Back in the summer, Wonders in the Dark invited people to be part of a comedy countdown. The rules required voters to send a ballot of their top 60 comedic films of all time. Each person was given freedom to pick any form of comedy or even define what constituted a comedy. This resulted in a diverse selection of films from all corners of the world. The incredible project, now complete with the #1 film revealed on Dec 21, featured many excellent and in-depth essays on films. I personally enjoyed revisiting many classic comedies to come up with a list of 60 films ranked below in order of preference:
1) Modern Times (1936, USA, Charles Chaplin)
2) Play Time (1967, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
3) The Gold Rush (1925, USA, Charles Chaplin)
4) Angoor (1982, India, Gulzar)
5) Dr. Strangelove (1964, UK, Stanley Kubrick)
6) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, UK, Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones)
7) The Circus (1928, USA, Charles Chaplin)
8) Duck Soup (1933, USA, Leo McCarey)
9) Gol Maal (1979, India, Hrishikesh Mukherjee)
10) Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949, UK, Robert Hamer)
11) Chhoti Si Baat (1975, India, Basu Chatterjee)
12) Being There (1979, USA, Hal Ashby)
13) Sullivan’s Travels (1941, USA, Preston Sturges)
14) In the Loop (2009, UK, Armando Iannucci)
15) City Lights (1931, USA, Charles Chaplin)
16) Trafic (1971, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
17) Annie Hall (1977, USA, Woody Allen)
18) The Big Lebowski (1998, USA/UK, Joel Coen/Ethan Coen)
19) Do Dooni Chaar (2010, India, Habib Faisal)
20) The Apartment (1960, USA, Billy Wilder)
21) Bringing up Baby (1938, USA, Howard Hawks)
22) The Man in the White Suit (1951, UK, Alexander Mackendrick)
23) The General (1926, USA, Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman)
24) The Lady Eve (1941, USA, Preston Sturges)
25) Arsenic and Old Lace (1944, USA, Frank Capra)
26) Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006, India, Dibakar Banerjee)
27) The Great Dictator (1940, USA, Charlie Chaplin)
28) 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)
29) Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008, India, Dibakar Banerjee)
30) Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983, India, Kundan Shah)
31) Groundhog Day (1993, USA, Harold Ramis)
32) The Graduate (1967, USA, Mike Nichols)
33) The Lavender Hill Mob (1951, UK, Charles Crichton)
34) Songs from the Second Floor (2000, Sweden co-production, Roy Andersson)
35) The Ladykillers (1955, UK, Alexander Mackendrick)
36) Mon Uncle (1958, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
37) Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001, France/Germany, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
38) Ed Wood (1994, USA, Tim Burton)
39) The Man Without a Past (2002, Finland co-production, Aki Kaurismäki)
40) My Cousin Vinny (1992, USA, Jonathan Lynn)
41) The Captain’s Paradise (1953, UK, Anthony Kimmins)
42) Smiles of a Summer Night (1955, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)
43) Trouble in Paradise (1932, USA, Ernst Lubitsch)
44) The Dinner Game (1998, France, Francis Veber)
45) Hera Pheri (2000, India, Priyadarshan)
46) Andaz Apna Apna (1994, India, Rajkumar Santoshi)
47) Borat (2006, USA, Larry Charles)
48) Delicatessen (1991, France, Marc Caro/Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
49) You, The Living (2007, Sweden co-production, Roy Andersson)
50) Coming to America (1988, USA, John Landis)
51) The Princess Bride (1987, USA, Rob Reiner)
52) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, USA, Wes Anderson)
53) Best in Show (2000, USA, Christopher Guest)
54) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, Spain co-production, Luis Buñuel)
55) Whisky (2004, Uruguay co-production, Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll)
56) Being John Malkovich (1999, USA, Spike Jonze)
57) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, USA, John Hughes)
58) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, USA, Jeremiah S. Chechik)
59) The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (1960, Mexico, Rogelio A. González)
60) Blazing Saddles (1974, USA, Mel Brooks)
1) Modern Times (1936, USA, Charles Chaplin)
2) Play Time (1967, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
3) The Gold Rush (1925, USA, Charles Chaplin)
4) Angoor (1982, India, Gulzar)
5) Dr. Strangelove (1964, UK, Stanley Kubrick)
6) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, UK, Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones)
7) The Circus (1928, USA, Charles Chaplin)
8) Duck Soup (1933, USA, Leo McCarey)
9) Gol Maal (1979, India, Hrishikesh Mukherjee)
10) Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949, UK, Robert Hamer)
11) Chhoti Si Baat (1975, India, Basu Chatterjee)
12) Being There (1979, USA, Hal Ashby)
13) Sullivan’s Travels (1941, USA, Preston Sturges)
14) In the Loop (2009, UK, Armando Iannucci)
15) City Lights (1931, USA, Charles Chaplin)
16) Trafic (1971, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
17) Annie Hall (1977, USA, Woody Allen)
18) The Big Lebowski (1998, USA/UK, Joel Coen/Ethan Coen)
19) Do Dooni Chaar (2010, India, Habib Faisal)
20) The Apartment (1960, USA, Billy Wilder)
21) Bringing up Baby (1938, USA, Howard Hawks)
22) The Man in the White Suit (1951, UK, Alexander Mackendrick)
23) The General (1926, USA, Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman)
24) The Lady Eve (1941, USA, Preston Sturges)
25) Arsenic and Old Lace (1944, USA, Frank Capra)
26) Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006, India, Dibakar Banerjee)
27) The Great Dictator (1940, USA, Charlie Chaplin)
28) 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)
29) Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008, India, Dibakar Banerjee)
30) Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983, India, Kundan Shah)
31) Groundhog Day (1993, USA, Harold Ramis)
32) The Graduate (1967, USA, Mike Nichols)
33) The Lavender Hill Mob (1951, UK, Charles Crichton)
34) Songs from the Second Floor (2000, Sweden co-production, Roy Andersson)
35) The Ladykillers (1955, UK, Alexander Mackendrick)
36) Mon Uncle (1958, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
37) Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001, France/Germany, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
38) Ed Wood (1994, USA, Tim Burton)
39) The Man Without a Past (2002, Finland co-production, Aki Kaurismäki)
40) My Cousin Vinny (1992, USA, Jonathan Lynn)
41) The Captain’s Paradise (1953, UK, Anthony Kimmins)
42) Smiles of a Summer Night (1955, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)
43) Trouble in Paradise (1932, USA, Ernst Lubitsch)
44) The Dinner Game (1998, France, Francis Veber)
45) Hera Pheri (2000, India, Priyadarshan)
46) Andaz Apna Apna (1994, India, Rajkumar Santoshi)
47) Borat (2006, USA, Larry Charles)
48) Delicatessen (1991, France, Marc Caro/Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
49) You, The Living (2007, Sweden co-production, Roy Andersson)
50) Coming to America (1988, USA, John Landis)
51) The Princess Bride (1987, USA, Rob Reiner)
52) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, USA, Wes Anderson)
53) Best in Show (2000, USA, Christopher Guest)
54) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, Spain co-production, Luis Buñuel)
55) Whisky (2004, Uruguay co-production, Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll)
56) Being John Malkovich (1999, USA, Spike Jonze)
57) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, USA, John Hughes)
58) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, USA, Jeremiah S. Chechik)
59) The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (1960, Mexico, Rogelio A. González)
60) Blazing Saddles (1974, USA, Mel Brooks)
2 comments:
Your list Sachin, is all-encompassing and exceptional. The essays you contributed to the project were of the first-rank! The support and insights you provided so many writers was invaluable throughout. Your energy and enthusiasm was peerless.
Thanks so much Sam for your kind words. I am delighted that you invited me to the project. It was a great and fun experience.
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