I watched most of the AFI's Funniest Movies Special. And can't quite decide what to think of it. I put a lot of "new" movies and the list and ignored quite a few of my favorites that are fequented on Comedy Central.
Sorry about the double boards, hit the button twice after I discovered my typing error.
Question: Who considers The Graduate a comedy?
I don't. I've always thought of it as a drama. the IMDB lists it as a Drama/Romance.
How the H*LL could they rate "Tootsie" above "Dr. Strangelove", "Blazing Saddles", or "The Producers"?
That's basically what Dustin Hoffman said during his segment on "The Graduate".
And "Annie Hall" in the top five?! All I remember about that one is that it beat Star Wars for best picture that year.
Anyone notice that the top two movies were about cross-dressing?
Just a thought....
At least they put Dr. Strangelove and Duck Soup in the top 5.
My rankings:
1. Duck Soup
2. Blazing Saddles
3. Dr. Strangelove
4. Airplane!
Somewhere in the 50s: Tootsie
More Tootsie-bashing. My guess is that part of the reason that they rated it so high is that it was about "the industry".
Here it is from The AFI's website, the top 100 Funniest films:
1. Some Like It Hot (1959)
2. Tootsie (1982)
3. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying About And Love The Bomb (1964)
4. Annie Hall (1977)
5. Duck Soup (1933)
6. Blazing Saddles (1974)
7. M*A*S*H (1970)
8. It Happened One Night (1934)
9. The Graduate (1967)
10. Airplane! (1980)
11. The Producers (1968)
12. A Night At The Opera (1935)
13. Young Frankenstein (1974)
14. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
15. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
16. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
17. The Odd Couple (1968)
18. The General (1927)
19. His Girl Friday (1940)
20. The Apartment (1960)
21. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
22. Adam's Rib (1949)
23. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
24. Born Yesterday (1950)
25. The Gold Rush (1925)
26. Being There (1979)
27. There's Something About Mary (1998)
28. Ghostbusters (1984)
29. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
30. Arsenic And Old Lace (1944)
31. Raising Arizona (1987)
32. The Thin Man (1934)
33. Modern Times (1936)
34. Groundhog Day (1993)
35. Harvey (1950)
36. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
37. The Great Dictator (1940)
38. City Lights (1931)
39. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
40. It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
41. Moonstruck (1987)
42. Big (1988)
43. American Graffiti (1973)
44. My Man Godfrey (1936)
45. Harold And Maude (1972)
46. Manhattan (1979)
47. Shampoo (1975)
48. A Shot In The Dark (1964)
49. To Be Or Not To Be (1942)
50. Cat Ballou (1965)
51. The Seven Year Itch (1955)
52. Ninotchka (1939)
53. Arthur (1981)
54. The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek (1944)
55. The Lady Eve (1941)
56. Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
57. Diner (1982)
58. It's A Gift (1934)
59. A Day At The Races (1937)
60. Topper (1937)
61. What's Up, Doc? (1972)
62. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
63. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
64. Broadcast News (1987)
65. Horse Feathers (1932)
66. Take The Money And Run (1969)
67. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
68. The Awful Truth (1937)
69. Bananas (1971)
70. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936)
71. Caddyshack (1980)
72. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
73. Monkey Business (1931)
74. 9 To 5 (1980)
75. She Done Him Wrong (1933)
76. Victor/Victoria (1982)
77. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
78. Road To Morocco (1942)
79. The Freshman (1925)
80. Sleeper (1973)
81. The Navigator (1924)
82. Private Benjamin (1980)
83. Father Of The Bride (1950)
84. Lost In America (1985)
85. Dinner At Eight (1933)
86. City Slickers (1991)
87. Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
88. Beetlejuice (1988)
89. The Jerk (1979)
90. Woman Of The Year (1942)
91. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
92. Ball Of Fire (1941)
93. Fargo (1996)
94. Auntie Mame (1958)
95. Silver Streak (1976)
96. Sons Of The Desert (1933)
97. Bull Durham (1988)
98. The Court Jester (1956)
99. The Nutty Professor (1963)
100. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
I have to question their definition of comedy.
The following are movies on the list, that IMHO are not comedies. They may have funny scenes, but are not comedies per se (NOTE: Movies I have not seen are not listed):
I would have rated The Jerk a lot higher on the list. It is far more hilarious than 9 to 5 or Big.
Lots of Woody Allen's movies are funnier than "Annie Hall" (not necessarily meaning "Annie Hall" isn't better than them). I think the compilers of this list considered other categories besides flat-out funniness in selecting their top ones.
If I was making the list, I'd put Rocky Horror picture Show on it.
I'm happy that Beetlejiuce and Fargo areon the list, I'd rate them a little higher.
And What in the world is Tootsie doing at Number 2?
From DVDReview.com:
This week the American Film Institute revealed its choices for the 100 best comedies ever made. Called “100 Years 100 Laughs” the Institute honored some of the most remarkable, and some of the most memorable American films of the comedy genre that ever graced the silver screen.
AFI distributed a ballot with 500 nominated films to a jury of 1800 leaders from the film community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers, etc.), critics, historians and film executives. The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria while making their selections:
Feature-Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length;
American Film: The film must be in the English language with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States;
Funny: Regardless of genre, the total comedic impact of a film's elements that creates an experience greater than the sum of the smiles;
Legacy: Laughs that echo across time, enriching America's film heritage and inspiring artists and audiences today.
Jurors were also allowed to include up to five write-in votes should a film they deem to be among America's funniest not appear on the AFI ballot. The 500 nominated films range alphabetically from “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” to “Zelig”.
Films I've Seen
Beetlejuice
Mrs. Doubtfire
Sherlock, Jr.
It's a Gift
A Shot in the Dark
Arsenic and Old Lace
Ghostbusters
The Odd Couple
The Philadelphia Story
Young Frankenstein
A Night at the Opera
Airplane!
M*A*S*H
Blazing Saddles
Where is UHF by Wierd AL. AL DESERVES MORE!!!
I finally got to see him in concert last year from the 10th row. It was a great concert. I've seen UHF too ghel and I agree that Al deserves more. Heck, my handle "Nawdle" comes from one of his songs ("Smells Like Nirvana" from the CD "Off The Deep End".).
AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL!
My Top Ten Best, As if ANYBODY cares:
10.)Beetlejuice
9.)Ghostbusters
8.)Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
7.)Stripes
6.)Pee-wee's Big Adventure
5.)Life of Brian
4.)Beverly Hills Cop
3.)Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
2.)Dogma
1.)Groundhog Day
I've only seen 34 of the movies listed in the AFI's "funniest movies" list. Of those that I've seen, most were not all that funny. Most were very good movies that had some funny moments. Rankings that bewilder me include, "The Philadelphia Story," at number 15, and, "Singin' In The Rain," at number 16. I've seen them both recently. I liked them both, but didn't think either one was especially funny.
Is the list actually "Funniest movies", or is it "Best Comedies"? I think the AFI was shooting for more than just yukfests, it was awarding for a combination of things, humor, direction, the best example of the theme, etc. But yes, I'm puzzled by the high ranking of some of the films. Just saw "Some Like It Hot" completely for the first time, and while there are some actual good laughs in it, seeing several people get murdered is not my idea of a comedy. And this was ranked #1!
Never mind, I should've re-read the posts before posing my questions.......... (Still think there's way better/funnier movies than SLIH, though!