Black Humour
"Black comedy...also known as 'black humour' or 'dark comedy', is a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously – death, mass murder, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, war etc - are treated in a humorous or satirical manner." - Wikipedia
Good Stuff! Alice's dark comedy delights await below.
Cabaret (1972)
7.8/10
Director: Bob Fosse
Starring: Michael York, Marisa Berenson, Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Helmut Griem
Winner of 8 Oscars, including Best Director (Bob Fosse), Best Actress (Lisa Minnelli) and Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey) and widely regarded as one... Read more
The Ruling Class (1972)
7.6/10
Director: Peter Medak
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe
Outrageously funny satire features an Oscar-nominated performance by Peter O'Toole as a British earl who thinks he's Jesus Christ. Wicked barbs are th... Read more
Harold and Maude ( Blu-ray ) (1971)
8/10
Director: Hal Ashby
Starring: Bud Cort, Cyril Cusack, Ruth Gordon, Vivian Pickles
With the idiosyncratic American fable "Harold and Maude", countercultural director Hal Ashby fashioned what would become the cult classic of its era.... Read more
The Hospital (1971)
7.2/10
Director: Arthur Hiller
Starring: Diana Rigg, George C Scott
A black comedy-drama centering on Dr. Herbert Bock (George C. Scott), a bitter, suicidal surgeon. While patients at the hospital die left and right du... Read more
Cousin Bette (1971)
8.3/10
Director: Gareth Davis
Starring: Helen Mirren, Thorley Walters, Margaret Tyzack
Based on the novel by Honore de Balzac, Cousin Bette is a poor spinster and a frequent visitor to her cousin Baron Hulot's household. When she is betr... Read more
Harold and Maude (1971)
8/10
Director: Hal Ashby
Starring: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Cyril Cusack, Vivian Pickles
With the idiosyncratic American fable "Harold and Maude", countercultural director Hal Ashby fashioned what would become the cult classic of its era.... Read more
The Decameron (1971)
7.1/10
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Angela Luce
The first part of Pasolini's great trilogy, based on the ribald tales of Boccaccio, which deal with human sensuality and artistic creation. Pasolini h... Read more
Bed and Board ( Domicile Conjugal ) (1970)
4.8/10
Director: Francois Truffaut
Starring: Claude Jade, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Hiroko Berghauer
This warm and affectionate film, the penultimate in the Antoine Doinel series, depicts French middle-class life with ironic and wry humour. Jean-Pierr... Read more
Joe (1970)
6.9/10
Director: John G Avildsen
Starring: Peter Boyle, Dennis Patrick, Susan Sarandon, Patrick McDermott
One of the milestone films of its era, this satirical drama stars Peter Boyle as a bigoted, beer-swilling hardhat who helps a strait-laced advertising... Read more
M*A*S*H ( Blu-ray ) (1969)
8.4/10
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Rene Auberjonois, Robert Duvall, Sally Kellerm...
Director Robert Altman's innovative dark comedy about the everyday escapades of an Army medical unit during the Korean War stars Elliott Gould, Donald... Read more