I just wish I could get it

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charliechaplinfan
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I just wish I could get it

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I just wish I could get into The Marx Brothers comedies. I'd love too, I've tried two Night At The Opera (I was constantly interrupted as I watched it when my son was a newborn) then I tried Animal Crackers. People rave about them but I feel as if I'm on the outside looking in. The do raise a smile or two but I want to appreciate them more than that.

I was wondering has anyone ever felt the same about anything, everyone else seems to get it but you. It doesn't even have to be films, just make me feel better, it can be Harry Potter, anything, make me feel less like I'm in a minority of one :cry:
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Bogie
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Post by Bogie »

I don't get the obsession with Lord of The Rings. I'm not against fantasy but sheesh. The books are long enough I don't need to sit through a 10 hour trilogy and i've heard that one of the films is essentially all the main characters traveling from one place to another UGH.
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

I'm with you Charlie on the Marx bros. People around here can tell you, I've tried to find something about them for a long time now, but no matter which movie I see, I just don't get any fun or enjoyment out of them. To me they are simply three obnoxious guys who make life difficult for other people.

I'm not a big fan of slapstick comedy but I will laugh occasionally at Laurel and Hardy, Ben Turpin, and several others but I also have a hard time finding Charlie Chaplin funny (sorry). I feel pity for the poor little dumb guy, but do not find his situations funny, only pitiable.

My idea of comedy is more in the vein of Bob Hope (the fool who falls in with the wrong crowd), or Red Skelton (the big dope who basically needs a keeper).

Anne
Anne


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charliechaplinfan
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Post by charliechaplinfan »

I'm glad it's not just me then. I have Duck Soup and I will watch it, it's directed by Leo McCarey I usually love his films aftr that I'll have to give up.

I do get Chaplin, he's not side splittingly funny (there are moments like that) but I do marvel amongst othe things at the innovation and the development of his comedy.

My father is into history and he asked to borrow the Great Dictator, of course I can't praise Chaplin high enough. They watched it on Sunday night neither of my parents got it, my Dad was bored and thought it made comedy out of a serious situation (?) it wasn't funny enough for my my Mother and she only enjoyed when he played himself in real life (did she watch the same film as me?) when asked for clarity, she meant the barber not the dictator. 'Mother he didn't look like that in real life'

Sometimes I wonder where I came from. It certainly wasn't my parents influence that made me a film fan :lol:
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

Charliechaplinfan:

I think I get what your Dad means about The Great Dictator. I personally do not find the movie funny because I see nothing Hitler ever said or did as an object of humor, nor anything anyone else says or does about him. He was so despicable, the kindest thing I can say about him is I'm glad he's dead.

Anne
Anne


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* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *

]***********************************************************************
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Ann Harding
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Post by Ann Harding »

What an interesting discussion!
Actually, I have had a particular experience with Duck Soup. I went to see it in Paris cinema with French subs (actually written by a famous author/humorist). At the time, my knowledge of English was fairly poor. Well, the film fell flat. Nobody laughed. It's pretty obvious that their particular humor was completely lost in translation. The few slapsticky scenes were better received as well as the famous 'mirror' scene.

The Marx Brothers films are divided in two periods. The Paramount productions (more aggresive and free thinking, quite pre-code in effect) and their later MGM productions (we get lots of singing interludes, really boring actually) supervised by Thalberg where part of their anarchistic humor had disappeared.......
I am not a big Marx fan though I have read with great pleasure, the Memoirs of a Mangy Lover. I would need to see again their earlier features: Duck Soup and Horse Feathers which are the best. But, there is one scene from A Night at The Opera which made me laugh like mad: when Harpo removes the score from the conductor. Instead of Il Trovatore, he starts conducting 'Take me out to the ball game'..... :lol: if you are an opera fan like me, it's very juicy!!!! :mrgreen:

As for Chaplin, it took me a while to get The Dictator. You can find the film aggressively comic in a way. But, it's missing the point entirely. I think Chaplin is absolutely right when he plays Hitler as a ridiculous screaming puppet. Like Lubitsch with To Be or Not to Be, he understood that laughter was the best way to fight their ideology. Hitler has never been so ridiculous, vain and pompous. If you think about it, he certainly was like that and so was Mussolini. Their ideology was certainly dangerous, but at the same time completely stupid to any sane person. Believe me this film is dynamite like To Be or Not to Be and I am sure they were more afraid of such films than of any other 'serious' picture.
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

AnnHarding:

I can't imagine trying to watch The Marx Bros. any any other language. So much of the humor is tied to English and the way it can be twisted.

I'm glad you enjoyed "Memoirs Of A Mangy Lover." Groucho wanted to be known as a writer more than anything. I have the 1976 edition of his book "Beds." It was originally from about 1930. THe first chapteris "The Advantages of Sleeping Alone." The page is blank. There is a more recent book with collections of magazine writings. If you are interested another interesting book is called "The Groucho Letters." It was a collection of letters to and by him. The famous exchange with Warner Brothers over the use of Casablanca in their movie "A Night In Casablanca" is included.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

I don't get -

-W.C. Fields
-Joan Crawford
-Bruce Springsteen
-enough sleep
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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Ann Harding
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Post by Ann Harding »

Actually, Movieman, I have also read Beds and Groucho and Me. I cannot remember them very well: I got them 20 years ago.....I nead to read them again!!! 8) It will be excellent therapy! :)
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

Me, I don't love the Marx Brothers, but I don't hate them either. I think I appreciate them more now than I did when I was younger, and their films were shown more often both on TV and in theaters. Now I get all the suggestive stuff that went over my head in the past. I think every one of their films has flashes of excellence, but with a lot of undisciplined-looking nonsense around the edges. However, I never find watching their films to be painful, only a bit trying, if you see too many at a time.
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Bogie
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Post by Bogie »

mrsl wrote:Charliechaplinfan:

I think I get what your Dad means about The Great Dictator. I personally do not find the movie funny because I see nothing Hitler ever said or did as an object of humor, nor anything anyone else says or does about him. He was so despicable, the kindest thing I can say about him is I'm glad he's dead.

Anne
I wonder if this is how Iraqis will think of the Bush family in future years. However, I think THE GREAT DICTATOR is a fabulous film. It's not so much funny as it points out how Hitler and the Axis' greed for power often make them into fools. Also you have to remember that no one really knew (well they did but chose to not believe) about the Final Solution so it was more acceptable to poke fun at these guys.

It also gives a great historical look at how Hitler and Company were satirized and in that way it's quite interesting. I love the final scene of the movie the most as it's Chaplin's first words on screen and as I recall was a moving speech.
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charliechaplinfan
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Post by charliechaplinfan »

Charlie Chaplin is on record as saying if he knew about the death camps he would never have made the film. Maybe I should have pointed that out to Dad.

I agree with Annharding about the impact of The Great Dictator and To Be Or Not To Be.

Movieman, you don't get enough sleep, have you got two small children who wake up in the middle of the night too :roll:

John M I felt the same about Lord of The Rings. I went with my husband, I've never known time drag so much.

I'm glad I'm in good company :D
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

charliechaplinfan wrote:

Movieman, you don't get enough sleep, have you got two small children who wake up in the middle of the night too :roll:
No. I have a 20 year old son and a 17 year old daughter. While that presents its own problems none of them involve sleep. (They sleep pretty well.)

I frequently can't turn my head off. I tend to worry.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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