TT-Pete Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 For the first time in quite a while we will be on our own this Xmas; none of the kids, no rellies, no visitors. We are planning to batten down the hatches, stoke the fire, stock the larder and to indulge ourselves liberally with snacks and liquid refreshments whilst watching DVDs. We're fed up with most of the mainstream Hollywood fare that comes out these days and are feeling a little nostalgic for simpler times and just want to be entertained/have a laugh, so I've got the Peter Sellers Pink Panther set on order, but what other comedy or drama would people recommend? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 A couple from me: - The Ladykillers (the original Ealing, not the awful Tom Hanks remake) - wickedly dark, and lovely King’s Cross steam action. - Bad Santa (the only seasonal film worth watching). Paul 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 Harmless fun: The Plank I'm all right Jack 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted November 29, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2019 The Train - Burt Lancaster at his best and a lot of railway interest - albeit French. But short on laughs 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 For laughs: watch "Zero Hour" and "Airplane!" back to back. "Zero Hour" is the backbone of the plot for "Airplane!" along with the propeller sound and the instrument panel scene. To me it adds more context of the creative process the Zucker Brothers used to create the film. Some of "Airplane!" is a shot by shot remake of "Zero Hour". For "film school": watch "The Big Sleep" (as released in 1946) and the UCLA Film and Television Archive restoration version of Howard Hawk's original cut, (from 1945 before the studio made him add more scenes with Lauren Bacall and cut down the running length) back to back. I have both of these on one disc - one film on each side. The problem is that each time I load it I get confused about which one will play. (Yes, usually DVD players will play the bottom side.) The original cut is a far more coherent movie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 The Driver with Ryan O'Neil. Brilliant low key thriller. Great car chases too. The Runaway Bus. A creaky old 1950s comedy with Frankie Howerd and Margaret Rutherford. Great fun! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The only Xmas film I will watch voluntarily. steve 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 3 hours ago, TT-Pete said: ...We're fed up with most of the mainstream Hollywood fare that comes out these days and are feeling a little nostalgic for simpler times and just want to be entertained/have a laugh, so I've got the Peter Sellers Pink Panther set on order, but what other comedy or drama would people recommend? More recent films that might answer the simpler times / not mainstream Hollywood requirement. The Death of Stalin Dogma High Fidelity Italian for Beginners Les Visiteurs Volver And a railway special, The General (Buster Keaton, the most dangerous stunts imaginable). Now that's an oldie... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 (edited) Any of the old British comedies. Sometimes a bit saucy but all in good fun! "Scrooge" with Albert Finney, just right for Christmas! Brian. Edited November 29, 2019 by brianusa 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted November 29, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2019 The Commitments. Sweary, funny, sad, and great music. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Kingzance Posted November 29, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2019 The Death of Stalin is great entertainment - dark certainly but plenty of subtle laughs and probably worth a second watch to find the jokes missed the first time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 Red, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovitch, Helen Mirren & Brian Cox, CIA trying to eliminate a retired black ops team. I think the cast enjoyed making the film, they certainly give good performances, Bruce Willis does well, almost serious. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 "What We Do In The Shadows" - A mockumentary about 4 vampires who share a house in New Zealand. One of the funniest films I've seen this century... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefromacrossthepond Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Comedy - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Silly, immature, mindless. We watch it every year! Musical - Another vote for Albert Finney in Scrooge. Always puts me in the holiday spirit. Documentary. Any of the History Channel's "History of Christmas/Santa Claus" shows. Hard to find...but so very interesting. Documentary- I forget the exact name...but perhaps "The Christmas Truce-1914" ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damo666 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 A German friend introduced me to 'Dinner for One' several years ago. Apparently it's a very popular short comedy, in English, played on German TV every Christmas Eve. For some reason it was never shown on UK terrestrial TV until last Christmas, 2018. My father and I used to love watching it together, it was regular viewing in our house each Christmas too. 3 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted November 30, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2019 9 hours ago, Damo666 said: A German friend introduced me to 'Dinner for One' several years ago. Apparently it's a very popular short comedy, in English, played on German TV every New Year's Christmas Eve. For some reason it was never shown on UK terrestrial TV until last Christmas, 2018. My father and I used to love watching it together, it was regular viewing in our house each Christmas too. I counted up a few years ago when I was living in Germany, and by switching stations I could have watched it 17 times without overlap over a 48 hour period - some transmissions drifted into New Years Day. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted November 30, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2019 If the re-mastered Titfield Thunderbolt is on dvd it's well worth having, never fails. Can't go yet, squire's not 'ere. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 13 hours ago, Kingzance said: The Death of Stalin is great entertainment - dark certainly but plenty of subtle laughs and probably worth a second watch to find the jokes missed the first time! Must have watched it a dozen times, and still see new aspects. Just that early scene in Moscow Radio's studio concert hall control room for the exchanges between Andreyev (Paddy Considine) and Moron/Sergei (Tom Brooke) ; and it gets ever more packed as the film progresses. (I hope it might one day get a 'director's cut', the extra scenes included on the DVD that were cut from the release version, really deserve to be in an extended edition.) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 20 hours ago, TT-Pete said: ... We're fed up with most of the mainstream Hollywood fare that comes out these days and are feeling a little nostalgic for simpler times and just want to be entertained/have a laugh, so I've got the Peter Sellers Pink Panther set on order, but what other comedy or drama would people recommend? My mind kept wandering back to this question, so a few more suggestions... If you literally want nostalgia for simpler times, Akenfield has recently been released on a lovely Blu-ray (it was made for tv, so don’t expect pin-sharp visuals). It now makes me feel just as nostalgic for the 1970s as for the Edwardian era, but that’s an inevitable by-product of aging. A slightly more recent movie that might also appeal: A Month in the Country, set in lovely summery English countryside just after WW1; and then there’s the always delightful The Lady Vanishes, largely set on a train, very witty but surprisingly risqué for the time (made just before Hitchcock moved to Hollywood to face the Hays Code). For many years Merchant Ivory were the go-to British film-makers, and their Maurice has been gloriously remastered for Blu-ray by the BFI. I’m surprised A Room with a View and Howard’s End haven’t had the same treatment, but maybe they’re coming later. Available on DVD for now. Similarly gentle, the BFI has released a lovely Blu-ray collection of classic British Transport Films; and, among other nostalgic delights, the films of John Krish, which includes the gloriously sentimental film about London’s last tram. Lastly, winter afternoons make me yearn for a good costume drama: Sense and Sensibility won an Oscar for Emma Thompson; Mansfield Park is rather glorious, with Harold Pinter in one of his rare outings as an actor which always makes me wish he’d done more. For more visceral thrills, the Blu-ray of Zulu is visually ravishing on the new generation of tvs. Paul 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devo63 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Much to the annoyance of my long suffering mother, each Christmas my father (84 YO) and I sit down to watch a marathon of Will Hay movies usually starting with "Oh, Mr Porter". Dear old Mum tends to make herself scarce at these times by going to 'read a book' which means she has a long snooze with the two cats. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, Jacques Tati. Gently hilarious. 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, brianusa said: Any of the old British comedies. Sometimes a bit saucy but all in good fun! "Scrooge" with Albert Finney, just right for Christmas! Brian. My Mum's half sister's hubby Phil is in that, he plays the ginger kid who gets to sit on Scrooge's lap! He gave up acting after appearing in 'Scum' in '79 and is now a prolific and rather good music producer / writer / mixer Other film recommendations... The Titfield Thunderbolt The Wrong Arm Of the Law Two Way Stretch The League Of Gentlemen (Jack Hawkins caper from 1960 not the later thingy) Edited November 30, 2019 by Rugd1022 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptic Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Carl Sagan's "Cosmos"......If available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted November 30, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2019 We need more samples of what you do like. As I can name some odd foreign action and scifi films, and they can be funny. Taxi is good, 2 OK, 3 rubbish, comedy action District 9, sci fi but funny How about animated films? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted November 30, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2019 OK take a punt on ONE of these, you will either love them or think meh! It is well known that the best animation studios are Aardman and Studio Ghibli. I expect you have seen all the Wallace & Gromit films, so try some Japanese animation. Spirited Away is fantastic, also Kikis Delivery Service is lovely. They are NOT childrens films. Try a Studio Ghibli. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 If you want some left field recommendations for animated films, then try: Heavy Metal - Sci-fi + rock music. What's not to like? Fritz The Cat - Look it up steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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