Looking for dark drama/comedies...help! - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

Marthalamew0 · 10-03-2002, 01:56 AM

I need some recommendations on some dark comedy movies and drama movies. An example from the comedy genre would be American Psycho with Christian Bale. An example from the drama genre would be Payback with Mel Gibson. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Nyarlathotep · 10-03-2002, 03:23 AM

I don't know how "dark" it has to be for you to consider one, but these are some good ones that I would consider "dark comedies":
Brazil
House
Shadow of the Vampire
Time Bandits
UHF (kidding

)
Very Bad Things (probably close to the epitome of dark comedies)
The Cable Guy
The Burbs (maybe.. it's been a LONG time, and I don't remember very much of it)
Natural Born Killers (maybe I'm strange thinking of this as a comedy?

)
Parents (been a long time, but I remember it as being a dark funny movie)

There've been others I've seen, but I can't remember them right now..

rolisme · 10-03-2002, 03:49 AM

Shallow Grave is a favorite of mine.

SephirothClone · 10-03-2002, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep
Natural Born Killers (maybe I'm strange thinking of this as a comedy? )

Its kinda funny. In a twisted killer way.

Monterey Jack · 10-03-2002, 05:02 AM

Fight Club is a great black comedy.

**SilentBob** · 10-03-2002, 05:06 AM

The Royal Tenenbaums is my favourite but haven't seen alot. Cable Guy is another good choice but already mention. American Psycho was awesome

still need to pick it up.

videoworx · 10-03-2002, 06:01 AM

How to get ahead in advertising
Tie me up, Tie me Down
Throw momma from the Train
War of the Roses

Deez108 · 10-03-2002, 06:13 AM

I don't know if the whole movie would be considered dark, but Groundhog's Day certainly had some pretty dark moments.

theta · 10-03-2002, 07:34 AM

If you want a thriller darker than midnight at the bottom of a Arctic mineshaft during the winter, try "Blind Beast." It's really obscure, it's directed by a Japanese New Wave director, Yasuzo Masumura, who doesn't get a lot of play here in the States (four of his films "Blind Beast", "Afraid To Die", and "Giants and Toys" are available.)

samhell · 10-03-2002, 07:38 AM

Hitchcock's "The Trouble with Harry".

Travis Bickle · 10-03-2002, 08:43 AM

Here's afew suggestions:

The Man Who Wasn't There
Dark City
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Maltese Falcon

Agalloch · 10-03-2002, 09:31 AM

Here's a recent one for ya:

Death to Smoochy

Agalloch

Nyarlathotep · 10-03-2002, 10:42 AM

I suppose Fight Club could be considered a comedy at that.. I totally blanked on American Psycho, though, and that's probably as close to a perfect example of a dark comedy as Very Bad Things..

I haven't seen Throw Momma From the Train or War of the Roses, although I've heard both are quite good. Death to Smoochy I REALLY wanted to see in the theater but didn't get the chance, and I'm not sure whether I want to make a blind purchase with it..

Hendrik · 10-03-2002, 12:45 PM

...Happiness...

. . .

. . .

scarredgod · 10-03-2002, 01:56 PM

i second both "parents" (very dark) and "happiness" (sickly funny).

i recommend "neighbors" with john belushi and dan ackroyd, i know the majority of people hate it but i love it. one of my all time favorites.

"the dark backward" is another twisted and dark comedy with judd nelson and bill paxton.

kamelnat · 10-03-2002, 02:44 PM

Heathers (The ultimate dark comedy)
The House of Yes
Nurse Betty
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Mr. Show 1st & 2nd Seasons
Beetlejuice
Wonder Boys
High Spirits
The Butcher Boy
Being John Malkovich
Buffalo '66
Four Rooms
To Die For
Addams Family
Ravenous
Psycho Beach Party
Slums of Beverly Hills

Lannister · 10-03-2002, 02:50 PM

I would consider Re-animator to be a dark comedy.

Prancer · 10-03-2002, 03:54 PM

I recommend Donnie Darko as dark drama.

Some other Dark Dramas:

The 4th Man - Paul Verhoeven

Seconds - Rock Hudson

Crimes of Passion

The Talented Mr. Ripley

9 1/2 Weeks

The Comfort of Strangers - not out on DVDs yet but boy is it DARK!

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - Peter Greenaway

Gods and Monsters

The Reflecting Skin - not on DVDs yet. Surreal.

Heavenly Creatures - Kate Winslet stars and directed by the KICK ARSE Peter Jackson!!!!

Blue Velvet - I guess most/all of David Lynch films are considered dark.

Dark Comedies:

Barfly

Fargo

Raising Arizona

Ghost World

Welcome to the Dollhouse (Happiness, mentioned already by other smart members)

Monty Python's The Life of Brian - Criterion Collection

The Witches of Eastwick

American Beauty

Skip McCoy · 10-03-2002, 06:16 PM

Lots of good suggestions here....
Dark drama-THE RATCACHER
-COmedy-
-Storytelling(if you like Welcome to the Dollhouse and HAppiness-you might like this)

-Coldblooded-this movie is only on vhs sadly-but it's a great dark comedy about hitmen-starring Jason Priestly(he's really good in it), Josh Charles, Peter Riegert, Robert Loggia and Janeane Garafolo.

-Wet Hot American Summer-has lots of darkness to it too
-Buffalo 66-I know it's already been mentioned-but I LOVE this movie-great stuff.

JeffreyLebowski · 10-03-2002, 07:56 PM

Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men" is definitely one of my favorites of the dark comedy/drama genre.

Rent It....Love It....Buy It.

Prancer · 10-03-2002, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffreyLebowski
Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men" is definitely one of my favorites of the dark comedy/drama genre.

Rent It....Love It....Buy It.

WOW, totally forgot about this one. This is truly a good good black comedy!!!!

Aaron Eckhart & Stacey Edwards!

I am liking these recommendations and will have to now check out Storytelling. (Loved Happiness and Welcome to the Dollhouse!)

Skip McCoy · 10-03-2002, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by scarredgod
i recommend "neighbors" with john belushi and dan ackroyd, i know the majority of people hate it but i love it. one of my all time favorites.

I don' know quite what it is about this movie-it's certainly weird. I like it a lot myself. It's not one of my favorites, but I enjoy it. I tried recommending it to a friend recently. She watched it and she didn't like it. Too bad. If you're in the right frame of mind for dark weirdness-it's just the thing...

Skip McCoy · 10-03-2002, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Prancer

Seconds - Rock Hudson

Cri

My favorite John Frankenheimer film(I like it better than the Manchurian Candidate). A great dark drama. Like an extended twilight zone. And beautifully photographed in black and white by master cinematographer James Wong Howe.

That reminds me-SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS is another OLDER dark drama-stars Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster(also shot by James Wong Howe-Director Curtis HAnson has said that this film was an influence on his vision of L.A. in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL).

rtcpenguin · 10-03-2002, 10:00 PM

Donnie Darko and Fight Club are both exceptional...

tqpix · 10-03-2002, 11:49 PM

To Die For

JeffHanawalt · 10-03-2002, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Agalloch
Here's a recent one for ya:

Death to Smoochy

Agalloch

I second that! Not only is it a good dark comedy (Danny DeVito
seems to like dark stuff), it is politically incorrect! Some of my
other favorite dark comedies- Eating Raoul (unfortunately not
available on DVD), Jerry And Tom (wonderful comedy about two
hitmen), Very Bad Things, Trainspotting (very very dark),
Arsenic And Old Lace (a classic), Lock, Stock And Two Smoking
Barrels, Snatch, and of course Pulp Fiction has alot of good
dark comedy.

AnonomusBob15 · 10-03-2002, 11:57 PM

Happiness is probably the darkest one I own.

robarnold99 · 10-04-2002, 02:28 AM

I'll throw my vote in for one I haven't seen mentioned yet.

Gormenghast, a good movie based on the books of Mervyn Peake. A kitchen boy becomes unhappy with his position in the kingdom of Gormenghast, and decides to do whatever it takes to reach the top. One of the main characters, Steerpike, is just like Alex from "A Clockwork Orange". Which comes as no suprise since Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) was a huge fan of Mervyn Peake. Good stuff.

"77 generations built the kingdom of Gormenghast... Will one kitchen boy bring it down?"

Skip McCoy · 10-04-2002, 07:49 PM

On the dark drama note- Frank Whaley wroe and directed a film called Joe The King a few years back. It's kind of bleak, but pretty good. It's very much influenced by Truffaut's the 400 Blows-which is one of Whaley's favorite films.

Dr. Shrinker · 10-05-2002, 07:01 AM

Another good recent dark comedy is "Novocaine" with Steve Martin, although the ending is unnecessarily light, imo.

LocoDuck · 10-05-2002, 12:18 PM

The Way Of The Gun - The cover of the movie and the title make
it seem like a western, but it is not.
Catch that the main caracters are named
Parker and Longbaugh (the real names of
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

Crow331 · 10-05-2002, 06:06 PM

The Opposite of Sex starring Christina Ricci is a very good dark comedy ...

Throw ELECTION in there as well ...

tvboy · 10-06-2002, 03:48 AM

Dark Comedy:

Brazil
Man Bites Dog
Natural Born Killers
Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
How To Get Ahead In Advertising
Very Bad Things
Heathers
Dr Strangelove
Catch-22

Dark Drama:

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her Lover
Fight Club
Salo
Seconds
The Vanishing (Dutch version only!)
The Night Porter
M
Insomnia (Criterion)
Peeping Tom
Se7en
A Clockwork Orange
Blood Simple
Reservoir Dogs

10-03-2002, 01:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Marthalamew0 Banned Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Illinois	Looking for dark drama/comedies...help! I need some recommendations on some dark comedy movies and drama movies. An example from the comedy genre would be American Psycho with Christian Bale. An example from the drama genre would be Payback with Mel Gibson. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

10-03-2002, 03:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
Nyarlathotep Actor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: So. Cal.	I don't know how "dark" it has to be for you to consider one, but these are some good ones that I would consider "dark comedies": Brazil House Shadow of the Vampire Time Bandits UHF (kidding ) Very Bad Things (probably close to the epitome of dark comedies) The Cable Guy The Burbs (maybe.. it's been a LONG time, and I don't remember very much of it) Natural Born Killers (maybe I'm strange thinking of this as a comedy? ) Parents (been a long time, but I remember it as being a dark funny movie) There've been others I've seen, but I can't remember them right now.. __________________ The Crawling Chaos' DVDs and favorite movies.

10-03-2002, 03:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
rolisme Actor Join Date: Feb 2002	Shallow Grave is a favorite of mine. __________________ If you don't like my opinion, don't ask the question. If you never asked the question, just ignore my post. "A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer." - Seneca 55 BC-39 AD

10-03-2002, 05:02 AM	#5 (permalink)
Monterey Jack Wants to be John Smith Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Walpole, MA U.S.A.	Fight Club is a great black comedy. __________________ Lol VHS forty dollars??? more like dvd's 5 dollars hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha skip a long to blu ray disc and get with the freakin program!!!!!!!! LOL -ty_guy123321@hotmal.com

10-03-2002, 05:06 AM	#6 (permalink)
SilentBob Silent Director/Silent Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Burlington, Ontario	The Royal Tenenbaums is my favourite but haven't seen alot. Cable Guy is another good choice but already mention. American Psycho was awesome still need to pick it up. __________________ SilentBob's DVD's Supporting both HD-DVD and Blu-ray XBOX LIVE: luvthempocket8s PS3 ONLINE: pokerlover

10-03-2002, 06:01 AM	#7 (permalink)
videoworx Would Make a Good Incubus Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: nowhere near Nebraska	How to get ahead in advertising Tie me up, Tie me Down Throw momma from the Train War of the Roses

10-03-2002, 06:13 AM	#8 (permalink)
Deez108 Actor Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Greenwich, CT	I don't know if the whole movie would be considered dark, but Groundhog's Day certainly had some pretty dark moments. __________________ "I'm Making This Up As I Go"-Indiana Jones

10-03-2002, 07:34 AM	#9 (permalink)
theta Cheap Cerebral Paralysis Join Date: May 2002 Location: In aintnosin's basement	A few more offbeat recommendations If you want a thriller darker than midnight at the bottom of a Arctic mineshaft during the winter, try "Blind Beast." It's really obscure, it's directed by a Japanese New Wave director, Yasuzo Masumura, who doesn't get a lot of play here in the States (four of his films "Blind Beast", "Afraid To Die", and "Giants and Toys" are available.) __________________ "I need bling, I tell you, BLING!!!" --Palmerlime Theta's discs, 300 mark crossed, 400 here we come!

10-03-2002, 07:38 AM	#10 (permalink)
samhell Fantasy Football Champion Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Longview, Texas	Hitchcock's "The Trouble with Harry".

10-03-2002, 08:43 AM	#11 (permalink)
Travis Bickle Actor Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Far west to the centre of the universe	Here's afew suggestions: The Man Who Wasn't There Dark City Crimes and Misdemeanors Maltese Falcon __________________ Travis' DVD Collection XBox Gamertag: Winston Wolf

10-03-2002, 09:31 AM	#12 (permalink)
Agalloch Actor Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Eugene, OR	Here's a recent one for ya: Death to Smoochy Agalloch

10-03-2002, 10:42 AM	#13 (permalink)
Nyarlathotep Actor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: So. Cal.	I suppose Fight Club could be considered a comedy at that.. I totally blanked on American Psycho, though, and that's probably as close to a perfect example of a dark comedy as Very Bad Things.. I haven't seen Throw Momma From the Train or War of the Roses, although I've heard both are quite good. Death to Smoochy I REALLY wanted to see in the theater but didn't get the chance, and I'm not sure whether I want to make a blind purchase with it.. __________________ The Crawling Chaos' DVDs and favorite movies.

10-03-2002, 12:45 PM	#14 (permalink)
Hendrik Actor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Neuenhof, Switzerland	...Happiness... . . . . . .

10-03-2002, 01:56 PM	#15 (permalink)
scarredgod Actor Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: pittsburgh, PA	i second both "parents" (very dark) and "happiness" (sickly funny). i recommend "neighbors" with john belushi and dan ackroyd, i know the majority of people hate it but i love it. one of my all time favorites. "the dark backward" is another twisted and dark comedy with judd nelson and bill paxton.

10-03-2002, 02:44 PM	#16 (permalink)
kamelnat Supporting Actor Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: dc, but i like to say jersey	dark comedies Heathers (The ultimate dark comedy) The House of Yes Nurse Betty Welcome to the Dollhouse Mr. Show 1st & 2nd Seasons Beetlejuice Wonder Boys High Spirits The Butcher Boy Being John Malkovich Buffalo '66 Four Rooms To Die For Addams Family Ravenous Psycho Beach Party Slums of Beverly Hills

10-03-2002, 02:50 PM	#17 (permalink)
Lannister Actor Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Norfolk, VA	I would consider Re-animator to be a dark comedy.

10-03-2002, 03:54 PM	#18 (permalink)
Prancer Actor Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Baltimore, MD-USA	I recommend Donnie Darko as dark drama. Some other Dark Dramas: The 4th Man - Paul Verhoeven Seconds - Rock Hudson Crimes of Passion The Talented Mr. Ripley 9 1/2 Weeks The Comfort of Strangers - not out on DVDs yet but boy is it DARK! The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - Peter Greenaway Gods and Monsters The Reflecting Skin - not on DVDs yet. Surreal. Heavenly Creatures - Kate Winslet stars and directed by the KICK ARSE Peter Jackson!!!! Blue Velvet - I guess most/all of David Lynch films are considered dark. Dark Comedies: Barfly Fargo Raising Arizona Ghost World Welcome to the Dollhouse (Happiness, mentioned already by other smart members) Monty Python's The Life of Brian - Criterion Collection The Witches of Eastwick American Beauty __________________ "I hope that when the world ends, I can breathe a sigh of relief because there will be so much to look forward to…”

10-03-2002, 06:16 PM	#19 (permalink)
Skip McCoy Actor Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Los Angeles	Lots of good suggestions here.... Dark drama-THE RATCACHER -COmedy- -Storytelling(if you like Welcome to the Dollhouse and HAppiness-you might like this) -Coldblooded-this movie is only on vhs sadly-but it's a great dark comedy about hitmen-starring Jason Priestly(he's really good in it), Josh Charles, Peter Riegert, Robert Loggia and Janeane Garafolo. -Wet Hot American Summer-has lots of darkness to it too -Buffalo 66-I know it's already been mentioned-but I LOVE this movie-great stuff. __________________ "Well, I'm outta here. Dark Shadows doesn't watch itself...." My DVD things

10-03-2002, 07:56 PM	#20 (permalink)
JeffreyLebowski Supporting Actor Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chicago, IL	Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men" is definitely one of my favorites of the dark comedy/drama genre. Rent It....Love It....Buy It.

10-03-2002, 10:00 PM	#24 (permalink)
rtcpenguin Actor Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Fairfax, VA	Donnie Darko and Fight Club are both exceptional...

10-03-2002, 11:49 PM	#25 (permalink)
tqpix Actor Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Planet Earth.	To Die For __________________ 00 <> )-(

10-03-2002, 11:57 PM	#27 (permalink)
AnonomusBob15 Actor for over 4 years now! Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Auburn University	Happiness is probably the darkest one I own. __________________ The Revised DVD Collection

10-04-2002, 02:28 AM	#28 (permalink)
robarnold99 Wants a Body Massage Join Date: Feb 2002	I'll throw my vote in for one I haven't seen mentioned yet. Gormenghast, a good movie based on the books of Mervyn Peake. A kitchen boy becomes unhappy with his position in the kingdom of Gormenghast, and decides to do whatever it takes to reach the top. One of the main characters, Steerpike, is just like Alex from "A Clockwork Orange". Which comes as no suprise since Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) was a huge fan of Mervyn Peake. Good stuff. "77 generations built the kingdom of Gormenghast... Will one kitchen boy bring it down?" __________________ I saw three of these dusters a short time ago, they were waiting for a train. Inside the dusters, there were three men. Inside the men, there were three bullets.

10-04-2002, 07:49 PM	#29 (permalink)
Skip McCoy Actor Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Los Angeles	On the dark drama note- Frank Whaley wroe and directed a film called Joe The King a few years back. It's kind of bleak, but pretty good. It's very much influenced by Truffaut's the 400 Blows-which is one of Whaley's favorite films. __________________ "Well, I'm outta here. Dark Shadows doesn't watch itself...." My DVD things

10-05-2002, 07:01 AM	#30 (permalink)
Dr. Shrinker Reverse Psychologist Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: "THE" O.C.	Another good recent dark comedy is "Novocaine" with Steve Martin, although the ending is unnecessarily light, imo. __________________ "I like the idea of a LEGO CGI movie, but the Bionicle stuff was just too dumb and difficult to follow." -- mtcarmel00

10-05-2002, 12:18 PM	#31 (permalink)
LocoDuck Supporting Actor Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: sitting in front of my computer... naked. Thinking about what you're wearing.	The Way Of The Gun - The cover of the movie and the title make it seem like a western, but it is not. Catch that the main caracters are named Parker and Longbaugh (the real names of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

10-05-2002, 06:06 PM	#32 (permalink)
Crow331 Actor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Los Angeles	The Opposite of Sex starring Christina Ricci is a very good dark comedy ... Throw ELECTION in there as well ...

10-06-2002, 03:48 AM	#33 (permalink)
tvboy Actor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: The Taxation Nation: Canada	Dark Comedy: Brazil Man Bites Dog Natural Born Killers Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels How To Get Ahead In Advertising Very Bad Things Heathers Dr Strangelove Catch-22 Dark Drama: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her Lover Fight Club Salo Seconds The Vanishing (Dutch version only!) The Night Porter M Insomnia (Criterion) Peeping Tom Se7en A Clockwork Orange Blood Simple Reservoir Dogs __________________ Always remember that Triumph of the Will is just like Pirates of the Carribean. Only in black and white. MacAndMe My DVD Collection

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