Screening Log
This new site feature is a collective effort to summarize our viewing habits. Occasionally, you will find titles here that are coming to a theater near you, in addition to films viewed on television, and even films viewed in piecemeal. The screening log is archived each month; to view past entries select a month in the menu below.
February 2008 activity
Total Log Entries: 38
- Adam (6)
- Chet (0)
- Chiranjit (1)
- Cullen (0)
- David (3)
- Eva (4)
- Evan (0)
- Ian (0)
- Jenny (0)
- Katherine (0)
- Leo (4)
- Megan (0)
- Rumsey (4)
- Teddy (0)
- Thomas (5)
- Victoria (1)
Total Comments: 22
- Juno (8)
- Electroma (1)
- The Room (0)
- Grave Robbers (0)
- The Roost (0)
- The Power of Nightmares (0)
- Axe (0)
- The Room (0)
- How She Move (2)
- Step Up 2 the Streets (0)
- The Phynx (0)
- The Oh in Ohio (0)
- Chicago 10 (0)
- Billy the Kid (0)
- The Visitor (0)
- Kisses For My President (0)
- Re-Animator (0)
- There Will Be Blood (3)
- The Ten (3)
- Atonement (0)
- Shoot ‘Em UP (0)
- Beach Girls (0)
- The Satanic Rites of Dracula (0)
- Fried Green Tomatoes (0)
- How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (0)
- The King Of Kong (1)
- Duck Soup (0)
- The Golden Compass (0)
- Cloverfield (0)
- The Cremator (0)
- Great World Of Sound (0)
- Sweeney Todd (2)
- Throne Of Blood (2)
- Zodiac (0)
- Away From Her (0)
- Reeker (0)
- 27 Dresses (0)
- Subway (0)
Full Archive
Duck Soup / USA / 1933
It’s astonishing to think that, just a few years after the advent of sound, the Marx Brothers were already churning out genuine masterpieces like this one, still quite possibly the finest comedy film ever made. The level of invention is staggering, from the raw slapstick of Harpo’s vendetta with the lemonade vendor to the ludicrously complex ‘Going To War’ song ‘n’ dance sequence, bringing in elements of just about every form of popular American song available at the time, from Sousa to hillbilly ballads to (slightly off-key) spirituals. And Groucho’s mirror routine- particularly the classic spin and wave- might just be the finest sight gag ever committed to celluloid.
But what sets Duck Soup above, say, Airplane (gag-for-gag, probably the funnier movie) is it’s unerring sense of character, from Groucho’s pompous but weirdly self aware politician, to Margaret Dumont’s hapless foil, these are expertly drawn figures of fun, running rampage through an otherwise quite straightforward narrative.
by Tom Huddleston | Source: DVD
04 Feb 2008 12:35 PM | Submit Comment
