Anna Daniels
Edgar Wright isn’t just the director of comedy treasures like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. He’s also an educated cinephile and comedy connoisseur with a deep knowledge of the biggest and best laughs ranging from classics in Hollywood’s Golden Age to contemporary hits. Since many of you are probably looking for a lot more movies to pass the time while we’re in self-quarantine from coronavirus, Edgar Wright has listed his 100 favorite comedies of all-time on Letterboxd, giving you some gut-busting options to seek out from home.
Edgar Wright introduced his list by writing this on Letterboxd:
“To get you through these tough times, please enjoy a generous helping of SOME of my favourite screen comedies that I’ve enjoyed over the years. I could easily do another 100 so don’t say ‘Where’s so and so?’ Just sit back and enjoy the movies. Let us know below, which ones you raise a smile.”
Edgar Wright lists his favorite comedies in the order in which they were releases, and he starts with some comedy staples from comedy legends like The Gold Rush, The Circus, and City Lights with Charlie Chaplin, as well as The Music Box and Sons of the Desert starring famed comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.
A couple decades later, Wright lists a couple of Jack Lemmon’s greatest comedies, Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis, and The Apartment with Shirley MacLaine. You’ll also find 1960s comedies like Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and the Best Picture nominee The Graduate.
Flash forward to the 1970s, and we get some love for the beloved comedies of Mel Brooks and Monty Python. From Brooks we have Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, and from the British comedy troupe we have Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Life of Brian.
The 1980s brings the spoof comedy of Airplane!, Top Secret! and The Naked Gun from parody masters Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. Plus, John Hughes gets some love for Planes, Trains & Automobiles and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
There’s a handful of Christopher Guest here spread across the 1980s and 1990s with This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show making the list.
As for contemporary comedy favorites, Edgar Wright is certainly picky. There are only 21 comedies from the past 20 years on the list. However, I’m happy to see What We Do in the Shadows, They Came Together, and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping make the list, three of my favorite comedies of the decade, two of which made /Film’s collective list of the best films of the decade.
As for the most recent entry, it’s One Cut of the Dead. That makes perfect sense since the Japanese comedy from writer/director Shin’ichirô Ueda was a refreshing approach to the zombie movie, not unlike Shaun of the Dead was back in 2004. The movie is now available on Shudder, which is currently offering a 30-day free trial while we’re all under self-quarantine.
See the entire list of Edgar Wright’s favorite comedies over at Letterboxd.
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