BBC Culture 100 Greatest Comedies Of All Time

[Autopsy Turvey]

They're just not very well known outside of the UK. I believe a number of the Carry On films are featured right now on the US Filmstruck streaming service, which is something close to a snooty cineast tastemaker seal of approval.

In 1990 I played my American uncle some Carry On Loving dialogue that I'd taped off the telly and taken to the USA in a Walkman, got some big whoops. I concede there's only need for one Carry On in such a list, and it should be Cleo, which surely is a universal frame of reference, especially for Americans.

Also also... no Clouseau? I wondered if it was for racial sensitivity reasons, then noticed that Borat was quite high on the list.

[notjosh]

Also also... no Clouseau?

Yeah, I missed that. That alone renders the entire list invalid.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

Aren't those kinds of complaint rendered invalid by the fact it's a poll of top 10s of critics around the world rather than one panel of people putting together an attempt at a  definitive top 100? The thing with Carry ons, to get a Carry On film into the list it would have needed for the same film to make the top 10s of x number of critics around the world. A difficult enough task before you consider how many Carry Ons there are and the amount of disagreement over which film equals the best.

[Dr Rock]

And many of them thought Pulp Fiction was a comedy? I reckon there may have been a shortlist.

[Jake Thingray]

Love that film!  At least they threw a couple of other Ealings in there for good measure

School For Scoundrels is indeed lovely, but it's not an Ealing. Slightly surprised that A Fish Called Wanda still seems so well regarded.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

And many of them thought Pulp Fiction was a comedy? I reckon there may have been a shortlist.

Nope, no shortlist. you can see the full lists of who voted for what.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170821-the-100-greatest-comedies-of-all-time-who-voted

[Dr Rock]

Nope, no shortlist. you can see the full lists of who voted for what.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170821-the-100-greatest-comedies-of-all-time-who-voted

That doesn't say there wasn't a shortlist - I'm thinking that maybe everyone may have been sent a list of about 400 movies to help jog their memory - and Pulp Fiction was on it - but they were free to add stuff not on the list. Pulp Fiction is not thought of as a 'comedy' by anyone (except the putative list-makers), so it's inclusion on the list makes me wonder why it's there.

[Autopsy Turvey]

Wow, hats off to Ella Taylor! Carry On Matron, bless her. Only two Carry Ons out of 253 critics. The other was a vote for Camping from a Nigerian freelance.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

I think you can assume the fact there was no shortlist based on the kind of films that got nominated. I mean what kind of comedy shortlist picks Dialogues of Exile? A film far more usually seen as a drama? The fact that it got two votes, both from critics from Chile, given the plotline of the film, suggests no shortlist to me, more that critics from Chile appreciate the savage humour in it more. Same for other films that crop up when you look through the individual top 10s. There's just too many oddities in there to suggest a shortlist.

As for Pulp Fiction, it's far from the first time it's been considered a comedy. Most reviews even dating back to release where talking about the black comedy elements. It was nominated by the American Comedy Awards when it was released, it was included on the Time Out Top 100 comedy film list. So it's not that much of a surprise that a lot of critics voted for it.

[Sin Agog]

Wasn't it Norm Macdonald who recently talked about how he finds films like PF, which aren't ostensibly considered comedies, infinitely funnier than movies which are all about the gags at the expense of everything else?

By the way, I now notice there is a slight dearth of black comedy on that list.  Any of you ever heard of Roy Andersson?  Dude has got it down to a fine art.  I wonder if the broader stuff travels better?  But then again a ton of those critics seem to take to all the fast word-play of things like His Girl Friday that I'd imagine might not work so well in translation.

ETA: Actually, I'm talking shit again as there is definitely a fair dose of black comedy on there on second look.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

The other point I think is that even if there was a shortlist then it ultimately makes no difference because enough people still thought of it as one of the ten funniest films they'd ever seen to get it onto the list. And if there was a shortlist of however many hundred films then lots of people still gravitated towards Pulp Fiction, which suggests it is widely seen as a comedy.

[newbridge]

I'm dismayed that only one person voted for The Bank Dick (W.C. Fields), how is that possible? And not a single vote for After Hours (Martin Scorsese). Those both should be in the top 10.

[Dr Rock]

The other point I think is that even if there was a shortlist then it ultimately makes no difference because enough people still thought of it as one of the ten funniest films they'd ever seen to get it onto the list. And if there was a shortlist of however many hundred films then lots of people still gravitated towards Pulp Fiction, which suggests it is widely seen as a comedy.

Yeah I guess - but do you think it is widely considered a comedy?

[worldsgreatestsinner]

It wouldn't make my top 10, or probably even my top 100 comedy films. But I can see why people would include it.  I think it's a comedy in the same sense In Bruges is. Humour is such a subjective thing though. It's like when people praise The Room as one of the funniest films ever made, I didn't crack a smile through the entire film. But a bad film like Things had me in hysterics.

There definitely wasn't a shortlist, btw. I hadn't noticed this bit in the blurb before.

So this year BBC Culture decided to get serious about comedy. We asked 253 film critics – 118 women and 135 men – from 52 countries and six continents a simple: "What do you think are the 10 best comedies of all time?" Films from any country made since cinema was invented were eligible, and BBC Culture did nothing to define in advance what a comedy is; we left that to each of the critics to decide. As always, we urged the experts to go with their heart and pick personal favourites, films that are part of their lives, not just the ones that meet some ideal of greatness.

[Smeraldina Rima]

The ten votes each system must count against the type of films that lots of people would place in the top 100 but nobody would put in the top ten, so they end up with an incoherent impression of disparate favourites, rather than a consensual top 100.

Good shouts for Roy Andersson and After Hours and many more. (Building relationships by expressing my agreement). I bet there are a lot of classics I'd need reminding of. The idea of funnier films not always being in the comedy genre seems right. Hitchcock films often make me laugh, for instance.

I'd put Dumb and Dumber, Stripes and maybe Bowfinger or even, wait for it, Happy Gilmore on the list on first thoughts; a few more silent movies and children's movies and then some of the better French comedies: two Le Splendid films - Les Bronzés and Le père Noël est une ordure - Les beaux gosses and Le vélo de Ghislain Lambert more recently, and if we can choose our favourite comedies over funniest films, one of the two Depardieu/Dewaere Bertrand Blier films, Les Valseuses and Préparez vos mouchoirs.

It's hard to know how to classify or when you might have laughed at The Idiots and Funny Games.

Mike Myers was unfortunate: Austin Powers, Wayne's World, So I Married an Axe Murderer all make my top 3. Similar snubs for Jim Carrey: Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, The Cable Guy and Simon Birch all make my top 7.

Also, given the week in it; Jerry Lewis being involved in both films that sneak into list getting joint 100th spot seems quite appropriate.

Get The Day the Clown Cried on the list you shits. #Daytheclowncried

I'm not at all happy with my suggestions to improve the list now. What a waste of time.

[PowerButchi]

Ups and Downs of a Handyman?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Also, given the week in it; Jerry Lewis being involved in both films that sneak into list getting joint 100th spot seems quite appropriate.

The Nutty Professor is also in there at number 73. A strong week for Jerry, all told.

[EOLAN]

No "Clue", "Murder by Death" or "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" on the list. Probably not my Top 10 either but styles I be quite fond of.

[Uncle TechTip]

Some interesting insight up there, I too was crashing round the thread muttering about Pulp Fiction, but sinner's perspective made me think again.

On that basis though, if dark comedies are to be considered, two obvious oversights are Network and Robocop.

[Talulah, really!]

No "Clue", "Murder by Death" or "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" on the list. Probably not my Top 10 either but styles I be quite fond of.

Good news, he's in that Dunkirk film.

[her?]

The Jerk being at number 99 instead of in the top 10 is the biggest crime for me. Also the South Park movie is waaaay too low.

Also also, I seem to be alone in thinking A Mighty Wind is the greatest Christopher Guest film. There are so many scenes that make me howl with laughter in that movie and the songs are perfect.

[purlieu]

Also also... no Clouseau?

Ughhhh. How did I not notice that? Jeez. A Shot in the Dark should be top 10.

[EOLAN]

Ughhhh. How did I not notice that? Jeez. A Shot in the Dark should be top 10.

Maybe we can come up with a CAB list of top 100 films that should be top 10. :D

I go for "His Girl Friday", "Sherlock Jr." and "Way Out West"

[Serge]

I'd be up for compiling a list (not just of what's missing, but a CaB 100 Greatest Comedies Of All Time list) like I did with the UK sitcoms poll a couple of years ago? If anyone's interested, I'll start a thread.

[EOLAN]

Wow Serge.
Was a (semi) sarcastic but that be cool.

[Brundle-Fly]

I'd be up for compiling a list (not just of what's missing, but a CaB 100 Greatest Comedies Of All Time list) like I did with the UK sitcoms poll a couple of years ago? If anyone's interested, I'll start a thread.

I'll be up for that

[Sin Agog]

But I'm so much better at complaining about other people's lists than making my own!

[Bazooka]

But I'm so much better at complaining about other people's lists than making my own!

Yes go ahead Serge, but be ready for my complaints when the results aren't right.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

A vote thread? I'd be up for that. Time to start pimping Sir Henry at Rawlinson End and the original Bedazzled.

[Dr Rock]

Is American Werewolf In London a comedy, if Pulp Fiction is, and if so where is it on the list?