Comedy

  • Jirí Menzel – Postriziny AKA Cutting It Short (1981)

    Drama1981-1990ComedyCzech RepublicJirí Menzel

    Quote:
    Short Cut is a comedy revealed more in the acting and witty dialogue than in the simple premise of the story itself: how the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal was born. Actually, the story is, in many ways, the writer’s conception. The setting is a small town where Hrabal’s father Francine (Jiri Schmitzer) is in charge of a large brewery. Both the blessing and bane of his life is his gorgeous wife Marja (Magda Vasaryova). Blessing, because she is not only beautiful but resourceful and intelligent and lively, bane because every other man would like to get to know her better. Marja saves the day more than once, and the couple are happy in their life together. When Francine’s brother arrives for a visit, an attraction starts to develop between Marja and her brother-in-law that may have upset the marriage, were it not for a fortuitous accident. Read More »

  • Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky – Papirosnitsa ot Mosselproma aka The cigarette girl of Mosselprom [+Extras] (1924)

    Comedy1921-1930SilentUSSRYuri Zhelyabuzhsky

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    Review
    Though many casual film fans are of the opinion that the Russian silent cinema began and ended with Montage and Propaganda, several charming romantic comedies and dramas emanated from the Soviet film industry of the 1920s. The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom tells the tale of a young man who falls in love with the title character (Yulia Solnsteva). She becomes a famous film star, and herself falls in love–not with the hero, but with her cameraman. No one ever gets what he or she truly wants in the story, though they continue to pursue their lost dreams to the bitter end. Revelling in The Unexpected throughout, Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom is capped by an adroit surprise ending. (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide)
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  • Charles Chaplin – City Lights (1931)

    USA1931-1940Charles ChaplinComedySilent

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    Quote:
    The Tramp meets a poor blind girl selling flowers on the streets and falls in love with her. The blind girl mistakes him for a millionaire. Since he wants to help her and doesn’t want to disappoint her, he keeps up the charade. He befriends a drunk millionaire, works small jobs like street sweeping, and enters a boxing contest, all to raise money for an operation to restore her sight.

    CHAPLIN HILARIOUS IN HIS ‘CITY LIGHTS’; Tramp’s Antics in Non-Dialogue Film Bring Roars of Laughter at Cohan Theatre. TAKES FLING AT “TALKIES” Pathos Is Mingled With Mirth in a Production of Admirable Artistry.

    Charlie Chaplin, master of screen mirth and pathos, presented at the George M. Cohan last night before a brilliant gathering his long-awaited non-dialogue picture, “City Lights,” and proved so far as he is concerned the eloquence of silence. Many of the spectators either rocking in their seats with mirth, mumbling as their sides ached, “Oh, dear, oh, dear,” or they were stilled with sighs and furtive tears. And during a closing episode, when the Little Tramp sees through the window of a flower shop the girl who has recovered her sight through his persistence, one woman could not restrain a cry.Read More »

  • Larry Clark – Wassup Rockers (2005)

    Drama2001-2010ComedyLarry ClarkUSA

    Quote:
    Photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark offers another look at the inner workings of urban youth culture in this comedy drama. Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez) is a teenaged El Salvadorian refugee living in a primarily Mexican-American and African-American neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. Jonathan and a handful of fellow Salvadorian émigrés who are his best friends stand out like sore thumbs on the block, due less to their national origin than because they’ve rejected the hip-hop music and fashion around them in favor of old-school punk, as favored by the Ramones and latter-day Latino bands such as Suicidal Tendencies. Jonathan and his pals Kiko (Francisco Pedrasa), Eddie (Eddie Velasquez), Porky (Usvaldo Panameno), and Spermball (Milton Velasquez) have a group of their own, and Jonathan, a sweet but streetwise kid who has a way with the girls, is the lead singer. Read More »

  • Werner Herzog – Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen AKA Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

    1961-1970ArthouseComedyGermanyWerner Herzog

    Quote:
    A group of inhabitants of a correctional colony for people of small stature raises a riot against the local order. Tired of adhering to the many rules that require good behavior from them, they decide to become bad. Their immediate leader (also a dwarf) is forced to take refuge in one of the premises while waiting for the police to arrive. Meanwhile, the rioters are having fun: they beat dishes and glasses, start a car and eventually break it, kill a big pig, scoff at blind dwarfs living next door, arrange cockfights, set fire to flowerpots with their favorite colors, and so on.Read More »

  • Joram Lursen – Alles is liefde AKA Love Is All (2007)

    2001-2010CampComedyJoram LursenNetherlands

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    LOVE IS ALL Klaasje has divorced Dennis, who cheated on her with a school teacher. Dennis would like her back, but when she moves in with a young lover it looks as if he has missed the boat. Meanwhile, Klaasje’s best friend Simone is the pivot of her family. Her husband Ted often feels redundant and he does not have the guts to tell her that he has been laid off. Pool attendant Victor is looking forward to marrying the love of his life, Kees. But Kees has doubts and keeps his fears at bay during weekends spent ‘larping’ (Live Action Role Play). Victor’s sister Kiki, a sales assistant at department store Bijenkorf, is dreaming of a prince on a white horse. But she is unaware of the fact that a real prince, Valentijn, is crazy about her. With the arrival of a mysterious Santa Claus, all these amorous ups and downs reach a climax, while the happy endings come closer too. Written by Motel FilmsRead More »

  • Péter Gothár – Ido van aka Time (1986)

    1981-1990ArthouseComedyHungaryPéter Gothár

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    from allmovie:
    In a surreal collage of vignettes that add up to nothing in particular, director Peter Gothar starts his experimental film with a family heading off for a vacation at Lake Balaton, the famous Hungarian resort area. When they arrive at their destination, the hotel is partially submerged in water and totally devoid of guests. At check-in time, they are asked to comment on the service in the hotel before going to their room — one single room for the whole family. Is Gothar commenting on absurdities in the society or government? Viewers will have to decide for themselves.Read More »

  • John Ford – Donovan’s Reef (1963)

    USA1961-1970ActionComedyJohn Ford

    ‘Guns’ Donovan prefers carousing with his pals Doc Dedham and ‘Boats’ Gilhooley, until Dedham’s high-society daughter Amelia shows up in their South Seas paradise.Read More »

  • Renato Castellani – Due soldi di speranza AKA Two Cents Worth of Hope (1952)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyItalyRenato Castellani

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    Synopsis:
    The story concerns the romance between Carmela and Antonio. Faced with the hostility of their parents, they symbolically shed themselves of all responsibilities to others in a climactic act of stark-naked bravado.
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