‘Modern Times,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’ among offerings in film series

“Modern Times,” the 1936 part-talkie comedy produced, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin that’s widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, is among the offerings in the 51st season of the Buffalo Film Seminars.

The popular series, hosted by UB faculty members Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian, takes place remotely, with online screenings and weekly Zoom discussions of the films. Discussions are held at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays from Aug. 26 through Dec. 2.

An email notification about each film will be sent out on the Saturday before the Zoom discussion date to students registered for Christian and Jackson’s “Film Directors” class (ENG 381), as well as to the Department of English’s Discussion List and to the Buffalo Film Seminars’ listserv (The BFS listserv is open to the public; email Jackson or Christian to join.). That notice will include a URL for the pair’s Vimeo introduction to the film and a PDF of that week’s Goldenrod Handout, which contains production details and comments on each film. The notice will also include an invitation to the Zoom discussion.

All of the films are available for rental or on streaming services. Eight of the 14 films are available for free via the UB Libraries’ film portals, Swank and Kanopy, to anyone with a UB email account. URLs for those films that are available now are listed below, but they'll also be included in the Saturday emails. 

You can also check to find which platforms are streaming the films by visiting JustWatch.

The series opens on Aug. 26 with “The General,” the 1927 silent comedy starring Buster Keaton and co-directed by Keaton and Clyde Bruckman. The film tells the story of an engineer who, after being rejected by the Confederate military, must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive, The General, after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines. In 1989, the film was selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the first class of films for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Watch here on Kanopy. 

The remainder of the fall 2025 schedule, with descriptions culled from the IMDb online movie database and other sources:

 Sept. 2: “Scarface,” 1932,directed byHoward Hawks and Robert Rossen. An ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall. Watch on Swank.

Sept. 9: “Modern Times,” 1936, directed by Charlie Chaplin. In Chaplin's last performance as the iconic Little Tramp, his character struggles to survive in the modern, industrialized world with the help of a young homeless woman. The film features Chaplin’s first spoken words on film, marking his transition from silent films. It also was part of the first class in the National Film Registry. Watch on Kanopy.

Sept. 16: “Laura,” 1944, directed by Otto Preminger. A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.

Sept. 23: “The Searchers,” 1956, directed by John Ford. A Civil War veteran embarks on a yearslong journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother’s family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm. Watch on Swank.

Sept. 30: “Ashes and Diamonds,” 1958, directed by Andrzej Wadja. As World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in communist Poland. Watch on Kanopy.

Oct. 7: “Pickpocket,” 1959, directed by Robert Bresson. Michel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel’s ailing mother. Watch on Kanopy.

Oct. 21: “Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” 1964, directed by Jacques Demy. A young woman separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision. Watch on Kanopy.

Oct. 28: “Werkmeister Harmonies,” 2000, directed by Bela Tarr. A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small Hungarian hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.

Nov. 4: “Mulholland Drive,” 2001, directed by David Lynch. After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.

Nov. 11: “Pan’s Labyrinth,” 2006, directed by Guillermo del Toro. In 1944 Spain, a girl is sent to live with her ruthless stepfather. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. Watch on Swank.

Nov. 18: “The Lives of Others,” 2007, directed by Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck. In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

Nov. 25: “12 Years a Slave,” 2013, directed by Steve McQueen. In the antebellum U.S., Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Dec. 2: “Spirited Away,” 2002, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts. The film became the first hand-drawn, Japanese anime and non-English-language animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.