Comedy

  • Dino Risi – In nome del popolo italiano AKA In the Name of the Italian People (1971)

    1971-1980ComedyCommedia all'ItalianaCrimeDino RisiItaly

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    Synopsis:
    Set in Rome and its surroundings, the film tells in a frighteningly realistic, ruthless and grotesque the evil of two powerful men of Italy in the seventies: a Director of illegal buildings (Vittorio Gassman), extremist fascist, and an upright judge, cynical looking in part to the Italian law (Ugo Tognazzi). Both can not stand each other, given the contrasts between the two men in any social, political and philosophical. Everyone hates each other and would like to delete it, but just because of the bad example that the two men give power to the people, many Italians are adversely affected because of cheating and rudeness of the fascist manufacturer and the communist magistrate. The director Dino Risi underlines the misdeeds and the weakness of the Italian people to react accordingly, by focusing on the story of these two men who are each other’s opposite of the net.Read More »

  • Frank Capra – You Can’t Take It With You (1938)

    1931-1940ComedyFrank CapraRomanceScrewball ComedyUSA

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    From “filmschoolrejects”

    You Can’t Take It with You is a classic case of good old-fashioned American optimism, a celebration of family and small-town values courtesy of Frank Capra, who made a distinguished career out of such things. By the time of its release in 1938 films like It Happened One Night and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town had already made Capra a household name, a premiere chronicler of the Depression era national mood and a primary spokesman for cinema’s ability to serve as a tonic, spreading good cheer among audiences that had experienced too little of it.

    That history looms over every frame of what is one of the original quirky family dramedies, a direct ancestor of the entire genre of independent filmmaking devoted to such ventures today. It instills even the more banal, dated moments with particular resonance. One can sense in Capra’s joyful indulgence of the sheer chaotic nature of the life of the Sycamore family a fervent quest to entertain by outdoing even the most outlandish antics displayed in the film’s contemporaries, which remain some of the most memorable screwball comedies ever made.Read More »

  • Norman Z. McLeod – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)

    1941-1950ClassicsComedyNorman Z. McLeodUSA

    Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
    James Thurber wasn’t too happy with the Sam Goldwyn film adaptation of his 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but the Technicolor musical comedy proved to be a cash cow at the box office. Danny Kaye stars as Walter, a milquetoast proofreader for a magazine publishing firm. Walter is constitutionally incapable of standing up for himself, which is why his mother (Fay Bainter) has been able to arrange a frightful marriage between her son and the beautiful but overbearing Gertrude Griswold (Ann Rutherford). As he muses over the lurid covers of the magazines put out by his firm, Walter retreats into his fantasy world, where he is heroic, poised, self-assured, and the master of his fate. Glancing at the cover of a western periodical, Walter fancies himself the two-gun “Perth Amboy Kid”; a war magazine prompts Walter to envision himself as a fearless RAF pilot; and so on. Read More »

  • Billy Wilder – Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

    1961-1970Billy WilderComedyUSA

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    Quote:
    A jealous piano teacher Orville Spooner sends his beautiful wife, Zelda, away for the night while he tries to sell a song to a famous nightclub singer Dino, who is stranded in town.Read More »

  • Arnaud Larrieu & Jean-Marie Larrieu – Le voyage aux Pyrénées (2008)

    2001-2010Arnaud LarrieuComedyFranceJean-Marie Larrieu

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    A madcap comedy about a famous actress who gets more than she bargains for when she goes on a secret vacation in the mountains trying to cure her nymphomania.Read More »

  • Charles Walters – Three for Two (1975)

    1971-1980Charles WaltersComedyUSA

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    Three For Two finds Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason in short vignettes about couples. In “Herb & Sally,” they’re on vacation in Rome, where Sally wants romance and Herb feels like she’s always angry at him, perhaps with good reason. “Fred & Rita” finds two adulterers meeting in secret. In “Mike & Pauline,” a couple is angry because their kids want to go out on New Year’s Eve.Read More »

  • Brian De Palma – Hi, Mom! (1970)

    1961-1970Brian De PalmaComedyDramaUSA

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    A Vietnam vet moves into an apartment and views in other people’s windows across the street, meets one of the women, and discovers black theater.Read More »

  • Mikkel Nørgaard – Klovn Forever AKA Klown Forever (2015)

    2011-2020ComedyDenmarkMikkel Nørgaard

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    Quote:
    Frank and Casper’s friendship is put to a test, when Casper decides to leave Denmark to pursue a solo career in Los Angeles. Determined to win his best friend back Frank chooses to follow Casper insuring an eventful trip.Read More »

  • Annelise Meineche – Sangen om den røde rubin AKA The Song of the Red Ruby (1970)

    1961-1970Annelise MeinecheComedyDenmarkErotica

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    A young, idealistic business student has ambitions to be a concert pianist, but his obsession with beautiful women keeps him from achieving his goal. To earn money for his tuition, he takes a job as headmaster of a small girls’ school. There his weakness for beautiful women is put to the test when he is pursued by a bevy of sexy coeds. The film is based on a novel by Agnar Mykle.Read More »

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