The numbers are impressive: the BBC activated 253 film critics for its ranking of the “100 greatest comedies of all time”. Broken down: 118 women, 135 men, from 52 countries and six continents.
Germans who are not considered funny abroad are also represented in the list: “Toni Erdmann” by Maren Ade came in at number 59 and is even the newest among all the films (it was released in cinemas in 2016).
The usual suspects fight for places among themselves
Many of the placements or mentions are not really surprising. Billy Wilder’s “Some Like It Hot” (1959) is always at the top of all comedy lists, and here too it is number one. Of course, the good old, “cult” Coen Brothers film “The Big Lebowski” (11th place) shouldn’t be missed either.
An outsider victory was achieved by “Groundhog Day” by Harold Ramis, which made it to an astonishing (and perhaps justified) third place – the film with Bill Murray and Andie McDowell wasn’t a hit in 1993, so it’s all the better that it’s here shows up.
Other mentions are surprising because they are much more than just comedies or difficult to fit into this genre alone. “Pulp Fiction,” for example, a mixture of thriller, drama and comedy. Perhaps the masterpiece only ended up on the 46th list because too few critics had Tarantino’s film on their list. In Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” (second place) should of course be able to laugh – but the comedy could also simply be interpreted as an apocalyptic drama.
The late Jerry Lewis is also represented with two works. “The King Of Comedy”, strictly speaking more of a satire or tragicomedy, landed at number 100. And then there is “The Mad Professor” at number 73.
BBC list: the 100 greatest comedies of all time
- 100. (tie) The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1982)
- 100. The Ladies Man (Jerry Lewis, 1961)
- 99. The Jerk (Carl Reiner, 1979)
- 98. The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009)
- 97. The Music Box (James Parrott, 1932)
- 96. Born Yesterday (George Cukor, 1950)
- 95. Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984)
- 94. Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
- 93. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Trey Parker, 1999)
- 92. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel, 1962)
- 91. What’s Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, 1972)
- 90. A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971)
- 89. Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966)
- 88. Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001)
- 87. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953)
- 86. Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949)
- 85. Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973)
- 84. Waiting for Guffman (Christopher Guest, 1996)
- 83. Safety Last! (Fred C Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923)
- 82. Top Secret! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1984)
- 81. There’s Something About Mary (Bobby and Peter Farrelly, 1998)
- 80. Office Space (Mike Judge, 1999)
- 79. The Dinner Game (Francis Veber, 1998)
- 78. The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)
- 77. Divorce Italian Style (Pietro Germi, 1961)
- 76. Design for Living (Ernst Lubitsch, 1933)
- 75. The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges, 1942)
- 74. Trading Places (John Landis, 1983)
- 73. The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis, 1963)
- 72. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (David Zucker, 1988)
- 71. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
- 70. In the Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)
- 69. Love and Death (Woody Allen, 1975)
- 68. Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch, 1939)
- 67. Sons of the Desert (William A Seiter, 1933)
- 66. Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007)
- 65. Caddyshack (Harold Ramis, 1980)
- 64. Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008)
- 63. Arsenic and Old Lace (Frank Capra, 1944)
- 62. What We Do in the Shadows (Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, 2014)
- 61. Team America: World Police (Trey Parker, 2004)
- 60. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
- 59. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)
- 58. Zelig (Woody Allen, 1983)
- 57. Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004)
- 56. Broadcast News (James L Brooks, 1987)
- 55. Best in Show (Christopher Guest, 2000)
- 54. Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971)
- 53. The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980)
- 52. My Man Godfrey (Gregory La Cava, 1936)
- 51. Seven Chances (Buster Keaton, 1925)
- 50. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988)
- 49. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
- 48. Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932)
- 47. Animal House (John Landis, 1978)
- 46. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
- 45. Big Deal on Madonna Street (Mario Monicelli, 1958)
- 44. Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011)
- 43. M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970)
- 42. The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 1937)
- 41. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006)
- 40. The Producers (Mel Brooks, 1967)
- 39. A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood and Edmund Goulding, 1935)
- 38. The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940)
- 37. Sullivan’s Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)
- 36. A Fish Called Wanda (Charles Crichton and John Cleese, 1988)
- 35. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
- 34. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
- 33. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004)
- 32. Raising Arizona (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1987)
- 31. Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
- 30. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953)
- 29. When Harry Met Sally… (Rob Reiner, 1989)
- 28. It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934)
- 27. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
- 26. Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958)
- 25. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
- 24. Withnail and I (Bruce Robinson, 1987)
- 23. The Party (Blake Edwards, 1968)
- 22. Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974)
- 21. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
- 20. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974)
- 19. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
- 18. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
- 17. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
- 16. The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin, 1940)
- 15. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, 1975)
- 14. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
- 13. To Be or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
- 12. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
- 11. The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
- 10. The General (Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton, 1926)
- 09. This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)
- 08. Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
- 07. Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980)
- 06. Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)
- 05. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
- 04. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
- 03. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
- 02. Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
- 01. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)