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.
