The image has never looked crisper. While this is nominally a silent movie, the original release did feature a synchronized soundtrack of sound effects and Chaplin's musical score (which means, unlike other "silent" DVD releases, we connoisseurs don't have to argue about whether this particular sound track is wonderful and totally keeping in the spirit of what would have been played at the time, or a complete outrage that should result in everyone responsible being shot). The sound quality is excellent, bringing one of my favorite film soundtracks to life superbly.

If I was going to recommend one Chaplin movie to someone, I think I'd have to choose this one. It has two major things going for it. It's a great film, but it's also extremely representative of his body of work. It has comedy, it has pathos, it features the tramp, it has a message. And it's also one of the most influential movies that Chaplin ever made. Everyone, from film to television (remember Lucille Ball working at the candy factory?), has either made reference to MODERN TIMES, or just plain stolen some of its gags. The image of Charlie being dragged into the heart of the gears and cogs of a giant unfathomable machine is familiar to even those people who haven't seen the movie. If you like this film, then you should already own this release. And if you haven't seen it before, then this is absolutely worth a gander. You'll be surprised at just how modern and fresh this classic movie is.


Rating:
Summary: One of the golden gems of Charlot
Review: Modern times was a smart comedy in the previous years to WW2.
Charlot made raptures images in several sequences.
Our unlucky or disadapted little man , definitively wasn{t made for working with the industrial process. This kinetic introduction in the middle of the complex mecahnism of machine systems is a issue to develop unforgettable laughable situations. The sense of alienation in front the no ending belt , causes in him an insane loss of the reality. And the machine who feeds you without waste of time for your employers is a classic.
Obviously Charlot inspired himself in Metropolis, the bitter nightmare of Fritz Lang from 1927. (Watch for instance for the employer who works around the machine control) .
So our beloved anti hero goes out from this the factory to the hospital and over and over he tries to get a job but he fails , by one reason or another.
In the middle of the film will appear a deep inspiration. The eternally beauty Paulette Godard represents exactly that weird mix teenager-woman who will work out as link for him later.
He is a guy with good feelings. He acts always as humanity benefactor but the long arm of the fate runs behind him and the results are not succesful.
The sequences in the dinner hall with the chicken that never comes to the impatient client is a masterpiece. Literally it's a funny coreography dance in the purest sense of the word.
Smile ; no matter what's wrong with you. We'll keep ahead , overcoming all the possible obstacles.
A remarkable film and one of the landmark pictures of this timeless genius.
Haven't you seen it? Make yourself a favour and buy it as a gift for you or your wife or fiancee or kids. This film will never dissapoint you , at least in the next three hundred years.

Rating:
Summary: A comic masterpiece of the Great Depression
Review: My dad laughed so hard he could hardly catch his breath on father's day when watching the slapstick comic genius of Charlie Chaplan in Modern Times. The script, music and acting that he wrote, composed and performed make him I believe a man born ahead of his time.

His scene with Sammy Stein the Turbin operator almost had me rolling out of my LazBoy. Paulette Goddard represented how hard times were in the Great Depression and helped Chaplan as he made a social commentary on the times. The industrial revolution was also represented in a comical way.

The scene in jail with the smuggled nose powder by another inmate that was stashed in the salt unknown to the Little Tramp, and his reaction after salting and eating his food, was hilarious. I don't condone drugs, but the way Chaplan finds humor in things that happen to us out of the blue is great.

I could describe more scenes but don't want to spoil the film for those who have not yet purchased Modern Times. It definitely should be part of your collection, I believe it is one of the top 20 movies ever but on film. There were three greats in silent movies, Charlie Chaplan, Buster Keaton and Roscoe Arbuckle (aka Fatty). Collect all three of the slapstick geniuses of their time. Comedy for all ages. Enjoy!

See Ya on my next review!

Gary Miles, Louisville, Kentucky