Comedy

  • Elem Klimov – Pokhozhdeniya zubnogo vracha AKA Adventures of a Dentist (1965)

    1961-1970ComedyElem KlimovUSSR

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    Description:
    A comedy about a young dentist, who becomes well-known in his town but suddenly loses faith in himself.

    (imdb review)

    A masterful, pro-elitist, Tatiesque film from Elem Klimov, 22 April 2006

    Author: Niffiwan from Toronto, Canada
    This is story about a dentist with the talent of painlessly extracting teeth, and what happens to him as a result of being naturally good at his job. It is told with humour (much of it quite subtle, almost surreal, and in the background – imagine a street scene where everyone on the sidewalk on one side of the road walks in just one direction, and on the other side in the other), poignancy, and a frequent breaking of the 4th wall between the movie and the audience (think of what happens in Shakespeare’s plays, and you’ll be close). It also features some songs by Novella Matveyeva, a famous Russian singer-songwriter (her songs are sung by the leading actress).Read More »

  • Çagan Irmak – Dedemin Insanlari (2011)

    2011-2020Çagan IrmakComedyDramaTurkey

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Ozan is a ten-year old boy living in a small coastal town on the Aegean. His friends make fun of him, calling him an “infidel” because his grandfather Mehmet is an immigrant from Crete. Ozan is afraid of being left alone. He gets angry at his family, especially his grandfather, and he stubbornly challenges his family saying “We are Turks”.

    Mehmet Bey, Ozan’s grandfather, is a respected shopkeeper in the community. He takes the people of the town under his wings, and helps them with their problems. Mehmet Bey is known for his tolerance and his grandson’s attitude not only has him worried but grieves him as well.
    Read More »

  • John Ford – Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

    1931-1940AdventureComedyJohn FordUSA

    Joseph McBride wrote:
    Wee Willie Winkie provides a case study of how Ford approached what could have been another pot-boiler and infused it with his own artistic sensibilty. If there were any real justice in Hollywood, Ford would have won an Oscar for a film such as this one, whose truly superior craftsmanship is all the more impressive for seeming so effortless. With larger-than-life romanticism, Ford deflty creates a child’s storybook vision of the world, then introduces unexpectedly touching moments as reality impinges on the consciousness of the innocent protaganist. This stylised feeling was heightened in the film’s original release by tiniting the daytime scenes sepia and the nighttime scenes blue, reviving a practice from the silent cinema.Read More »

  • Vittorio Cottafavi – I nostri sogni AKA Our Dreams (1943)

    1941-1950ComedyItalian Cinema under FascismItalyVittorio Cottafavi

    Leo (Vittorio De Sica) is young man trying to make a living without any success. Through fortuitous circumstances, he is assigned by the director of a big firm to accompany for one night the daughter of the firm’s accountant, Titi (María Mercader). Leo pretends then to be the son of a tycoon, and takes her in a luxurious restaurant.Read More »

  • Terry Gilliam – The Fisher King (1991)

    1991-2000ComedyDramaTerry GilliamUSA

    Quote:
    A fairy tale grounded in poignant reality, the magnificent, Manhattan-set The Fisher King, by Terry Gilliam, features Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams in two of their most brilliant roles. Bridges plays a former radio shock jock reconstructing his life after a scandal, and Williams is a homeless man on a quest for the Holy Grail—which he believes to be hidden somewhere on the Upper East Side. Unknowingly linked by their pasts, the two men aid each other on a fanciful journey to discovering their own humanity. This singular American odyssey features a witty script by Richard LaGravenese, evocative cinematography by Roger Pratt, and superb supporting performances by Amanda Plummer and an Oscar-winning Mercedes Ruehl, all harnessed by Gilliam into a compassionate, funny modern-day myth.Read More »

  • Ted Fendt – Classical Period (2018)

    2011-2020ArthouseComedyTed FendtUSA

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    Quote:
    “Classical Period,” the second and (at barely more than an hour) longest feature from the offbeat filmmaker Ted Fendt (“Short Stay”), is technically in English, but it might as well be in liberal-arts-speak. Characters toss off lines like “I’ve never read the Borges book this quote is from” and “It’s actually the most comprehensive book about the freeway revolt in Philadelphia that I’ve read.” Such insights and humblebrags are the bulk of the dialogue. The title evokes the musical era that preceded Romanticism, and this highly original movie has been denatured of romance or even obvious dramatic incident.Read More »

  • Otto Preminger – The Moon Is Blue (1953)

    1951-1960ComedyOtto PremingerRomanceUSA

    Two aging playboys make a play to sway young Patty from her vow to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Yet while she remains oblivious to David and Donald’s ulterior motives for wooing her, Patty’s goodness tames the Lotharios instead. The Moon Is Blue was based on a stage play produced by Preminger, and he filmed English and German versions simultaneously using the same sets and different actors. The German version, Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach, was released the same year, starring Hardy Krüger and Joahnna Matz.Read More »

  • Jirí Menzel – Zivot a neobycejna dobrodruzstvi vojaka Ivana Conkina aka Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (1994)

    1991-2000ComedyCzech RepublicJirí MenzelWar

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    The story of a soldier looking after a broken plane in a remote Soviet village. Meanwhile, the German-Soviet war breaks out, but he carries on guarding it, protecting it even against the NKVD and Red Army, brought there on the information of his conscientious fellow-citizens. Based on a book by Russian writer Vladimir Voynovich, published in 1975 in Paris; Voynovich himself emigrated in 1980 following persecution by the regime. The film uses almost exclusively non-professional actors, and its tone captures the atmosphere of the start of the war and also of coloured film.Read More »

  • Otto Preminger – The Fan (1949)

    1941-1950ClassicsComedyOtto PremingerUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Synopsis:
    Lord Windermere appears to all -including to his young wife Margaret – as the perfect husband. But their happy marriage is placed at risk when Lord Windermere starts spending his afternoons with an adventuress who is working her way through London’s high society, Mrs. Erlynne. Worse, Windermere gives her big sums of money. To crown it all he asks his wife to invite the detestable woman to her own birthday party. Upset and outraged, the puritan Lady Windermere decides to leave her husband and goes to Lord Robert Darlington, who has been courting her for some time. Unfortunately she leaves her fan -the one Robert offered her for her birthday – in Robert’s house…Read More »

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