A Night at the Opera (1935)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Matheus C

  
  I can't still completely warm up to the Marx Brothers, but I can't deny the film has some incredibly funny moments

• David L

  
  Otis B. Driftwood is a small-time theatrical agent scamming the wealthy Mrs Claypool in a deal to sponsor a New York opera company. Meanwhile, the disreputable Fiorello and Tomasso are trying to help their friend Riccardo gain recognition as a tenor. The swindlers' plans collide… More
  Otis B. Driftwood is a small-time theatrical agent scamming the wealthy Mrs Claypool in a deal to sponsor a New York opera company. Meanwhile, the disreputable Fiorello and Tomasso are trying to help their friend Riccardo gain recognition as a tenor. The swindlers' plans collide during a very unorthodox production of Verdi's Il Trovatore ... This was the Marx Brothers first big-budget movie with MGM, and many cite it as their best film. It is a beautiful production by the legendary Irving G. Thalberg, with a first-rate script by the talented Broadplay playwright George S. Kaufman and some incredibly funny sequences. Personally, it's not my favourite but its a close second (my favorite would have to be Horse Feathers), purely because I think the romantic subplot between Carlisle and Jones gets in the way too much and there's not enough of the irresistible Dumont. That aside however, there is lots of wonderful music and plenty of side-splitting scenes; the pack-everyone-in-Groucho's-cabin episode, the contract-shortening sequence ("You no fool me, there is-a no Sanity Claus !"), the chase-the-beds-around-the-hotel-room bit and the total cultural destruction of that bastion of upper-class social prowess, the metropolitan opera, with Groucho throwing peanuts to the crowd and Harpo sliding pirate-style down the backdrops. A wonderfully nutty black-and-white comedy classic.

• AJ V

  
  Another really really funny Marx Brothers movie. It has both a good story and good jokes to go with it. A must see for Marx fans.

• Randy T

  
  "Never in my life have I received such treatment. They threw an apple at me!" "Well, watermelons are out of season." If you like the Marx Brothers, you'll love <i>A Night at the Opera</i>. Their most polished film and their biggest box office… More
  "Never in my life have I received such treatment. They threw an apple at me!" "Well, watermelons are out of season." If you like the Marx Brothers, you'll love <i>A Night at the Opera</i>. Their most polished film and their biggest box office success.

• Tim S

  
  Can't say I was laughing that hard. I laughed, but not as much as I'd hoped.

• Thomas B

  
  this has got to be one of the funniest movies ever. groucho and his brothers are all amazing. this is a great film.

• Jon L

  
  These guys are classic. A great film from years past, it's hard to find this much talent in today actors, let alone comedians.

• Aaron N

  
  Otis B. Driftwood: That woman? Do you know why I sat with her? Because she reminded me of you. Mrs. Claypool: Really? Otis B. Driftwood: Of course, that's why I'm sitting here with you. Because you remind me of you. Your eyes, your throat, your lips! Everything about you… More
  Otis B. Driftwood: That woman? Do you know why I sat with her? Because she reminded me of you. Mrs. Claypool: Really? Otis B. Driftwood: Of course, that's why I'm sitting here with you. Because you remind me of you. Your eyes, your throat, your lips! Everything about you reminds me of you. Except you. How do you account for that? If she figures that one out, she's good. The Marx Brothers are easily some of the most entertaining performers of all time. The combination of Groucho's puns, Chico's conning and piano playing, and Harpo's physical comedy works in any situation. Here, there is a slight change from the standard Marx brother movie. Its their first MGM picture, lacks Zepo, has more of a plot, and takes to having the Marx's play against the more villainous characters, as opposed to anyone in their path. Still, it is very funny and also features a number of very good musical interludes. The basic plot revolves around the Marx's being involved with an opera company, and their attempts to bring in a talented opera duo to America and get them the recognition they deserve...through their own means. Hilarity ensues. The humor is a combination of styles, of course, very old fashioned, but that does not make it any less funny if you like the humor used. This is a very funny movie when the Marx's are up front and center, doing what they do best. Henderson: You live here all alone? Otis B. Driftwood: Yes. Just me and my memories. I'm practically a hermit. Henderson: Oh. A hermit. I notice the table's set for four. Otis B. Driftwood: That's nothing - my alarm clock is set for eight. That doesn't prove a thing.

• Daniel P

  
  What can one really say about this film that hasn't been said? It's a comedy classic - the comedy classic - and is said by many to be the defining Marx brothers' film. It's clear that so much of comedy as we know it was invented by the Marx brothers, and Harpo… More
  What can one really say about this film that hasn't been said? It's a comedy classic - the comedy classic - and is said by many to be the defining Marx brothers' film. It's clear that so much of comedy as we know it was invented by the Marx brothers, and Harpo particularly shines as a mute, which allows us to remember the silent movie and the comedy pioneered by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin before audio recording entered the film world. A great film - it's hilarious, and if you ever watched Bugs Bunny cartoons as a kid, you'll recognize a ton of lines that became standbys for vintage comedy. Definitely put this on the "at any cost, see before dying" list.

• Jennifer X

  
  first introduction to the marx brothers. groucho is fantastic in every scene, other brothers patchy. the singing got annoying but other than that solidly hilarious film.

• xGary X

  
  The Marx Bros and Margaret Dumont follow the usual formula to terrific effect in another comedy classic. Will people still be watching Adam Sandler films in 72 years? I rather doubt it.

• Dillon L

  
  A lot of funny scenes, but also too many that dragged on forever. Not anywhere near as good as the Marx Brothers' earlier film Duck Soup, but still worth watching.

• Matthew R

  
  A Night at the Opera is comedy that still hits about as a true entertainment vehicle. There's comedy, there's music, there's action, there's drama, there's romance, there's even fake beards and "Take me out the Ballgame" performed in an opera… More
  A Night at the Opera is comedy that still hits about as a true entertainment vehicle. There's comedy, there's music, there's action, there's drama, there's romance, there's even fake beards and "Take me out the Ballgame" performed in an opera house. It also gives a showcase for its main three jolly anarchists (Groucho, Harpo and Chico and when you aren't laughing you're at least smiling or enjoying a melodic tune or some good opera melodies. And it's so unforgettable, with scene after moment after continuous gag that goes so far along that it becomes funny just seeing how long these guys can keep going. There's a scene mid-way through A Night at the Opera that might be just about perfect: Groucho has his tiny room. At first the gag is simply that the room is almost too small to even fit the luggage case he has (also fitting inside Chico, Harpo and the conventional leading-man opera singer stowaway). Groucho orders breakfast- an amazing and wonderfully long gag involving an order of hard-boiled eggs- and then the maids come in, and then others come in, and then more come in, and lines like "You know I had a premonition you were going to show up. The engineers right there in the corner. You can chop your way right through." Harpo is still asleep, of course, trying to cure his insomnia by sleeping on top of everybody else shuffling around... it all builds so much that it's like its own piece of frantic, combustible music, and it's one of those pure scenes in movies that one can never really top, only try and imitate and get ok in their own right. There are others that strike up such strong laughs, exchanges of dialog that go on like verbal assaults in the form of an argument over a contract between Groucho and Chico ("Sanity clause" "I don't believe in it!"), or just the continuous string of syncopated insults and throwaway lines from Groucho that cut right to the matter and even find some new twists one would never think of outside of his mind. Insanity, of course, is what the Marx's excel at, an organized chaos of comedy that is so seamless because of how energized and random some of the things happen with but there is logic. And it's a sweet movie too; a movie may be criticized for taking an extended break from the story, however loose it may be, and Night at the Opera can have that against it. But the break it takes, with the big musical number and dance and Chico and Harpo's playing on the piano and later on the harp, is so touching and fun and inventive. So, where is the story you may ask? There practically isn't one. Between the three brothers, and on occasion even the slightly weaker but still crucial "normal" plot line with the love between the talented amateur singer and the star played by Carlisle, there's enough material at times for two movies. The real joy of Night at the Opera, and it happens often, is seeing these three guys go to work at the best of what they do. In the end, A Night at the Opera is a joyful and hilarious cinema on parade, though the noticeable random jump cuts are annoying in any format, the humor overruns any complaints. The unforgettable Cabin scene, simply hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvugebaT6Q Story: C Acting: A Direction: A- Visuals: A Overall: B+ *** out of 4 stars

• Byron B

  
  The brothers left Paramount and signed with Thalberg at MGM. Zeppo left making the brothers a trio. As the special feature on the DVD, Remarks on Marx states, Thalberg gave their films more structure. There's a young couple in love with Carlisle and Jones. There are villains… More
  The brothers left Paramount and signed with Thalberg at MGM. Zeppo left making the brothers a trio. As the special feature on the DVD, Remarks on Marx states, Thalberg gave their films more structure. There's a young couple in love with Carlisle and Jones. There are villains with King, Ruman, and O'Connor. The villains and the snooty opera give the Marx Brothers an establishment to focus their anarchic humor upon. Dumont is still excellent at playing the straight woman to Groucho's rapid fire wisecracks. Jones takes over Zeppo's spot as the romantic lead type and sings most memorably Cosi-Cosa ("So What") on the ship from Italy to New York in a big MGM style musical number. Chico plays a bouncy piano number and Harpo plays a beautiful angelic piece on the harp. I love that they have this musical talent as well as the ability to make people laugh! Thalberg had them test their comic bits on a touring stage show and this film has some of their best work: the sanity clause, two hard boiled eggs, make that three hard boiled eggs, the crowded state room scene, the beds moving out of the bedroom when the detective is searching, take me out to the ball game, and the other chaos that is caused at the performance of Il Trovatore.

• Matthew Y

  
  A Night at the Opera is loaded with famous Marx Brothers bits like the "Sanity Clause" and filling as many people as possible into a small room. The film has become a classic in cinema history and is still an entertaining film to this day. The Marx Brothers ended their… More
  A Night at the Opera is loaded with famous Marx Brothers bits like the "Sanity Clause" and filling as many people as possible into a small room. The film has become a classic in cinema history and is still an entertaining film to this day. The Marx Brothers ended their Paramount film series with Duck Soup, their most historically admired film. They would then begin their MGM days with this film that would eventually be regarded as their second most admired film. The Marx Brothers MGM days were a big change of form for the comedy group. Their brother Zeppo dropped out of the act, their scatter-shot joke formula was replaced with more defined and coherent plots and they included musical performances and songs into the films. At the time both the Marx Brothers, audiences and critics agreed that this was an improvement over their Paramount days. Nowadays the opposite is believe with the plots limiting the amount of jokes, quips and one-liners (isn't that really the whole point of the Marx Brothers) and the musicals numbers/songs often getting the fast-forward treatment. While I agree the songs are crap I liked seeing Harpo play the Harp and Chico thumbing the piano. The brothers were artistically wider-ranged than most gave them credit for.

• Lauren D

  
  While The Marx Brothers are absolutely hilarious, this is not one of my favourites, purely because there is too much singing. I hate any form of musicals and there was just so much singing and instrument playing that it just really annoyed me. Besides that it was extremely funny.

• monty h

  
  The Marx Brothers in top form as they take on high society trying to get two opera singers into the biz. The wisecracks and antics of the boys are offset by the occasional song and dance, but the film still flows pretty good. Groucho rips off one liners faster than you can blink your… More
  The Marx Brothers in top form as they take on high society trying to get two opera singers into the biz. The wisecracks and antics of the boys are offset by the occasional song and dance, but the film still flows pretty good. Groucho rips off one liners faster than you can blink your eyes. One of their last really good films. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Otis B. Driftwood: "You're willing to pay him a thousand dollars a night just for singing? Why, you can get a phonograph record of Minnie the Moocher for 75 cents. And for a buck and a quarter, you can get Minnie".

• Doctor S

  
  The comedy content is sensational, but overrated simply because of too many musical numbers - damn that Zeppo!! At least Chico & Harpo deliver their most memorable and entertaining piano recitals. And there's nobody who delivers a one-liner like Groucho. "Steward, do… More
  The comedy content is sensational, but overrated simply because of too many musical numbers - damn that Zeppo!! At least Chico & Harpo deliver their most memorable and entertaining piano recitals. And there's nobody who delivers a one-liner like Groucho. "Steward, do I have time to go back ashore and pay my hotel bill?" "No, I'm sorry sir." "That suits me fine!"

• Sunil J

  
  Cute enough.

• Marion R

  
  I heard of The Marx Bros, but never saw one of there films. And I was surprised, how much I enjoyied this film and how funny it was. It's just really one of the best.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings