Among the handful of films for which the expression “timeless classic” is not hyperbole, Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times has remained popular with audiences for nearly a century, with its commentary on the dehumanizing nature of technology is as relevant as ever. Of course, Chaplin’s pathos, romance, and humanity were as important to his appeal as his social commentary. There is no shortage of that here, as The Tramp continually tries to see past his own limited circumstances to help others. We also see the physical comedy that made Chaplin among the most famous humans in history, a performer beyond language whose work was comprehensible in every corner of the globe. 

Released in 1936, the film was something of a last hurrah for the silent era that Chaplin had dominated. Films had already been talking for nearly a decade, but Chaplin realized that the magic of The Tramp character would be broken in a normal talkie, so he sticks to tradition as much as possible. This becomes part of the theme of the film, as he finds himself a man out of time, carried away by technological forces he can’t control. It is rare that a film ends up being praised by institutions as disparate as the Library of Congress, Cahiers du Cinema, and the Vatican, but this is one of the rare movies with that trifecta. It is a film very much of its time that acknowledges what is human in every one of us.