Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

framptonhollis The interesting thing about "A Night at the Opera" is how much of a genuine, cliché plot it has. There is an obvious villain and protagonist, and both have goals that end in nothing but predictability. However, it gets interesting when the main attraction, that being the brilliant wit of the Marx Brothers, steps in. Every character other than these three wonderful, wild buffoons, is of a cliché and predictable nature, but they certainly aren't! While everyone else is playing it straight, they prove that they're still the same old Marx Brothers as they showcase some of their most hilarious and creative gags. I just find it truly unique and entertaining how this film feels as if its trying to be a predictable and heartwarming musical, but it keeps being interrupted by the absolutely unpredictable creativity of the Marx Brothers. The fact that everybody else is playing it so straight just adds to the great comedy here. Its all so creative and fantastic, and it is all the more creative and all the more fantastic when it is set up against the backdrop of what would normally be considered a melodramatic Hollywood musical!

richspenc Groucho strikes gold again in Hollywood's age of gold in 'Night at the opera". The hilarious moments start right away at a restaurant where Mrs. Claypool (Margarate Durmonte) is meeting Otis P. Driftwood (Groucho) and he's already there with another woman (and with his back to Margarate) and he then joins Margarate (Groucho to Margarate: "you had your back to me. When I meet a woman I expect her to look at my face, that's the price she hasta pay"). Groucho continues ("I was only with that woman cause she reminded me of you. Everything about you also reminds me of you, your hair, your eyes, everything about you reminds me of you, except you".). The humor continues. The Marxs board a ship. So does Margarate and Rosa (Kitty Carlisle). Kitty sings "Alone" to Riccardo (Allen Jones) with her wonderful voice. She's also very beautiful. Ricardo sings talented too. I also like how even in the middle of "Alone", the Marx bros continue their hyjinks such as Groucho asking a ship crew as ship is about to depart: "do I have time to leave the ship to pay a hotel bill?" Crew member: "no, its too late". Groucho: "thats fine with me". Then "Alone" continues so beautifully that I really didn't care that the song was interrupted halfway with the Marx's hyjinks. Numerous more hilarious scenes coming. Groucho finds out the size of his room when pushing his giant suitcase in there and sees it's almost the size of the room (Groucho to porter: "maybe tomorrow, can you take the case out of the room and I can go in it"). Out of the case comes stowaways Harpo, Chico, and Ricardo. Groucho orders food with them behind him in room (Harpo honks his horn then Groucho to caterer 3 times: "and two hard boiled eggs" Harpo honks shorter honk, "and one duck egg" Harpo honks repeatedly, "either it's getting foggy out or 12 more hard boiled eggs"). Then more people, one after another, enter the room; two maids, an electrician, a manicurist, some girl, three caterers with food, and a cleaner. Groucho to cleaner: " you can mop the ceiling, it's the only place where there's room". Watch what happens then when Margarate opens the door. Hilarious. Then another great music act on the ship deck with Jones singing Casi casa with the Italain passengers dancing enjoying it, then another great Chico piano performance. Soon then Harpo, Chico, and Jones disguising themselves as longbearded aviators (they impersonated the same 3 guys that were on the ship where Groucho said "is that 3 guys or one guy with 3 beards?"), and them presenting themselves City hall antics with Chico's very hilarious story about how they crossed the Atlantic and Harpo drinking glass after glass of water (and Groucho saying "hurry it up, I see a guy in the crowd with a rope"). Continuous very funny scenes include Groucho, the detective, and the disappearing beds in the apartment, and the Marx's antics at the opera including the great "take me out to the ballgame joke. And I know not everyone agrees but I also enjoyed the opera music, Kitty and Jones' "Alone" earlier on the ship, and the songs at the opera. Passion and.hilarious humur are a very really good mix

Ryan Ellis A Night At The Opera inspires memories of Kitty Carlisle and Alan Jones as 2 charismatic young lovers. Their, uh, operatic romance was a highlight of 1930s cinema, overshadowing everything else in this picture. Oh, but the movie was missing a key ingredient. The hilarious Zeppo Marx had retired from acting after his one-of-a-kind work in Duck Soup. A pity.Okay, reverse everything in that first paragraph and you'll have the truth. Nobody cares about Carlisle or Jones, probably not even Carlisle or Jones. As for Zeppo, the day he gave up his career as a thespian, the film world's yawn was very loudly indifferent. No, this picture is all about the zaniness of the non-Zeppo Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico and Harpo). The former vaudevillians overshadowed everyone else who ever appeared in their films. Groucho's oft-naughty wordplay and Harpo's silent antics are legendary. Chico never got enough credit for playing off his 2 brothers as well as he did.You can't talk about A Night At The Opera for even 2 minutes without bringing up the infamous stateroom sequence. The 3 Marxes, various workmen, maids and other hangers-on, all crowd into one small room on an ocean liner. Why they're all in there and how the situation resolves itself won't be revealed here. It's funny and it's been imitated by dozens of movies and TV shows in the years since A Night At The Opera came out. You probably recognize it even if you haven't seen this movie.Was that scene and the Marx Brothers typical insanity enough to make this movie worthy of being on the American Film Institute's Top 100 list in 2007? It's a dubious choice, especially if your feeling is that a little of Groucho goes a long way. The piano/harp scene by Chico and Harpo is a great one, but it stops the, uh, story cold. So, no, A Night At The Opera is not one of the greatest movies ever made, but it's not without its charm...and it has Carlisle and Jones! Remember them? Oh. Right. No one does.If you got anything at all out of this quickie review, check out the website I share with my wife (www.top100project.com) and go to the "Podcasts" section for our 18-minute Night At The Opera 'cast...and many others. Or find us on Itunes under "The Top 100 Project".

utgard14 While I personally prefer the Marx Bros' Paramount films, this one is probably the best of their MGM work. It features some of their most famous bits. The contract scene between Groucho and Chico ("Party of the first part...") and the stateroom scene are comedy classics. There are tons of great lines throughout. Groucho's zingers are hilarious, as usual. It's not all good, though. The terrible singing numbers from Allan Jones and Kitty Carlisle leave a lot to be desired. The Marx Bros' comedy works best when it's a free-for-all, with rapid-fire jokes and one gag after another. The more they included forced romantic subplots and musical numbers, the slower the pace was. Still, the comedy is superb. Watch and enjoy the laughs. Just be prepared to fast-forward through the Jones/Carlisle scenes.