THE PAVILION ANNEX

[Ezra Lb.]

The AFI Silver theater is having a Charlie Chaplin retrospective and this afternoon I saw CITY LIGHTS so for however long it lasts I am full of love for humankind and hope for the future. The boxing scene makes me want to bust a gut and the luminous final scene makes me tear up. Ok I'm a softie. But this made me realize how few outright comedies there were on people's movie lists. Me included. Lotsa heavy serious shit but I definitely gotta take my box set of Three Stooges shorts.

And if we're talking porn gotta go with the classics. Anything with Tori Welles.

I think Robert's list is brilliant. Talk about taking something at face value. He's got sand, I'll give him that.

I don't know I thought Robert's list was a little dry. BWAHAHAHAHA...

[robochrist]

Did you ever see Chaplin's THE CIRCUS? Made on the cusp of America's sound era, 1928. Till 2 years ago when I saw it thanks to Turner I never even knew of this one! It made me laugh as much as CITY LIGHTS - possibly more. I like it a lot.

[Robert Nason]

Buñuel is great, including all the films he made in Mexico from the forties to the sixties. Hitchcock mentioned him during an.interview as one of his two favorite directors. Chaplin is also great, not just as a performer but a brilliant director, too. I can never decide which I like more, CITY LIGHTS or MODERN TIMES. Or even THE GREAT DICTATOR. Kicking Chaplin out of this country in 1952 is one of the things that I'm deeply ashamed my country did.

[robochrist]

Hitchcock talked about Bunuel in a fair number of interviews. He also gave great praise to Billy Wilder. I'd feel honored as hell. Eisentstein way back in the silent era was Hitchcock's inspiration for becoming a director (to toss in a bit of minutia). In turn, Bunuel's inspiration was Fritz Lang!

THE GREAT DICTATOR holds a place in my 10 top favorite comedies ever. MODERN TIMES either right above it or below, I've never been straight about that myself. As I was telling Ezra, THE CIRCUS scored with me not so long ago. I think per laughs it pulled ahead of CITY LIGHTS.

[Robert Nason]

Hitchcock sent a telegram to Billy Wilder after the premiere of DOUBLE INDEMNITY, congratulating him profusely. And Woody Allen has said DOUBLE INDEMNITY is his favorite film. Who can blame them? It's flawless, except perhaps that I'm not convinced that Barbara Stanwyck's character would have that last-minute change-of-heart.

CITY LIGHTS probably has more tears than laughs, but that's true of a lot of Chaplin. Has any other great comedian made people cry so much?

LIMELIGHT would have been a perfect farewell, but unfortunately Chaplin went on to make two more films which are fairly unwatchable. Marlon Brando could not do slapstick.

[robochrist]

I couldn't get into Limelight. Except for Monsieur Verdoux I couldn't get into anything he did after Great Dictator. Nevertheless, in the company of those we just named, Chaplin too is one of my favorite filmmakers.

[Robert Nason]

LIMELIGHT Is by no means a great film, but it has a nice valedictory quality to it. MONSIEUR VERDOUX is a terrific black comedy, reviled by many at the time as nihilistic, but now clearly twenty years ahead of its time, at least. Orson Well wrote the story and was going to direct, but gave it to Chaplin when Welles decided to decamp for Europe. (Welles foresaw he would be a big juicy target for the blacklist and wisely got out while he could).

[Mark Tiedemann]

Comedies tend not to stay with me the way other films do, but if I were forced to do a list of favorite comedies, it would be something like this:

A New Leaf
Cold Comfort Farm
The Fortune Cookie
The Goodbye Girl
Galaxy Quest
His Girl Friday
The Odd Couple
The Producers
Groundhog Day
The Great Race

[robochrist]

Comedy and SF are my 2 top favorite genres, but really, REALLY selectively.

In the case with comedy I actually sometimes think I owe Laurel & Hardy my life! They reminded me of reasons worth staying alive for.

[Lori Koonce]

Did I miss the Koonce list?

Haven't made it yet.

[FrankChurch]

The Circus is excellent. He did the tightrope scenes himself, fucking amazing.

The Naked Gun makes me laugh. Nothing like juvenile laughter.

[Robert Nason]

Harlan was right on the money with his pick of WHERE'S POPPA? That's one very perverse, very funny film.

[FrankChurch]

Hmm, never heard of that one.

Nason, I believe you made your list up to look smart.

Armageddon is your favorite film, admit it.

[Robert Nason]

Frank, my list indicates that I am smart.

I'be seen all those films countless times and could analyze them for you frame-by-frame.

(Anway, if I was trying to impress people, I would have listed films by Dreyer, Ozu, or Kierastami.)

I haven't seen ARMAGEDDON -- it sounds a little too Christian for me.

One my favorite films for sheer moviegoers pleasure is BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. Not to mention THE GRADUATE, THE PRODUCERS, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, CHINATOWN, FAHRENHEIT 457, MANHATTAN, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, FUNNY FACE, and NETWORK.

[Mark Tiedemann]

One my favorite films for sheer moviegoers pleasure is BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. Not to mention THE GRADUATE, THE PRODUCERS, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, CHINATOWN, FAHRENHEIT 457, MANHATTAN, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, FUNNY FACE, and NETWORK.

What's not to like about Butch Cassidy et al? I mean, especially Katherine Ross. Katherine...Ross. Mmm. (She's in The Graduate, too. Love Katherine Ross.)