The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) battles it out with technology, unemployment, jail, demanding customers and more in this classic film, in which he wins some, loses more and, in the end, walks undaunted into the sunrise. Known as Chaplin's last silent film, Modern Times is anything but -- from the opening notes of the rich score to the first and last time the star's voice is heard, the film speaks with a clear, well-rounded resonance.
Jason
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After watching Sunrise I was afraid of all the other silent films on the list. It would seem that maybe silent doesn't have to mean bad, though I don't quite think I'm ready to say it means good either, at least not yet.
This is the first time I've ever seen an entire Charlie Chaplin movie (I've seen short clips before). To be honest I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. He was ridiculous in every aspect and lived up to his hype. The problem is this type of physical comedy isn't really my thing. I think that's why I enjoy the Marx Brothers so much. Their comedy has a physical aspect, but it's also there choice of language and the delivery of there lines that are so important, Groucho especially.
That being said I was definitely laughing out loud at this film. Especially during the first twenty minutes while he's working in the factory. Watching him waddle up and down the conveyor belt was really amusing. However, the best part was the eating machine. It was outrageous and perfectly executed.
Final Thoughts- Charlie Chaplin is an icon. While watching this movie it was very obvious that my childhood cartoons borrowed a lot of stuff from him. That being said this movie does not go on my list. It was an enjoyable time, but not one of the 100 greatest.
I feel like Chaplin movies are worth watching just to see what a lot of other things reference or take off from. He was brilliant.
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