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Information
- A.k.a.
- The Last Laugh
- Year
- 1924
- Runtime
- 90 min.
- Director
- F.W. Murnau
- Genre
- Drama
- Rating *
- 8.0
- Votes *
- 8,395
- Checks
- 3,645
- Favs
- 397
- Dislikes
- 30
- Favs/checks
- 10.9% (1:9)
- Favs/dislikes
- 13:1
Top comments
-
ClassicLady
Superb! I loved it. The cinematography was spectacular for that time, although I shouldn't be surprised since it is German. The story was a little difficult to believe since the surroundings the characters lived in suggested they all had rather menial or blue-collar jobs. This makes the embarrassment and humiliation of his family a little hard to understand. Still, I was taken in by it and loved every minute. I also like that the inter-title before the ending hinted at the fact that the author/director was ambivalent about how to end it, i.e., on a sad, down note - which might actually be more in keeping with reality - or on a happy note - which more people would like to see. Obviously he chose the
which probably helped sell more tickets.
9 years 11 months ago
-
dombrewer
I was less convinced by this than those who claim "masterpiece" - it was, of course, an exceptional film for its time, with some clever camera work and beautiful art direction (including a wonderful shot of the enormously tall revolving doors in the Porter's dream), but Emil Jannings performance is so tiresomely melodramatic, endlessly staring with horror into the middle distance, it's a permanent distraction and more than evidence enough that the old dodderer needed to be replaced as quickly as possible (he miraculously straightens up and moves like lightening though when he has to sneak his uniform out of the hotel though). For such a simple story it makes very little sense; as greenhorg pointed out - one menial job is just the same as another to people who actually have no job, fancy uniform or no, and makes his family throwing him out of his own home for the shame of working as a toilet attendant as unlikely as the tacked on "dream" ending. Personally I didn't think it a patch on Murnau's other famous silent, supernatural classics - Nosferatu and Faust. 10 years 9 months ago -
BareLolk
When I saw it, I was pleased - but not convinced.
When I woke up the following day, it hit me how great it is.
I actually think, that the "forced" ending works great - only because of the inter-title describing it. It says a lot about the art of making movies, and how Murnau and every other great artist had and have to deal with the public perception. 9 years 3 months ago
Friends
Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!In 17 official lists
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This movie ranks #9 in Paul Rotha's Silent but Not Forgotten
Paul Rotha's Silent but …
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This movie ranks #13 in iCheckMovies's 1920s Top 100
iCheckMovies's 1920s Top…
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This movie ranks #16 in IMDb's 1920s Top 50
IMDb's 1920s Top 50
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This movie ranks #18 in BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project
BFI's 360 Classic Featur…
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This movie ranks #19 in Kinemathekverbund's The 100 Most Important German Films
Kinemathekverbund's The …
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This movie ranks #19 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
1001 Movies You Must See…
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This movie ranks #22 in Silent Era's The Top 300 Silent Era Films
Silent Era's The Top 300…
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This movie ranks #23 in Eureka!'s The Masters of Cinema Series
Eureka!'s The Masters of…
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This movie ranks #35 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?
David Thomson's Have You…
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This movie ranks #44 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
Jonathan Rosenbaum's Ess…
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This movie ranks #53 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
Harvard's Suggested Film…
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This movie ranks #99 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
Roger Ebert's Great Movi…
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This movie ranks #200 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…
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This movie ranks #299 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
Sight & Sound's The Grea…
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This movie ranks #306 in Amos Vogel's Film as a Subversive Art
Amos Vogel's Film as a S…
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This movie ranks #527 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
Time Out's 1000 Films to…
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This movie ranks #888 in Halliwell's Top 1000: The Ultimate Movie Countdown
Halliwell's Top 1000: Th…
888