Some aspects of film simply cannot transcend time; acting however is an aspect that can. Comedy in some ways is one of the only genres of film that can truly transcend time. The graphics and effects of horror and thrillers will, in most cases, inevitably become humorous to today’s viewers. While cinematic quality can be recognized throughout time and span generations, very few contemporary viewers look for such aspects in film; and therefore, the value of many genres of film other than comedy are lost in translation. Here however are a few comedies that have stood the test of time, see if you can see the correlation between them all.
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Dr. Strangelove and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb
Just like a fine wine, and the rest of Kubrik’s films, Dr Strangelove has only gotten better with age. Released in the heart of the “Red Scare,” Kubrick’s satire, which started initially as a drama but was realized during writing sessions to be a comedy of epic proportions, has benefitted from the distancing from the era time has provided. Time has allowed the paranoia, of which the majority of the film satirizes, to have faded enough to become infinitely more humorous. In an interview, co-writer Terry Southern explains how at points he and Stanley would simply burst into laughter routinely while coming up with what he stated was, “the most ridiculous thing a character could say, without losing all credibility.” Peter Sellers (You’ll be seeing his name a lot on this list) delivers a truly astounding performance playing the three major roles of “Group Captain Mandrake,” “President Merkin Muffey,” and the infamous “Dr. Strangelove” himself. Alongside Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, James Earl Jones and Slim Pickens provide the film with the perfect cast to create a truly timeless Cold War comedy.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
This 1976 installment of the Pink Panther Series is arguably the premier of the series, but each has significant merit. Sellers delivers once again with a truly remarkable performance, aided by the genius writing by writer director Blake Edwards. From opening to close Inspector Clouseau astounds and amazes; floating over Paris, smashing pianos, japanese butlers, and Russian spies for that matter. Dreyfus is back and Clouseau is as dumb as ever.
1941
This unheralded classic is incredible but underappreciated. One of Speilberg’s only ventures into comedy, the all star cast and writing overshadows the all-star director. With incredible characters such as John Belushi’s radio shooting Captain “Wild” Bill Kelso, Dan Akroyd’s as the funniest demagogue soldier to ever enlist, Slim Pickens’s ultra patriotic Hollis Wood, Crazed captains, zoot suit toting civilians, a Japanese submarine, a bottle of prune juice, a rolling ferris wheel, rifle wielding ventriloquist, and holy shit is that Cooter!? Speilberg would have had to sabotage the project to not create a cult classic. Just as Dr Strangelove, the film may have hit a nerve in the American Public while poking fun at paranoia. However, time has only immortalized the film especially with the appearance of the late great Belushi, 1941 astounds, splits stomachs and has had me watching you tube clips for hours now.
Young Frankenstein
Oh I like my little little dolly, oh I like my little little dolly. Just as 1941
The cinematography of the Mel Brooks classic intends the film look older than it really is. Gene Wilder is genius, along side the late great Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman. Not much to say here other than the dialectic genius combined with plot elements that one would expect from Wilder and Brooks.
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