Editing Modern Times (film) (section)

==Reception==
[[File:Grand Op Mod Times.jpg|thumb|World premiere of ''Modern Times'' (1936), New York]]

''Modern Times'' is often hailed as one of Chaplin's greatest achievements, and it remains one of his most popular films. It holds an approval rating of 98% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 108 reviews, with a [[weighted average]] of 9.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A slapstick skewering of industrialized America, ''Modern Times'' is as politically incisive as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/modern_times/| title=Modern Times (1936)| work=Rotten Tomatoes| access-date=May 6, 2021}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] reports an aggregated score of 96/100 based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/modern-times-re-release| title=Modern Times (re-release) Reviews| website=Metacritic| access-date=August 30, 2019}}</ref>

Naming it the [https://flickside.com/best-movie-from-every-decade/ Best Film of the 30s Decade], ''Flickside'' writes: "Chaplin's ''Modern Times'' is a thoughtful critique on the anxieties of modernization dealt with pathos and humour." Contemporary reviews were very positive. [[Frank Nugent]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: "'Modern Times' has still the same old Charlie, the lovable little fellow whose hands and feet and prankish eyebrows can beat an irresistible tattoo upon an audience's funnybone or hold it still, taut beneath the spell of human tragedy ... Time has not changed his genius."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9403E3DE153FEE3BBC4E53DFB466838D629EDE |title=Movie Review – Modern Times |last=Nugent |first=Frank S. |author-link=Frank Nugent |date=February 6, 1936 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=July 1, 2015 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "grand fun and sound entertainment".<ref>{{cite news |last=Green |first=Abel |date=February 11, 1936 |title=Modern Times |url=https://variety.com/1936/film/reviews/modern-times-2-1200411268/ |journal=Variety |location=New York |page=16 |access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Film Daily]]'' wrote: "Charlie Chaplin has scored one of his greatest triumphs."<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 7, 1936 |title=Reviews |journal=Film Daily |location=New York |publisher=Wid's Films and Film Folk |page=10 }}</ref> [[John Mosher (writer)|John Mosher]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote that Chaplin "manufactures some superb laughs ... In all, it's a rambling sketch, a little at loose ends at times, sometimes rather slight in effect, and now and then secure in its rich, old-fashioned funniness."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mosher |first=John |author-link=John Mosher (writer) |date=February 15, 1936 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |pages=57–58 }}</ref> [[Burns Mantle]] called the film "another hilariously rowdy success".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mantle |first=Burns |author-link=Burns Mantle |date=February 16, 1936 |title=Mantle Finds Chaplin Film Uproarious |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/354926012/?terms=Mantle%2BFinds%2BChaplin%2BFilm%2BUproarious | journal=[[Chicago Tribune|Chicago Daily Tribune]]|page=Part 7 p. 12 |access-date=August 8, 2020 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Writing for ''[[The Spectator]]'' in 1936, [[Graham Greene]] strongly praised the film, noting that, although there had always been a bit of a dated feel to his previous works, Chaplin "has at last definitely entered the contemporary scene". Greene noted that, whereas prior Chaplin films had featured "fair and featureless" heroines, the casting of [[Paulette Goddard]] suggested that his female characters might be presented with more personality than previously. He also voiced concern that the film would be considered to be a Communist film when in reality Chaplin's message was predominantly apolitical: "[Chaplin] presents, he doesn't offer political solutions."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Greene |first=Graham |author-link=Graham Greene |date=14 February 1936 |title=Modern Times |journal=[[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book |editor-last=Taylor |editor-first=John Russell |editor-link=John Russell Taylor |date=1980 |title=The Pleasure Dome: Graham Greene, the collected film criticism, 1935-40 |url=https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/51 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/51 51–53] |isbn=978-0192812865 |edition=reprint |url-access=registration}})</ref>

French philosophers [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], [[Simone de Beauvoir]] and [[Maurice Merleau-Ponty]] named their journal, ''[[Les Temps modernes]]'', after it.<ref>{{cite book| author-link=Lisa Appignanesi| last=Appignanesi| first=Lisa| year=2005| title=Simone de Beauvoir| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTGqbAZZdR0C&q=Appignanesi+Simone+de+Beauvoir| location=London| publisher=Haus| isbn=978-1904950097| page=82}}</ref>

''Modern Times'' earned $1.8 million in North American theatrical rentals during its release,<ref name=HollywoodStoryBook/> becoming [[1936 in film|one of the top-grossing films of 1936]]. It was the most popular film at the British box office in 1935–36.<ref>{{cite journal| title=The Film Business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s| first1=John| last1=Sedgwick| author2=Michael Pokorny| journal=The Economic History Review |series=New Series| volume=58| number=1| date=February 2005| page=97| doi=10.1111/j.1468-0289.2005.00299.x| jstor=3698918| s2cid=152896495| url=http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/2852/1/Segwick_%26_Pokorny_2005_final.pdf}}</ref>

The iconic depiction of Chaplin working frantically to keep up with an assembly line inspired later comedy routines including [[Disney]]'s ''[[Der Fuehrer's Face]]'' ([[Donald Duck]] alternately assembling [[artillery shells]] and saluting portraits of [[Adolf Hitler]]) and an episode of ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' titled "Job Switching" ([[Lucy Ricardo|Lucy]] and [[Ethel Mertz|Ethel]] trying to keep up with an ever-increasing volume of chocolate candies, eventually stuffing them in their mouths, hats, and blouses). The opening of a fantasy sequence in the film, in which the unemployed factory worker trips over a footstool upon entering the living room of his "dream home" with the Gamin, inspired a similar opening to ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]''.{{Citation needed|reason=Cool if true, but cite a reference to show this is true other than coincidence of ideas.|date=December 2021}}

This was Chaplin's first overtly political-themed film, and its unflattering portrayal of industrial society generated controversy in some quarters upon its initial release. Writing in ''The Liberal News'', the official magazine of the British [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], in October 1936, Willoughby Dewar observed that ''Modern Times'' "should be seen by every Young Liberal. It is, among other things, a piece of first-class Liberal propaganda."<ref>{{cite journal |via=Kendal Archival Centre, WDSO 174/13 |first=Willoughby |last=Dewar |title=Modern Times |journal=The Liberal News |number=7 |date=October 1936 |page=5}}</ref> In [[Nazi Germany]], [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|propaganda minister]] [[Joseph Goebbels]] banned the film from being shown because of its alleged advocacy of [[communism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/83805/modern-times#articles-reviews |title=Modern Times (1936) - Articles |website=TCM |access-date=2016-01-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDHnDAAAQBAJ |title=Hollywood and Hitler, 1933–1939 |first=Thomas |last=Doherty |page=29 |date=August 15, 2016 |edition=reprint |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |access-date=August 8, 2020 |isbn=978-1365331244}}</ref>

The film exhibits slight similarities to a lesser known 1931 French film directed by [[René Clair]] entitled ''[[À nous la liberté]]'' (''Liberty for Us'')&nbsp;– the assembly line sequence is an instance in that both films depict it, but in different ways. The German film company [[Tobis Film]], hungry for cash, sued Chaplin following the film's release but to no avail. They sued again after World War II (considered revenge for Chaplin's anti-[[Nazi]] statements in ''[[The Great Dictator]]'').<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/biography/articles/6-modern-times| title=Charlie Chaplin: Filming Modern Times| first=David| last=Robinson| year=2004| website=charliechaplin.com| access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref> This time, they [[settlement (litigation)|settled]] with Chaplin out of court. Clair, a friend and huge admirer of Chaplin who was flattered that the film icon would depict a similar subject, was deeply embarrassed that Tobis Film would sue Chaplin, and was never part of the case.

The film did attract criticism for being almost completely [[silent film|silent]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} Chaplin feared that the mystery and romanticism of the Tramp character would be ruined if he spoke, and also that it would alienate his fans in non-English speaking territories.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} His future films, however, would be fully fledged "talkies"&nbsp;– although without the character of the Little Tramp.

Chaplin biographer [[Jeffrey Vance]] has written of the reception and legacy of this classic comedy: <blockquote>''Modern Times'' is perhaps more meaningful now than at any time since its first release. The twentieth-century theme of the film, farsighted for its time{{mdash}}the struggle to eschew alienation and preserve humanity in a modern, mechanized world{{mdash}}profoundly reflects issues facing the twenty-first century. The Tramp's travails in ''Modern Times'' and the comedic mayhem that ensues should provide strength and comfort to all who feel like helpless cogs in a world beyond control. Through its universal themes and comic inventiveness, Modern Times remains one of Chaplin's greatest and most enduring works. Perhaps more important, it is the Tramp's finale, a tribute to Chaplin's most beloved character and the silent-film era he commanded for a generation.<ref>{{cite book| last=Vance| first=Jeffrey| date=October 1, 2003| title=Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema| location=New York| publisher=Harry N. Abrams| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uX5ZAAAAMAAJ&q=modern+times| page=229| isbn=978-0810945326}}</ref></blockquote>

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists:
* 1998: [[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies]] – #81<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/ |publisher=American Film Institute |year=2005 |access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref>
* 2000: [[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs]] – #33<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/ |publisher=American Film Institute |year=2005 |access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref>
* 2007: [[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] – #78<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies-10th-anniversary-edition/ |publisher=American Film Institute |year=2007 |access-date=2016-08-06}}</ref>

''[[The Village Voice]]'' ranked ''Modern Times'' at No. 62 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |title=Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll |access-date=27 July 2006 |year=1999 |work=The Village Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |archive-date=26 August 2007}}</ref> In January 2002, the film was included on the list of the "Top 100 Essential Films of All Time" by the [[National Society of Film Critics]].<ref name=Carr81>{{Cite book |last=Carr|first=Jay |title=The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films |year=2002 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81096-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc/page/81 81] |url=https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc |url-access=registration|access-date=27 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=100 Essential Films by The National Society of Film Critics|url=https://www.filmsite.org/alist.html|website=filmsite.org}}</ref> The film was voted at No. 74 on the list of "100 Greatest Films" by the prominent French magazine ''[[Cahiers du cinéma]]'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmdetail.com/2008/11/23/cahiers-du-cinemas-100-greatest-films/|title=Cahiers du cinéma's 100 Greatest Films|date=23 November 2008}}</ref> In the [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|2012]] ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' polls, it was ranked the 63rd-greatest film ever made in the critics' poll<ref name="bfi">{{cite journal |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/50-greatest-films-all-time |title=The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time |issue=September 2012 |date=1 August 2012 |journal=[[Sight & Sound]] |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=6 June 2013 |editor-link=Ian Christie (film scholar) |editor-first=Ian |editor-last=Christie |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301135739/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/50-greatest-films-all-time |archive-date=1 March 2017}}</ref> and 20th in the directors' poll.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/directors|title=Directors' Top 100|year=2012|journal=[[Sight & Sound]]|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209010504/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/directors|archive-date=9 February 2016}}</ref> In the earlier 2002 version of the list the film ranked 35th among critics.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002: The rest of the critics' list |work=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515211647/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html |archive-date=15 May 2012 |access-date=24 April 2009}}</ref> In 2015, ''Modern Times'' ranked 67th on [[BBC]]'s "100 Greatest American Films" list, voted on by film critics from around the world.<ref>{{cite web|date=July 20, 2015|title=100 Greatest American Films|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150720-the-100-greatest-american-films|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916105535/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150720-the-100-greatest-american-films|archive-date=September 16, 2016|access-date=July 21, 2015|work=BBC}}</ref> The film was voted at No. 12 on the list of ''The 100 greatest comedies of all time'' by a poll of 253 film critics from 52 countries conducted by the [[BBC]] in 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170821-the-100-greatest-comedies-of-all-time|title=The 100 greatest comedies of all time|date=2017-08-22|website=BBC Culture|access-date=2017-09-08}}</ref> In 2021 the film ranked 49th on [[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] magazine's list of ''The 100 best movies of all time''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 100 best movies of all time|work=Time Out New York |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/best-movies-of-all-time|date=8 April 2021}}</ref>

The film was included by the Vatican in [[Vatican's list of films|a list of important films]] compiled in 1995, under the category of "Art".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |title=Vatican Best Films List |work=Official website of the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops]] |access-date=2012-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422064928/http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |archive-date=2012-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>