I've been looking through old threads, and I saw that I meant to start a thread about comedies concerning death. The phrases "dark comedy" and "black comedy" simply refer to the fact that what's funny is murder/suicide, etc.

The dark comedies which stand out to me are Harold and Maude(1971) and Kind Hearts and Coronets(1949).

In Harold and Maude, 20-year-old Harold (Bud Cort) is obsessed with death and fakes his suicide several times to get his mother's attention. But when he meets 80-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon), who's fascinated by attending the funerals of strangers, he finds a soulmate and a reason to think about living. It's very sweet and downright hilarious.

Kind Hearts and Coronets is the tale of a poor young man (Dennis Price) seeking revenge on the distant relatives who ignored his mother when she needed help. His plan is to murder the eight members of the family who lie between him and a possible dukedom. What makes it especially amusing is that all eight of them (including the suffragette) are played by Alec Guinness! (Everybody remembers the original Obi-Wan Kenobi, I hope, even though he won an Oscar long before that and had made several classic comedies.)

Anybody else have some favorite "dark comedies" or at least some funny scenes in movies involving death? My wife, for example, is a big animal lover, but she laughs herself silly during A Fish Called Wanda whenever Michael Palin kills any of that lady's unfortunate pet dogs.

One that came to mind right away was The Vincent Price movie Theatre of Blood. It falls somewhere between a true horror film and a dark comedy, but I'll put it here because the sense of humor in the movie is about as morbid as any I can remember.

Vincent Price plays Edward Lionheart, a ham actor who is out for revenge on the critics who passed him up for an award that he feels he deserved. I highly recommend it.

Yeah, I thought of all those gory Shakespearean murders in Theater of Blood and the campy dark comedy of Price's The Abominable Dr. Phibes when I posted this thread. Now I'm reminded of Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? with George Segal, Jackie Bisset and Robert Morley.

Some favorites that come to mind for me are Fargo, Dr. Strangelove, and About Schmidt.

I'm wondering if you could call any Tarantino movies "dark comedies." It never occured to me, but thinking back on Kill Bill vol. 1 and Pulp Fiction, the things that really made them funny was the killing.

Here is where I discussed another favorite.

The Tarantino films and Get Shorty should qualify as dark comedies, as least to me and some others.

War Of the Roses is one of the best dark comedies ever. Devito actually does a gooooooood job with this. Anyone else seen it?

Yes, 5 cents, that's Devito's best direction, and certainly he gravitates toward that genre (Throw Momma From the Train, Matilda, Death to Smoochy, etc.) I also enjoyed Devito and everybody else in another great one, Ruthless People. That last film and Roses would make a good double feature.

In "Pulp Fiction" that scene where they have to clean the "Mess" in the car is hilarious. Also I think that "Shaun of the Dead" would fit nicely under this category.

There is one film I have to mention that generally gets trashed by everyone...Very Bad Things
Granted, this is not a good movie per se, but I enjoyed it because of its sheer absurdity. Watching the movie, things start to happen, and you think, that's pretty messed up. Then, something else happens that blows the previous out of the water and you really can't believe what you're seeing. I found it entertaining simply because it's so ridiculous.

And, I love Jeremy Piven. His Versace salesman in Rush Hour 2 was the greatest character in film history!

Jackie, you have earned enough super extra bonus points to post anything you want with my blessing, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say TRASH! concerning Very Bad Things. Apparently I checked my sense of humor at the opening titles because I didn't think there was anything funny about it at all.

I LOVE dark comedies!

Some of my faves are Beetlejuice, Clue, Death Becomes Her and the Addams Family films.

Superb!

Very Bad Things is a unique, hilarious film. As is War of the Roses. As is Ichi the Killer. I watched A Fish Called Wanda yesterday and was amazed at how funny the murder of pets could be.

There's a scene in The Last Supper where the students sit around the dining table and fake a scream of surprise, when a vicar starts to choke on the poisonous wine, so that he thinks the students had nothing to do with his dying. Genius.

Harold and Maude is a good one. And Beatlejuice - good call. One of my favorites of all times.

I'd also go with Fargo as one of my favorites.

Also, can anyone explain to me why Comcast labels Anchorman as a dark comedy during it's new release previews?

Heathers is pure gold...Strangelove...i'd definitely say Buffalo 66 is in there, its dark, its hilarious...Happiness was weak... Man Bites Dog is beautiful ... Your Friends and Neighbors....but the most vicious movie i have seen is by the same director as your friends and neighbors...(LaBute, i believe is the name) and the movie is... In the Company of Men, watch it with your mother. oh.and The House of Yes with parker posey was fun, esp. because i love parker posey and incest.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Machols,

I never considered the term "dark comedy" to necessarily have to refer to a comedy that involves murder/suicide. Rather for me "dark comedy" is a comedy that has rather serious, more dramatic elements as well likely sad, emotional components to the movie. A few dark comedies that come to mind are:

Being John Malkovich (2000)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
The Truman Show (1998)
Almost Famous (2000)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Death to Smoochy (2002)
Slaughterhouse Five (1972)
The Terminal (2004)
Election (1999)
High Fidelity (2000)
Sweet November (2001)
My Giant (1998)
Mona Lisa (1986)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Hmmm… I guess my opinion of a dark comedy differs from most in this thread then. Though, I do agree with tabuno’s definition the most. However, I see a dark comedy as a movie that is considered to be funny, but is primarily depressing. If the typical comedy makes you laugh and feel good… a dark comedy should bring you down a bit, while still getting a chuckle out of you.

Pulp Fiction wasn’t depressing… it was more shocking, thus not a dark comedy.

The Cable Guy could be considered a dark comedy, but I’d say it was a dark-comedy-light… an oxymoron, I know. ;-)

Meet The Parents is a more popular example of a dark comedy. You are laughing, not at a cheesy one-liner, but at the ridiculous reaction to a typically mundane situation. Most of the time you just feel sorry for the main character.

The best example of a dark comedy, that I can think of, is Home Fries. The people are so ridiculous and their responses are off the wall, yet the situation demands more serious attention. Thus the art (and rarity) behind a true dark comedy, in my opinion.

Basically, dark comedies have to be depressing in some manner. High Fidelity and other similar movies aren’t depressing… they are more so serious dramatic comedies. Funny dramas, basically. Still good, but they don’t sit on the exact opposite end of the comedy spectrum… as a true dark comedy should.

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I don't think The Little Shop of Horrors, The Cable Guy and The 'Burbs have been mentionned. 3 films I absolutely love. Also, a good black comedy is Happiness of the Katakuris, Japanese film. Love it.

The Cable Guy, The Little Shop of Horrors, and The Burbs ARE all excellent dark comedies. All of them have that bittersweet, laughing though it should hurt feeling. Very difficult to direct and perform just right.

I'll second Dr. Strangelove. It's pure genius, dark as pitch, and very funny.

David Lynch's Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Wild At Heart are good examples.

Oh, I almost forgot....Delicatessen !