Classic Films at the Grand
Today was our screening of the classic Marx Brother’s “Duck Soup” from 1933, as part of a collaboration with the Tacoma Art Museum. What a great film, listed as #5 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 funniest films. It’s funny on the surface, and if you look a little further and put the historical context into the mix, you can see some of the deeper implications of the humor. I wasn’t there during the depression, as far as I can recall at least, but they tell me it was a pretty tough time. A kind of desperation emerged in the comedy during this period – the light-hearted gaiety of the 20’s didn’t really apply anymore.
An interesting story element in “Duck Soup” is that the country of “Freedonia” is bankrupt, and Groucho is brought in as the president/dictator. Of course, bankruptcy was a common subject of the time, but what is also of note is that Freedonia declares war, almost flippantly against their neighbors. A few years later, towards the end of that decade, Germany is building up for war. I wonder if this is just a coincidence, or if the future political climate was being anticipated in a way.
I have always appreciated the humor of the Marx Brothers, despite living the better part of a century later. Perhaps the humor is universal enough to still apply to today.
“Modern Times” (from 1936) is playing next week – Charlie Chaplin’s classic comedy, where he tries his best to fit in with the quickly evolving modern era. We see this quite a bit in films of the first few decades of the 20th century. Within such a short time, people went from riding a horse to driving cars and flying in the sky. Many films of the time show people almost getting run over by cars in the city, or the frantic pace of the assembly line.
“Modern Times” is hilarious, and I think one of the better surviving silent films. It’s interesting to note that the film was made after the advent of talkies. Maybe this was Chaplin’s final defiant gesture in favor of silence. The film has a great score, and lots of sound effects to help out the humor onscreen. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see classic Chaplin on the big screen!!
An interesting story element in “Duck Soup” is that the country of “Freedonia” is bankrupt, and Groucho is brought in as the president/dictator. Of course, bankruptcy was a common subject of the time, but what is also of note is that Freedonia declares war, almost flippantly against their neighbors. A few years later, towards the end of that decade, Germany is building up for war. I wonder if this is just a coincidence, or if the future political climate was being anticipated in a way.
I have always appreciated the humor of the Marx Brothers, despite living the better part of a century later. Perhaps the humor is universal enough to still apply to today.
“Modern Times” (from 1936) is playing next week – Charlie Chaplin’s classic comedy, where he tries his best to fit in with the quickly evolving modern era. We see this quite a bit in films of the first few decades of the 20th century. Within such a short time, people went from riding a horse to driving cars and flying in the sky. Many films of the time show people almost getting run over by cars in the city, or the frantic pace of the assembly line.
“Modern Times” is hilarious, and I think one of the better surviving silent films. It’s interesting to note that the film was made after the advent of talkies. Maybe this was Chaplin’s final defiant gesture in favor of silence. The film has a great score, and lots of sound effects to help out the humor onscreen. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see classic Chaplin on the big screen!!
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