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Clair’s sublime, ground-breaking musical-comedy satire on the industrial work ethic, the dehumanising effect of mass production techniques and the alienation of the modern workplace features a brilliantly inventive use of music (by Georges Auric), rhythmic dialogue and highly choreographed movement, décor, character expression and sound effects. Highlighted by Georges Périnal’s sophisticated, fluid cinematography, this was the key inspiration for Chaplin’s Modern Times and a striking French counterpart to Lubitsch and Mamoulian’s work at Paramount in the 1930s.