tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post5307005790192222712..comments2024-03-25T06:50:31.379-05:00Comments on The War Movie Buff: #27 - DUCK SOUP (1933)War Movie Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-2056425215729646022020-03-05T11:47:24.138-06:002020-03-05T11:47:24.138-06:00That is also my favorite, largely due to the "...That is also my favorite, largely due to the "sanity clause" skit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-50150503077606083372020-01-25T09:41:04.225-06:002020-01-25T09:41:04.225-06:00My favorite is "A Night at the Opera". ...My favorite is "A Night at the Opera". I am not a huge fan because of the musical interludes.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-18806161637108553552020-01-22T13:08:56.126-06:002020-01-22T13:08:56.126-06:00"Duck Soup" is not my favorite Marx Brot..."Duck Soup" is not my favorite Marx Brothers movie but it is very enjoyable. I agree that it is foolish for people to try to read a deeper meaning into the film. It's fine to make connections between the ridiculous events of the film and the ridiculous elements of war but to say that the movie is a focused anti-war satire is an abuse of the art of film criticism.<br /><br />I wish the Marx Brothers had made more movies. Some would undoubtedly have been worse than others but their talent would have made even the below-average films watchable, and I'm sure they would have produced a few more gems. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-15230016499979454682017-11-28T18:54:59.603-06:002017-11-28T18:54:59.603-06:00Nice info. Thanks.Nice info. Thanks.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-6189975598352065972017-11-28T18:04:59.653-06:002017-11-28T18:04:59.653-06:00Five years later...
It should be noted that the Br...Five years later...<br />It should be noted that the Brothers were toying with the idea of adapting "Of Thee I Sing," a politically satirical Broadway musical, for the screen. When that fell through, they turned to the ideas that would become "Duck Soup." So, one could argue that they had political satire on their minds from the start.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-74736794602071014332012-08-27T19:08:48.050-05:002012-08-27T19:08:48.050-05:00Try "Duck Soup" for your first Marx Brot...Try "Duck Soup" for your first Marx Brothers movie. Freedonia is a lot like where you live. I am pretty sure you would like To Be or Not To Be and Dr. Strangelove. I am not sure about the restWar Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-11729260964653235442012-08-27T12:18:31.211-05:002012-08-27T12:18:31.211-05:00I've only seen your war comedy no 1 which I th...I've only seen your war comedy no 1 which I thought was hilarious, really funny. Whether I will like the others or not is something I'll find out in the future.<br />I have never seen a Marx Brothers movie and for some reasons I have a feeling I will not like them at all allaboutwarmoviesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-61292551474280754662012-08-26T14:44:31.962-05:002012-08-26T14:44:31.962-05:00"Bomb" was probably too strong a term. B..."Bomb" was probably too strong a term. But my impression is that it was a box office disappointment. Two books ("Movie Comedy Teams" by Leonard Maltin and "The Marx Brothers at the Movies" by Paul Zimmerman and Burt Goldblatt) said that Duck Soup's underperformance was why the brothers' contract with Paramount was not renewed when it expired. But then, those same authors considered the movie to be an anti-war satire, and blamed its underperformance on the general unpopularity of political satire in 1933. The movie is just not that overtly political. For a lot of critics and film historians, though, the idea that Duck Soup is an anti-war (and anti-Nazi) statement is the emperor's new clothes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-80945571569118474822012-08-25T23:28:17.774-05:002012-08-25T23:28:17.774-05:00Totally agree. Except it wasn't quite the bom...Totally agree. Except it wasn't quite the bomb people assume it was. That's why I said it underperformed. You have to admire Groucho's response to the chatter that the movie was deep. A lot of Hollywood types would have agreed with critics citing how awesome their satire was.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-60158971438622179022012-08-25T21:39:14.929-05:002012-08-25T21:39:14.929-05:00Once again, the critics (1) broaden the criteria t...Once again, the critics (1) broaden the criteria to include their favorites, and (2) find deeper meaning than what was probably intended. (And, once again, my litany about how movies are a Rorschach test, and people, especially professional critics, see what they want). Marx Brothers satire was broad-based, and not about specific political issues. OK, the "country's going to war" scene could be a satire of war mania, but the Marxes made fun of everything, and "everything" includes war. Duck Soup bombed in 1933, and got taken up by the liberal intellectuals in the 1960's. Suddenly, the brothers were symbols of rebellion and protest. Their admirers have actually made the Marxes seem more pretentious than they ever were.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com