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Reviews
Duck Soup (1933)
Best comedy movie ever made
"Duck Soup" is so funny that you can watch it with the sound off and you will still laugh hysterically. Of course, then you would miss some of the best dialog in comedy history, especially from Groucho Marx, who may be the funniest human being ever. How many other comedians or comics can you name that have excelled at both physical comedy and at telling jokes? The sight gags are brilliant and perfectly timed; a big influence on other comedies that reaches all the way to "A Hard Day's Night," as well as the "Monty Python's Flying Circus" TV series. Some of the jokes in this movie fly by very fast, so each repeated viewing reveals something new. I believe this movie bombed when originally released, but then again so did "It's A Wonderful Life."
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
I never get tired of this movie.
The 1st time saw "A Hard Day's Night" was about 1970 on "the 4:30 Movie" on channel 7 in New York. I was 5 years old and remember hearing the Beatles music on the radio constantly at that time, so it was cool when I saw them miming to some of those same songs in the film. "The Monkees" TV show was shown regularly at that time (on Saturdays @ 12:00 on CBS), so I was already familiar with seeing a bunch of guys running around and then performing songs. At the time I did not see the similarity between the film and the TV show. I thought all rock bands really experienced everything like in the film, so I made up my mind at 5 years old that I would be a musician when I grew up. That did come true (though I have not made it past semi-pro yet), except I never had a bunch of girls chasing me down the street.
Anyway, as a piece of film-making, I think it is brilliant. It is as enjoyable as any Marx Bros. film, the script is great, it does not try to change the world or make a great statement, and the fact that it is in black and white gives it an artistic edge that would have been lost in a color film. Watch it even if you are not a Beatles fan.