Duck Soup dvd movie.|
Duck Soup buy bestselling dvd movies, videos find reviews, ratings, prices |
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List Price: $14.99 Features • AC-3 • Black & White • Closed-captioned • DVD-Video • NTSC In Theaters : 17 November, 1933 DVD Release : 21 January, 1998 |
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Duck Soup description For those who love the Marx Brothers (Animal Crackers, A Night at the Opera), that this movie is side-slappingly funny is a given. For those new to the Marx Brothers, this is the perfect introduction to Groucho, Chico, and Harpo (and even Zeppo), three of the funniest men to ever grace the screen. Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) is the dictator of the small nation Freedonia. The country is a disaster, in financial disrepair, and the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) is its benefactor and the object of Firefly's shrewd affection. When the leader of the neighboring Sylvania decides he's in love with Mrs. Teasdale, Firefly declares war. The movie, from 1933, is tremendously satirical, a play on politics and war. (As Firefly says to a hapless young solider, "You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are.") Full of witty lines, great sight gags, and even some snazzy song numbers ("Freedonia's Going to War" is the hilarious declaration of battle), this is surely one of the best--if not the best--the Marx Brothers have to offer. --Jenny Brown |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | What a strange, remarkable, hilarious movie this is.... |
| Duck Soup (1933) - Leo McCarey
The Marx Brothers are almost totally unique in the history of film, and when I say unique, I'm not even referring to how innovative they are. True, they definitely developed a particular style of comedy that I would say is probably now the dominant form in all of American comedy. How would I characterize it? It's difficult, but it includes a combination of anarchy, irony, and self-awareness. I paraphrase Roger Ebert when he states that you can clearly see what the Marx Bros. influenced, but its difficult to see what influenced them, other than the rich tradition of music hall. However, again, when I say that they are totally unique, I'm referring to something else. If one notices carefully at all the groups and individuals that the Marx Brothers influenced (Mel Brooks, Monty Python, Airplane, etc.), they'll notice one common trait: Despite the anarchic worlds created in these movies, it's almost always the entire world that is anarchic. Mel Brooks and Monty Python, in particular, are contained in ridiculous worlds that have there own sense of ridiculous logic. The Marx Brothers, on the other hand, are the only anarchic and ridiculous individuals in a relatively normal and sane world (although in Duck Soup sometimes it seems as if the rest of the world is the crazy one, which is hugely ironic in itself). What does this create? Well, in Monty Python and Mel Brooks (again, irregardless of how chaotic they may seem), there is a strange sense of coherency, almost as if we could follow along their logic. This coherency is almost completely nonexistent in the early Marx Brothers films for Paramount (MGM tried to enforce conformity and coherency into the Marx Brothers unfortunately). Thus, the movies, although ridiculously hilarious, are also some of the most bizarre, daring, and yes, experimental films ever created. In fact, I would even claim that its almost avant-garde. No wonder the famous French surrealist and theorist Antonin Artaud, who is insane by all accounts and purposes, felt such a strong connection to the work of the Marx Brothers. Regarding this particularly interesting trait, I would say that W.C. Fields is closest, but his films are incoherent more from the standpoint of plot, but the sense of logic within the world is more relatable. I mean, W.C. Fields never exploded into completely random tangents that made absolutely no sense outside of themselves. Oh, and I guess I should talk about the actual movie now. Duck Soup is the best the Marx Brothers have to offer because it portrays them at their absolutely most chaotic and funny. Oh, and there is no random instrument playing, which a lot of people like, but I just feel blocks the overall momentum of the films. So yeah, this movie is an all time classic and is filled with all time classic moments and one-liners, so definitely buy it. |
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