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By PAUL BRENNER
In 1930, Garbo spoke. But it
took until 1936 for Chaplin to reveal a semblance
of speaking when he performed a nonsense song
towards the end of his hilarious Depression Era
satire, "Modern Times."
"Modern Times" is now available on a digitally
re-mastered two-DVD set through Warner Home
Entertainment as part of The Chaplin Collection.
"Modern Times" sets the tone for every Chaplin
film that came afterwards -- more overt criticism
of society, more strident pontificating. But in
"Modern Times" the pretentiousness hasn't yet
become solidified into a new, calcified Chaplin
style. Here it is all still fresh and funny -- the
conveyor belt crack-up, the horrific Bellows
Feeding Machine contraption, skating blindfolded
on a precipice of a department store floor,
efforts to get arrested, the nutty music hall
performance. Human survival issues are once again
simmering not too far below the surface -- not
only hunger this time, but also unemployment, lack
of shelter and futility. This film is also the
final screen appearance of Chaplin's
internationally beloved character of The Little
Tramp. It is also the first film in which the
Tramp does not walk away from the camera down the
road, alone, into the sunset. Here, in the form of
Paulette Goddard, Chaplin's Tramp has now
discovered companionship. In "Modern Times," The
Little Tramp may not have changed the world but
when he walks down the road into the sun he is not
alone and this time the sun is rising, not
setting.
Disc Two contains an extensive array of
supplements including an introduction by Chaplin
biographer David Robinson, a documentary on
"Modern Times" with comments by directors Luc and
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, a deleted scene, an extended
version of Chaplin's nonsense song and a karaoke
version of the tune, a silent film made by the
Womens Bureau of the Department of Labor from 1931
extolling women and machines in the workforce, a
musical ode to the Ford assembly line, a 1967
Cuban documentary short about a traveling
projectionist and the reaction of a group of
peasants to viewing their first film ("Modern
Times" natch), international trailers for the
film, a large photo gallery, a poster gallery,
and, last but not least, Liberace singing and
playing the song "Smile" while his brother George
smiles benignly behind his violin. |
