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883 films

Comedy

Comedy is one of cinema's first genres and one of its most inventive. Silent clowns such as Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd built whole stories from timing and physical risk; Lubitsch and Sturges brought wit and sophistication; screwball comedies of the 1930s paired fast talk with romance. Later strands include the absurd, the satirical and the comedy of embarrassment, found from Tati's France to Bollywood and modern Turkey.

Where
The United States, France, Italy, Britain, India, Japan, Turkey
When
From the 1890s to today
Key figures
Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder, Jacques Tati, Woody Allen
Landmark films
The Gold Rush (1925), Duck Soup (1933), Some Like It Hot (1959), Playtime (1967)
Legacy
Taught film its sense of rhythm, timing and visual gag construction

What to look for

  • Physical gags planned shot by shot
  • Rapid, overlapping dialogue
  • Mistaken identities and social satire
  • Running jokes that pay off late
  • Warmth under the mockery

Directors with the most films in this genre

Woody Allen17 filmsAki Kaurismäki14 filmsCharlie Chaplin14 filmsFederico Fellini14 filmsBuster Keaton13 filmsHarold Lloyd12 filmsErnst Lubitsch11 filmsErtem Eğilmez11 filmsRené Clair11 filmsWes Anderson11 filmsBilly Wilder10 filmsEric Rohmer10 filmsJim Jarmusch10 filmsRobert Altman10 filmsLuis García Berlanga9 filmsNanni Moretti9 filmsPedro Almodóvar9 filmsRichard Linklater9 filmsDušan Makavejev8 filmsEmir Kusturica8 filmsFrank Capra8 filmsHoward Hawks8 filmsPreston Sturges8 filmsThe Coen Brothers8 films
See all 336 directors
Dino Risi7 filmsFrançois Truffaut7 filmsGene Kelly7 filmsGeorge Cukor7 filmsGuy Maddin7 filmsJan Švankmajer7 filmsJiří Menzel7 filmsMario Monicelli7 filmsMike Nichols7 filmsAlexander Payne6 filmsIngmar Bergman6 filmsJacques Tati6 filmsJean Renoir6 filmsJuzo Itami6 filmsMiloš Forman6 filmsOtar Iosseliani6 filmsVincente Minnelli6 filmsYasujiro Ozu6 filmsHal Ashby5 filmsHal Hartley5 filmsJacques Becker5 filmsJean-Pierre Jeunet5 filmsLuis Buñuel5 filmsNikita Mikhalkov5 filmsPier Paolo Pasolini5 filmsRadu Jude5 filmsSpike Lee5 filmsStephen Frears5 filmsTakeshi Kitano5 filmsAlberto Lattuada4 filmsAlexander Mackendrick4 filmsAng Lee4 filmsBill Forsyth4 filmsBruno Dumont4 filmsCorneliu Porumboiu4 filmsEttore Scola4 filmsGoran Paskaljević4 filmsGuy Ritchie4 filmsHarmony Korine4 filmsHayao Miyazaki4 filmsJoseph L. Mankiewicz4 filmsKen Loach4 filmsKon Ichikawa4 filmsLeo McCarey4 filmsLina Wertmüller4 filmsMike Leigh4 filmsNagisa Oshima4 filmsOnur Ünlü4 filmsPeter Greenaway4 filmsPietro Germi4 filmsRoy Andersson4 filmsShohei Imamura4 filmsTodd Phillips4 filmsVishal Bhardwaj4 filmsAgnès Varda3 filmsAlain Resnais3 filmsAnurag Kashyap3 filmsArnaud Desplechin3 filmsArthur Penn3 filmsAtıf Yılmaz3 filmsBarry Levinson3 filmsDavid Lean3 filmsEmilio Martínez-Lázaro3 filmsFerzan Özpetek3 filmsGeorge Roy Hill3 filmsHirokazu Kore-eda3 filmsHong Sang-soo3 filmsJacques Rivette3 filmsJean-Luc Godard3 filmsJerzy Skolimowski3 filmsLuigi Comencini3 filmsMack Sennett3 filmsMarco Ferreri3 filmsMerzak Allouache3 filmsMichel Hazanavicius3 filmsOusmane Sembène3 filmsPaolo Sorrentino3 filmsPaul Thomas Anderson3 filmsRadu Mihăileanu3 filmsRaj Kapoor3 filmsRenato Castellani3 filmsRichard Lester3 filmsRuben Östlund3 filmsSean Baker3 filmsSofia Coppola3 filmsSrdjan Dragojević3 filmsStanley Kramer3 filmsTim Burton3 filmsTolga Karaçelik3 filmsTsai Ming-liang3 filmsTunç Okan3 filmsVittorio De Sica3 filmsYorgos Lanthimos3 filmsZoya Akhtar3 filmsŽelimir Žilnik3 filmsAbdellatif Kechiche2 filmsAlan Parker2 filmsAlejandro G. Iñárritu2 filmsAlice Guy-Blaché2 filmsAmos Gitai2 filmsAthina Rachel Tsangari2 filmsAtom Egoyan2 filmsBertrand Tavernier2 filmsBob Rafelson2 filmsBrian De Palma2 filmsCarl Theodor Dreyer2 filmsChantal Akerman2 filmsCristi Puiu2 filmsDamien Chazelle2 filmsDamián Szifron2 filmsDanis Tanović2 filmsDerek Jarman2 filmsDjibril Diop Mambéty2 filmsEdward Yang2 filmsElem Klimov2 filmsElia Suleiman2 filmsFérid Boughedir2 filmsG.W. Pabst2 filmsGeorge A. Romero2 filmsGeorges Méliès2 filmsGoran Marković2 filmsGreta Gerwig2 filmsIsao Takahata2 filmsJacques Audiard2 filmsJacques Demy2 filmsJafar Panahi2 filmsJames Whale2 filmsJane Campion2 filmsJean-Pierre Bekolo2 filmsJoaquim Pedro de Andrade2 filmsJohn Cassavetes2 filmsJoseph Losey2 filmsJosé Luis García Sánchez2 filmsJustine Triet2 filmsKira Muratova2 filmsKrzysztof Kieślowski2 filmsLawrence Kasdan2 filmsLindsay Anderson2 filmsLouis Malle2 filmsLukas Moodysson2 filmsMarcel Carné2 filmsMartin Scorsese2 filmsMauritz Stiller2 filmsMax Ophüls2 filmsMichael Curtiz2 filmsMichael Winterbottom2 filmsMohsen Makhmalbaf2 filmsNadine Labaki2 filmsNicolas Roeg2 filmsNuri Bilge Ceylan2 filmsPeter Bogdanovich2 filmsPeter Weir2 filmsPhilippe Lioret2 filmsRichard Attenborough2 filmsRobert Siodmak2 filmsRobert Zemeckis2 filmsRoman Polanski2 filmsSatyajit Ray2 filmsSerdar Akar2 filmsShyam Benegal2 filmsSteven Soderbergh2 filmsTed Kotcheff2 filmsThomas Vinterberg2 filmsTomás Gutiérrez Alea2 filmsVictor Fleming2 filmsWerner Herzog2 filmsWerner Schroeter2 filmsWilfred Jackson2 filmsWilliam Wyler2 filmsWong Kar-wai2 filmsZeki Ökten2 filmsAbderrahmane Sissako1 filmAlain Tanner1 filmAleksandar Petrović1 filmAleksei German1 filmAlfonso Cuarón1 filmAlfred Hitchcock1 filmAli Özel1 filmAlice Rohrwacher1 filmAndrzej Żuławski1 filmAnn Hui1 filmAparna Sen1 filmAri Folman1 filmBahram Beyzaie1 filmBaz Luhrmann1 filmBen Sharpsteen1 filmBenjamin Christensen1 filmBille August1 filmBinka Zhelyazkova1 filmBo Widerberg1 filmBob Fosse1 filmBong Joon-ho1 filmCarlos Saura1 filmCarol Reed1 filmChetan Anand1 filmChristian Petzold1 filmClaire Denis1 filmClaude Lelouch1 filmCosta-Gavras1 filmCristian Mungiu1 filmCristian Nemescu1 filmCésar Fernández Ardavín1 filmCălin Peter Netzer1 filmD.W. Griffith1 filmDeepa Mehta1 filmDelbert Mann1 filmDouglas Sirk1 filmEdwin S. Porter1 filmElia Kazan1 filmElio Petri1 filmErmanno Olmi1 filmF.W. Murnau1 filmFatih Akin1 filmFernando Birri1 filmFernando Pérez1 filmFlora Gomes1 filmFrancis Ford Coppola1 filmFritz Lang1 filmGeorge Lucas1 filmGian Luigi Polidoro1 filmGianni Amelio1 filmGillian Armstrong1 filmGiuseppe Tornatore1 filmGleb Panfilov1 filmGuillermo del Toro1 filmGuru Dutt1 filmHany Abu-Assad1 filmHenri-Georges Clouzot1 filmIldikó Enyedi1 filmJanez Burger1 filmJasmila Žbanić1 filmJean Vigo1 filmJean-Marie Straub1 filmJean-Paul Le Chanois1 filmJia Zhangke1 filmJoachim Trier1 filmJohn Carpenter1 filmJohn Ford1 filmJohn Huston1 filmJohn Schlesinger1 filmJohn Woo1 filmJosef von Sternberg1 filmJoseph Cedar1 filmJulio Medem1 filmKaouther Ben Hania1 filmKarel Reisz1 filmKatsuhiro Otomo1 filmKeisuke Kinoshita1 filmKelly Reichardt1 filmKenji Mizoguchi1 filmKenneth Branagh1 filmKing Vidor1 filmKrzysztof Zanussi1 filmKunle Afolayan1 filmLars von Trier1 filmLaurent Cantet1 filmLev Kuleshov1 filmLouis Lumière1 filmLucian Pintilie1 filmLucrecia Martel1 filmMarco Bellocchio1 filmMaren Ade1 filmMario Bava1 filmMatteo Garrone1 filmMaurice Pialat1 filmMehboob Khan1 filmMetod Pevec1 filmMichael Cacoyannis1 filmMichael Cimino1 filmMichael Radford1 filmMike Newell1 filmMira Nair1 filmMrinal Sen1 filmNadav Lapid1 filmNeil Jordan1 filmNelson Pereira dos Santos1 filmOlivier Assayas1 filmOrson Welles1 filmPablo Larraín1 filmPablo Trapero1 filmPaul Leni1 filmPeter Jackson1 filmPeter Mullan1 filmPhilippe Garrel1 filmPowell & Pressburger1 filmQuentin Tarantino1 filmRadu Muntean1 filmRainer Werner Fassbinder1 filmRaoul Walsh1 filmRaúl Ruiz1 filmRené Clément1 filmRuy Guerra1 filmSam Peckinpah1 filmSarah Polley1 filmSatoshi Kon1 filmSeijun Suzuki1 filmSergio Corbucci1 filmSergio Leone1 filmSergio Sollima1 filmSrđan Karanović1 filmStanley Kubrick1 filmTengiz Abuladze1 filmTeona Strugar Mitevska1 filmThe Taviani Brothers1 filmTobe Hooper1 filmTodd Haynes1 filmTom Stoppard1 filmVsevolod Pudovkin1 filmWes Craven1 filmXavier Dolan1 filmYoussef Chahine1 filmZhang Yimou1 film

Often combined with

Drama Romance Crime Musical Fantasy Adventure

Top 100 rated films

  1. Back to the Future 1985 · Robert Zemeckis · IMDb 8.5
  2. City Lights 1931 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.5
  3. Modern Times 1936 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.5
  4. The Elusive Summer of '68 1984 · Goran Paskaljević · IMDb 8.4
  5. The Great Dictator 1940 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.4
  6. Me, Grandma, Iliko and Ilarion 1962 · Tengiz Abuladze · IMDb 8.3
  7. Singin' in the Rain 1952 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 8.3
  8. The Apartment 1960 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
  9. We Are Not Angels 1992 · Srdjan Dragojević · IMDb 8.3
  10. Amélie 2001 · Jean-Pierre Jeunet · IMDb 8.2
  11. Il Sorpasso 1962 · Dino Risi · IMDb 8.2
  12. Late Spring 1949 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.2
  13. Snatch 2000 · Guy Ritchie · IMDb 8.2
  14. Some Like It Hot 1959 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.2
  15. The Kid 1921 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.2
  16. The Sting 1973 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.2
  17. The Truman Show 1998 · Peter Weir · IMDb 8.2
  18. A Trip to the Moon 1902 · Georges Méliès · IMDb 8.1
  19. Before Sunrise 1995 · Richard Linklater · IMDb 8.1
  20. Dead Poets Society 1989 · Peter Weir · IMDb 8.1
  21. Dimensions of Dialogue 1982 · Jan Švankmajer · IMDb 8.1
  22. It Happened One Night 1934 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
  23. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 · Guy Ritchie · IMDb 8.1
  24. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
  25. My Neighbor Totoro 1988 · Hayao Miyazaki · IMDb 8.1
  26. One Week 1920 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  27. Paper Moon 1973 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.1
  28. Safety Last! 1923 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 8.1
  29. Sherlock Jr. 1924 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  30. The Big Lebowski 1998 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.1
  31. The Circus 1928 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.1
  32. The General 1926 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  33. The Gold Rush 1925 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.1
  34. The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 · Wes Anderson · IMDb 8.1
  35. The Great War 1959 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 8.1
  36. Time of the Gypsies 1988 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 8.1
  37. To Be or Not to Be 1942 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 8.1
  38. Wild Tales 2014 · Damián Szifron · IMDb 8.1
  39. A Difficult Life 1961 · Dino Risi · IMDb 8.0
  40. Black Cat, White Cat 1998 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 8.0
  41. Day for Night 1973 · François Truffaut · IMDb 8.0
  42. Early Summer 1951 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.0
  43. La Dolce Vita 1960 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.0
  44. La La Land 2016 · Damien Chazelle · IMDb 8.0
  45. Limelight 1952 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.0
  46. Roman Holiday 1953 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.0
  47. Secrets & Lies 1996 · Mike Leigh · IMDb 8.0
  48. The Graduate 1967 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0
  49. The Shop Around the Corner 1940 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 8.0
  50. The Wounds 1998 · Srdjan Dragojević · IMDb 8.0
  51. Underground 1995 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 8.0
  52. We All Loved Each Other So Much 1974 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 8.0
  53. Annie Hall 1977 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.9
  54. Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.9
  55. Being There 1979 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.9
  56. Big Deal on Madonna Street 1958 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 7.9
  57. Boyhood 2014 · Richard Linklater · IMDb 7.9
  58. Chungking Express 1994 · Wong Kar-wai · IMDb 7.9
  59. Divorce Italian Style 1961 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.9
  60. Do the Right Thing 1989 · Spike Lee · IMDb 7.9
  61. Fantastic Mr. Fox 2009 · Wes Anderson · IMDb 7.9
  62. Late Autumn 1960 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.9
  63. My Friends 1975 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 7.9
  64. No Man's Land 2001 · Danis Tanović · IMDb 7.9
  65. Seduced and Abandoned 1964 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.9
  66. Stalag 17 1953 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 7.9
  67. Sullivan's Travels 1941 · Preston Sturges · IMDb 7.9
  68. Tampopo 1985 · Juzo Itami · IMDb 7.9
  69. The Executioner 1963 · Luis García Berlanga · IMDb 7.9
  70. The Holdovers 2023 · Alexander Payne · IMDb 7.9
  71. The Rules of the Game 1939 · Jean Renoir · IMDb 7.9
  72. Tito and Me 1992 · Goran Marković · IMDb 7.9
  73. Trouble in Paradise 1932 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.9
  74. Welcome Mr. Marshall! 1953 · Luis García Berlanga · IMDb 7.9
  75. All About My Mother 1999 · Pedro Almodóvar · IMDb 7.8
  76. Amarcord 1973 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.8
  77. Bringing Up Baby 1938 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.8
  78. Camera Buff 1979 · Krzysztof Kieślowski · IMDb 7.8
  79. Cléo from 5 to 7 1962 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.8
  80. Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.8
  81. Eat Drink Man Woman 1994 · Ang Lee · IMDb 7.8
  82. Ed Wood 1994 · Tim Burton · IMDb 7.8
  83. Equinox Flower 1958 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
  84. Good Morning 1959 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
  85. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 7.8
  86. Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.8
  87. Harold and Maude 1971 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.8
  88. His Girl Friday 1940 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.8
  89. I Vitelloni 1953 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.8
  90. I Was Born, But... 1932 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
  91. Il Postino 1994 · Michael Radford · IMDb 7.8
  92. Isle of Dogs 2018 · Wes Anderson · IMDb 7.8
  93. Kaos 1984 · The Taviani Brothers · IMDb 7.8
  94. Manhattan 1979 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.8
  95. Monsieur Verdoux 1947 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.8
  96. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.8
  97. My Night at Maud's 1969 · Eric Rohmer · IMDb 7.8
  98. My Sweet Little Village 1986 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 7.8
  99. Ninotchka 1939 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.8
  100. One, Two, Three 1961 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 7.8