The Little Tramp experiences the dull, dispiriting rigmarole of the modern world as he gets caught up in the sprockets and cogs of modern industrialisation and, subjected to the factory’s infernal production rate, starts to go mad. The only saving grace appears in the form of a beautiful orphaned gamine whom he helps escape from the police. ’Modern Times’ is Chaplin’s critique of the early 20th century but its themes and sentiments have lasted much, much longer. ★★★★★ "Ambitious, accomplished and frequently uproarious" - David Parkinson, Empire