I’m an ubashed fan of Charlie Chaplin. Not only was he one of the brightest stars the world has ever known, he was also one of the most brilliant filmmakers, often (usually) leaving his contemporaries far behind. Few films of any time by any filmmaker are as perfect as, say, City Lights.

What better way to celebrate his birthday than by discussing the Criterion release of Modern Times?

When the Criterion Collection released Chaplin’s “Modern Times” I was ecstatic. I’d never seen Modern Times. I’d seen pieces of it before, particularly the sequences with the gears, but I’d never watched it in its entirety until the Blu-ray release.

This is a film of stunning power and should have a particular resonance today. It’s as relevant now as ever. Modern Times is about the struggle of the worker and his constant and tireless exploitation. He doesn’t want to start a revolution, he just wants to get by.

Starring Chaplin as his lovable Tramp and Paulette Goddard as his love interest (and real life wife at the time), this film is so full of heart and hilarity that it’s hard to ignore. In fact, the only thing I think this film has going against it is the fact that it’s so easy to compare it to City Lights. While this film is excellent, it lacks the same punch of City Lights, but regarded in its own way it’s a masterpiece.

There’s also something bittersweet about this picture. It was Chaplin’s last time playing his most famous creation, The Little Tramp, and also the first time we heard words come out of his mouth. Chaplin wasn’t interested in having him speak at all, but if he was going to do it, he made the wise choice of making those words absolute gibberish in one of the most hilarious musical numbers ever put on screen.

The ending, too, is bittersweet:

This film gave us one of the most wonderful and optimistically sad pieces of music the world has ever known with “Smile”.

And can I mention how absolutely gorgeous Paulette Goddard is in this picture:

This picture was taken from one of the most breathtaking and ludicrously funny scenes in the movie. Chaplin and the girl have stolen away into a department store and decide to put on skates and Chaplin doesn’t realize that the floor behind him looks down over the lower floors of the store.

It’s nerve wracking to watch, not knowing how much danger he was actually in or not.

Here’s the scene:

Now imagine being able to watch this brilliance with Criterion’s full-blown 1080 Blu-ray picture. It’s astounding.

Modern Times is definitely a product of the Great Depression and is a story about the problems working people face every day. He infuses so much heart and understanding into it, making it relevant for people of all ages today, what with our own Depression going on. It feels like a Chaplin version of The Grapes of Wrath, and that’s a wonderful thing to see.

I would give this film my highest recommendation. Pick it up on Amazon.