Carlos André
I can't even count how many times I have watched that initial factory scene on classes that I have being to, but this was the first time that I actually saw the whole movie, and man, it's clear that is prety damn important for cinema.For me, what builds a real masterpiece is the fact that it is timeless, no matter how old the movie is, I still can what and enjoy it (not only with laughs, but also analysing it, or even being thrill by it). And Modern Times is definitely a masterpiece. For my surprise I didn't find the movie that funny, it's for a good part "cute", like, I can't be sad watching some scenes, but you not necessarily are laughing too. But, the topics it approaches are incredible important, and relevant even nowadays. If the whole "captalism destruction" back then was something, imagine how it is today. I love everything with Paulette Goddard in this movie, she delivers a such powerful performance, she is charming, funny, but also can provide a raw and brutal sadness, you just fell for her.Even though at some point they just forgot about her sisters fate, the themes her family's plot talks about are real, and make us think about our own lives, and how we're blessed to have what we have.And again, Chaplin is amazing, you can almost see his dedication to the role, and everything else surrounding the movie. The guy was a genius, and even thoug Silient Movie was in a way "dying" in 1936, he still made a 90% Silent Movie, with writting words and stuff, and it was great.In fact (didn't know that, I was reading the trivia section here on IMBd and saw this) this is the last American movie with that style, and, the last dialogue title card of the film, and in a certain way, the entire silent era, is from The Tramp, who says "Buck up - never say die! We'll get along.", coincidence? Anyways, the movie is just cinema history being written on screen. I've said that in other silent movies I've reviewed before, I really don't know for sure how am I supposed to grade a movie like this, if I had to say on issue that I had with the movie it would probably be that some comediac scenes seems "too long", as I said, I didn't find the movie that funny, so for those scenes were just trying to get more laughs from me, when they actually hadn't even got the first one. But anyways, it could probably be the "common style" of the time.To wrap up, Modern Times is an amazingly important movie, that has some prety serious and dense subjects, but is done in a subtle way with a cleaver and lightful approach.
Al Westerfield
I love silent movies but I've never liked Chaplin. I find his little tramp mean and maudlin. This is particularly so in Modern Times. Nor do I find him funny. There wasn't a single smile, much less a laugh in the film. I loved the factory set and the quality of the cinematography. I loved the roller skating. Otherwise, nothing. I just watched the film today, thinking I should see it at least once. But then I kept recognizing vignettes that I must have seen within the last six months. That's the impression it made on me. And frankly, I was appalled by the socialist themes that an uber rich capitalist embraced. The Tramp is supposedly jobless, except that he gets jobs easily. He loses them not to the Depression but to his own poor performance and incompetence. He celebrates theft of food but celebrates it through gluttony. In short he has very few redeeming features here. When you can't identify with the "hero", much of the interest in the film is lost. All that said, it wasn't a bad film, just not a very good one. I give it a 6.
Niall O'Hara
I watched Modern Times as my first Chaplin film and in fact, my first ever silent film. Being 21 years old I may have a different view on comedy and older films but I failed to see the deep emotional side of this film.The ending is emotional, thought out and very touching, but I personally felt that the simple plot consisted largely of slapstick comedy (which I have never been fond of) performed by a protagonist who could not function as a normal human being in modern society. Because of this, I found myself unable to relate to the film. I believe that a more 'normal' protagonist could have given this film much more meaning... saying this, if we had a 'normal' protagonist then this would not be a Charlie Chaplin comedy film.To summarise, my relatively low score out of 10 comes down to my age, my lack of understanding of Chaplin's history and my dislike of slapstick comedy. The reason the score isn't lower is due to my respect for Chaplin, silent films and old cinema as well as finding some of the moments in this film both amusing and touching.
