A Night at the Opera (1935)'s comments

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senorroboto

I think we can all agree it's impossible for someone watching this film to be in the same boat as audiences in 1935. While the humor was revolutionary for its time, we have viewed the great-grandchildren of these jokes and it's no longer fresh to our eyes. We cannot grasp the full effect of the bawdy puns since they are (mostly) quite tame by modern standards. The context just isn't there, but the Marx Brothers manage to transcend time through their intelligence and talent. Even if it's not to your taste, it's a valuable work to know.

10 years 2 months ago

Flops

And two boiled eggs. Honk!

11 years ago

thestuman101694

I don't get people who don't get the Marx Brothers. The Marx Brothers are pure genius and this film shines brightly as a diamond among many gems.

11 years 4 months ago

daisyaday

There ain't no Sanity Clause! Brilliant.

12 years 6 months ago

Agrimorfee

I liked Duck Soup more than this. Give me the anarchy, forget about stringent plotlines, romance and musical production numbers. But, as the DVD featurette points out, this was the direction the Bros. wanted to take under the guidance of Irving Thalberg, and that's pretty much where they went from there on out.

10 years ago

Llanirev

I don't get people who don't get people who don't like the Marx Brothers.

10 years 5 months ago

Siskoid

A Night at the Opera is the first Marx Brothers film at MGM, and creates a template for most of their films at that studio. Essentially, the Brothers get tangled into the lives of ingenues who are responsible for most of the romance and the musical numbers. Along the way, Chico and Harpo will find an excuse for mesmerizing piano and harp numbers (I never mind the padding, not with such talent), and guest performers, high or low brow, will get to showcase their talents - in this case, opera, which makes for a nice cultural experience amid the crazy comedy shenanigans. Steering the career of an alto has never been so fun. It's not all stage stuff, as a big chunk of the film takes place on a cruise liner, including the famous crowded cabin scene. As with most of their films, the resolution is comic chaos at its best, and yet, has a sweet musical number too.

6 years 3 months ago

hilariousity

I found this a lot more enjoyable than Duck Soup.

13 years 2 months ago

lauli

I had exactly the opposite experience. I enjoyed Duck Soup and A Night in Casablanca much more than this one.

12 years 9 months ago

Filmbuff77

Better than “Duck Soup”

4 months 4 weeks ago

dombrewer

I don't get the Marx Brothers. I suppose I can understand why people were falling over themselves in the 1930s at their risque brand of anarchy, slapstick and bad puns but now? It leaves me distinctly untickled. I couldn't stand Duck Soup, and this wasn't much better - the first half hour was agony, made all the worse by the terrible romantic sub-plot which justified entire sequences of opera performances which are pretty and also unbelievably boring. Everyone talks about the Stateroom scene and the contract sequence. Laugh? I nearly smiled.
Later on there were a handful of clever lines, and two sequences that impressed - Chico and Harpo's piano and harp recitals on the boat (not that funny, but genuinely clever and superbly played) and the extreme rope swinging antics in the flies of the opera house. Otherwise.... I don't get the Marx Brothers.

11 years 7 months ago

Lord X

I didn't care for Duck Soup when I watched it, but this one is a charming movie. The musical numbers complement and help balancing the movie. Without that their comedy routine does get tiring sometimes.

11 years 2 months ago

L Lawliet

I agree, better than Duck Soup. At least I laughed at some places.

11 years 8 months ago