Modern Times

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Ali Stevenson I love Modern Times so much I came back for the second showing! See my earlier post. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/20/21 Full Review Yeet 1 Overall I liked Modern Times as a film. I think that the way that it covered what being a factory worker during the great depression was extremely unique in the way that they showed how competitive the job market was. Which is sort of similar to the times we live into today where the job market can be extremely competitive. Which ties one of my favorite scenes in the film which is the labor protest to our modern day with our recent union and guild strikes in Hollywood. Which shows that the film is still relevant to the modern times we live in because we live in a time that is very similar to the great depression in the way that new technologies like AI are causing rapid change and upheaval in many industries and threatening the entire existence of many others. Which is making available jobs more sparse like in the great depression. Not to mention housing is an issue for many now much like how the Tramp and Gamin are forced to live in a shack because other housing is unobtainable to them due to their financial situation. Not to mention food is extremely expensive for most people in society today. Which is very similar to how Gamin has to steal food in order to eat. The gap between the poor and the rich today is very similar to the times portrayed in Modern Times. Where the rich are extremely rich and the poor are extremely poor which reminds us about how relevant old films can be to our current times. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Nyla E This film is very enjoyable to watch as it is filled with fun and laughter. Even though it has its comedy, there are several aspects of the film make it feel modern. First, the discussion on labor. In the film, Charlie Chaplin’s character goes into a manic state due to working to hard. This is somewhat relevant to soldiers having PTSD and kind of having to go through getting help on their own. Like how Charlie Chaplin’s character went to jail. Second, the sound aspect of this film, although this is set to be a silent film there is dialpogue. This is shown in when Chaplin’s character is seen taking a quick break in the bathroom then the boss shows up on a screen and tells him to get back to work. Another is when they’re introducing the feeding machine to the boss through a speaker. Lastly, the gamin she’s is a morally gray character where she steals food to feed her family and other children. I think that having a character that does bad for good wasn’t common during this time. When I first watched this film, it kind of went over my head because characters like this are extremely common. But after taking a step back I realized how ahead its time that character is and its true to people in real life. I guess you could say the Chaplin’s character is morally gray as well because when he works as a night guard he sneaks in the gamin to give her food and a place to eat. As well as giving his former coworker, who was planning to rob the place, some food because he’s hungry. As the guard he’s supposed stop people from coming in but because he understands its harsh times he lets it slide. This film is a very fun watch and is complex for its time. Definitely recommend! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Eric D Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin is an amazing film that is greatly constructed. This film takes a great approach to experimenting with sound because although it is mostly considered a silent film, there are many scenes where sound is used to emphasize an action by a character, set a scene location specifically in the factory, and even at one point singing. Adding audio made it not only very interesting to experience since having sound on film at the time was not being done often or correctly, but it also shaped an important part of the history of film. Chaplin's ability to use some sound correctly throughout the film made it even more interesting to watch compared to other silent films. This continues to show how talented and creative Charlie Chaplin was and also how his films were way ahead of their time, including this one. Now, aside from its amazing sound aspects, the reason why I didn't rate this film five stars is because there were certain parts where the scenes lasted a little too long, which made it hard to stay engaged. Although it didn't happen as often to make me dislike the film, it did happen enough times to make it noticeable. The story that the film follows is greatly told visually, which made the scenes that I mentioned before not that big of an issue since it was still easy to follow and interpret in different ways which I enjoy when films do. Overall, Modern Times should be a must-watch film to understand what real cinema looks like and see the impact Charlie Chaplin had on the film industry. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Ray T Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, where Chaplin was both the director and actor, more like an auteur, together with his iconic exaggerated comedic body language while looking into the contemporary societal issue like the emerging of communism in the american community and its impact on the people, also reflect on the advent of industrialization and how the society responses to it. This is really standing out and makes it unique and grasp my attention. I was especially touched by the scene where The Tramp met Ellen the orphan girl and together they dream about their future. Although they have nothing at the moment, but it’s inspirational that they’re still able to dream for the future and work hard on getting it. I wouldn’t consider it as silent film but I would say a transitional period, this can be seen in the minimal use of title card, introduction of some key dialogue, sound effect, and most impressively is a singing sequence by the character on screen. However, I do feel that there should be more female representation on screen rather than merely the orphan and te clerk, still some harassment scenes were portrayed. The film has a budget of $1.5M in 1936 which is tremendous consider to today’s standard. I think it was well made and is understandably a masterpiece by the legend himself because it has a terrific production design, avant-garde cinematography as well as the performance and stunt made by the actors. As a film students I have huge respect for the filmmakers and casts working on this film, constantly innovating and breaking boundaries, and serving as a beacon of light for the film industry. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/16/24 Full Review Isaac C Charlie Chaplain's final silent film is not only entertaining but impressive as well. First and foremost, Chaplin’s physical capability of performing the stunts he does can not be understated. The scene where Charlie is blindfolded roller skating imparticular absolutely baffled me. The many actions taken by Chaplin throughout the film are nothing short of riveting and entertaining. That being said many action sequences do seem to drag which I’ve noticed to be a common reoccurrence with silent films of the era. The story is also simple yet lackluster with an emphasis truly being put towards the action. The humor was also something that alluded me with many comedy sequences lasting longer than needed. A scene imparticular I can only recall is the dinner scene in which Charlie gets stuck in the crowd while trying to deliver food to a table. While it is initially silly it slowly becomes repetitive and eventually boring. However, this humor is entirely subjective and I can understand how one might enjoy it more than I could. However, being released during the Great Depression, I can also see how comedic the film could have seemed. Anyone wanting to escape the hardships of their time could live vicariously through the character of the tramp. To an extent, the film could be seen as a light during a very dark period. Albeit not my sense of humor, I can very much respect the comedy for its time. Overall Modern Times is an entertaining film and a great glimpse into a not-so-distant past. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/14/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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