Expert: Barbara L. Baker - 4/1/2004

Question
in my film class, i am doing a genre project on black comedy.  I need examples of this type of movie.  So far i have bullworth (warren batey, don cheadle), trading places (eddy murphy, dan ackyeroid), do the right thing (spike lee, samuel l jackson).  Please help with other film titles that i could look into as well as a revisionist, contrarian, comic, or another variant on this genre's convention.  dont think too hard, its only high school.

Answer
Dear Eric, below is a list of what are normally considered "black comedies."  Although I would agree that "Bullworth" fits, I would not place "Trading Places" in that category (to me it is just a regular farce), nor "Do the Right Thing"(which is usually labeled as a drama, not a comedy).

There are those, however, who would include what I might call dramas with black comedy elements (i.e. "Fargo" shows up on a lot of lists), and some who would include comedies that deal with dark subjects, but I wouldn´t necessarily call them black (i.e. "The Addams Family" & other gothic comedies that are more slapstick & farce rather than what I would consider black comedies).  Some critics would also include documentaries or quasi-documentaries (such as Fredrick Wiseman´s "High School" or Luis Buñel´s "Land Without Bread"), or mock documentaries like "Best in Show."

Most of what I would label black comedy has a strong element of satire in it, but not all satires are black.  The way I, and many others, define it, to be a black comedy requires a certain twisted view of the world, as well as a willingness to engage in taboo subjects (esp. death in all its forms--murder, suicide, accidents, etc.--along with things like incest, cannibalism, drug abuse, criminality, etc.). Some black comedies are hybrids (they include other genre elements in them).

In addition, many black comedies are considered to be cult films, some with their own rabid followings.

My own list includes more than you need, but I´ll go
ahead and give you several, including some that might be considered "classic."  It is only a partial list, as there are more that could be included (including numerous films not in English (e.g. Buñel´s "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise," Fellini´s "Satirycon," etc.).  These
are in rough chronological order (further descriptions for many can be found not on the Internet Movie Data Base (imdb.com).

Early black comedies (1930s to 1940s)
"Arsenic and Old Lace"
"To Be or Not to Be" (the orig. with Jack Benny & Carole Lombard combines elements of romantic comedy)
"Monsieur Verdoux" (Chaplin´s 2nd talkie)

1950s to 1970s (lots in this time period--many from Britain as well as U.S.--most have a satirical edge)
"Kind Hearts and Coronets"
"The Ladykillers" (currently remade in a U.S. version by the Coen Brothers)
"Beat the Devil" (a bent Hemingway story with Humphrey Bogart)
"The Apartment" (directed by Billy Wilder with Jack Lemmon and Shirley McClain)
"The Loved One" (about funeral directos)
"The Producers" (the original film by Mel Brooks)
"The Ruling Class" (very dark, with Peter O'Toole)
"The Magic Christian" (the uncut version, which is also pretty gross)
"Catch 22" (based on the anti-war book)
"The President´s Analyst"
"A Boy and His Dog" (with Don Johnson in his debut role)
"A Clockwork Orange"
"Dr. Strangelove" (directed by Stanley Kubrick)
"Slaughterhouse Five" (based on the Vonnegut book)
"M.A.S.H"
"Brewster McCloud"
"Harold & Maude" (combines elements of romantic comedy)
"The Honeymoon Killers"
"Pink Flamingos" (dir. John Waters--classic midnight movie prior to "Rocky Horror")
"The End" (with Burt Reynolds trying to kill himself)

From 1970s to now
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
"Monty Python´s Life of Brian"
"Being There"
"Heathers" (a teen-movie hybrid)
"Little Shop of Horrors" (also hybrid musical)
"Brazil"
"Eating Raoul"
"Throw Momma From the Train"
"War of the Roses"
"The Player" (dir. Robert Altman)
"Raising Arizona" (another Coen film)
"To Die For"
"Grosse Pointe Blank"
"Pulp Fiction"
"Election"
"Death Becomes Her"
"Serial Mom"
"Welcome to the Dollhouse"
"Clerks"
"American Beauty"
"Happiness"
"Bamboozled" (a better Spike Lee choice, very dark)
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (hybrid musical)

etc. etc. As you see, quite a bit of variety.  Some of these, as well as others, can be found on the site I discussed above.  Good luck with your project.