Modern Times (1936)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: A slapstick skewering of industrialized America, Modern Times is as politically incisive as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious.
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Cast
as A Worker
as The Gamin
as Cafe Owner
as Mechanic

as Burglar
as Burglar

as Sheriff Couler

as Company Boss

as Foreman

as Woman with Buttoned Bosom

as Worker

as Worker

as Convict

as Worker

as Prison Chaplain
as Gamin's Sister

as Chaplain's Wife
as Prison Governor

as Worker

as Workman

as Convict
as Convict

as J. Widdecombe Billows

as Juvenile Officer

as Sheriff Couler

as Cafe Head Waiter

as Billows' Assistant

as Doctor

as Assembly Worker

as Worker

as Shipbuilder

as Burglar
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Critic Reviews for Modern Times
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (0) | DVD (7)
It is a gay, impudent and sentimental pantomimic comedy in which even the anachronisms are often as becoming as Charlie Chaplin's cane.

One of the many remarkable things about Charlie Chaplin is that his films continue to hold up, to attract and delight audiences.
The picture is grand fun and sound entertainment, though silent. It's the old Chaplin at his best, looking at his best -- young, pathetic and a very funny guy.
It's the coldest of [Chaplin's] major features, though no less brilliant for it.
The opening sequence in Chaplin's second Depression masterpiece, of the Tramp on the assembly line, is possibly his greatest slapstick encounter with the 20th century.
Chaplin's political and philosophical naivety now seems as remarkable as his gift for pantomime.

Audience Reviews for Modern Times
Chaplin writes, directs, acts and even wrote the music for this odd feature that has it's own story, yes, but is far more interesting for the underlying tale: that of a man watching time pass him by. He comments on a lot on the newfangled technology and learning to live with it, and how consumption becomes not only what we do but who we are, and that's obvious, but it's his unsaid bits that resonate. His Tramp, wrongly jailed, begs to stay when offered freedom, one of many insights offered in this complex piece that might live on longer than anything else he's famous for.
Super Reviewer
The first twenty minutes are the work of genius, but then the film loses some of its focus and becomes a usual collection of sketches - though most of them hilarious and memorable. And Chaplin's idea of using spoken voices only from mechanical devices is brilliant.
Super Reviewer
A classic, influential movie concerning the legendary "Tramp" character (Charlie Chaplin) and how he struggles to keep up in a modern day world of advances in the work force, which sadly makes going to jail seem like an appealing option. Despite mostly being a farce, this treasure of a film has a ton to say about society, and gives some different, touching looks on a few characters who are doing their best to make it in this world despite being at disadvantages financially and not having a real set of skills. The factory scenes with Chaplin are priceless, but it is the creatively constructed and moving finale that makes this film so special. This is an absolutely timeless comedy featuring one of the most iconic characters in all of film.
Super Reviewer
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