I agree some scenes have comedic value, but they are still disturbing - if you see what I mean. Is the viewer laughing with the characters or at them ? I certainly recommend the book anyway.
The book is much better than the film. Which is saying a lot considering OFOTCN is an Oscar winning film and one of the best films ever.
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/01/146210681/keseys-cuckoos-nest-still-flying-at-50 Kesey's words "'They Wanted To Do "Hogan's Heroes" ' The 1975 version of the film, starring Jack Nicholson as McMurphy, swept the major Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay. Kesey, however, refused to see the movie, saying he was unhappy with the direction the Hollywood version had taken after his own screenplay had been rejected. "I really wrote it to be as weird as I thought being in the nuthouse was," Kesey said in 1992. "But it was not what they wanted. I was naive at the time. I wanted to do The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and they wanted to do Hogan's Heroes."
Its actually much harder to think of favourite comedy films then i first thought. In no order and probably some I've forgot about. Anchor man Life of Brian Sex lives of the potato men Happy Gilmore Austin Powers The big Labowski Ghost Busters Dodgeball Brewsters millions Super bad
Here's a slight change of topic. After all the talk/arguing about OFOTCN, what is your favorite Oscar Best Picture film? Here's a list of them if you aren't sure what has won it: http://www.tif.ro/movies/oscar/lista.htm For me, it's The Godfather Part II.
Some like it Hot Ladykillers The Producers Sleeper Steptoe and Son Ride Again High Anxiety Kind Hearts and Coronets The Out of Towners Hot Fuzz Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Jerk Young Frankenstein Planes Trains and Automobiles Blazing Saddles The Pink Panther (& Strikes Again) Up The Man with Two Brains Bad Santa Plus other popular choices repeated already.
Further classics Carry on up the Khyber. Arsenic and Old Lace Caddyshack Little Miss Sunshine (expected it to be **** thought it was great) A Night at the opera Planes Trains and Automobiles Schindlers List. Well Aggers and Erik laughed all the way through it
Tough and not seen them all (though have seen most). Rebecca, On the Waterfront, Midnight Cowboy, River Kwai amongst the front runners for me from that list But, GF and GF 2 personally eclipse all.
That's the problem, there isn't many that stand out in that list. Tell ya what - let's add Palme D'Or (Cannes Film Festival Best Picture) winners to it as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palme_d'Or Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now are the best for me. Thinking about it, those three are probably in my top 5 best ever.
Caddyshack is really poor in parts but Chevy Chase and Bill Murray save it. The Dalai Lama monologue by Murray is one of my favourite bits of cinema ever.
Oh how I wailed with laughter at Schindler's List (only joking Craig in Nottingham ) So many superb films to choose from. I'm always engrossed by Lean films - Lawrence of Arabia for me.
****. I forgot about Pulp Fiction in terms of comedies. (It is a comedy by the way, a 'black comedy').
A Man for All Seasons, The Godfather and Schindler's List are the three that stick out for me, but there's a lot of great films that aren't on there.
Went the Day Well? The Midwich Cuckoos Quatermass and the Pit Passport to Pimlico Genevieve The Third Man The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner David Lean's Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol A Clockwork Orange Barry Lyndon Kind Hearts and Coronets Goal! (1966 WC film) Millions Like Us ...and over 300 other films.
I just got down from my soap box. Have to agree on the David Lean films though; Dr Zhivago, Oliver Twist, Ryan's Daughter - The bloke was a genius.
I've been waiting for someone to say It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, it was one of my Dad's favourites, so I was pretty much brought up on it along with all the Marx Brother's films as well as anything with Peter Sellers. When Harry Met Sally is also one of my all time favourite films, just a shame that one particular scene overshadows the rest of a great film.
