Best Comedy Movies of All Time

A ranked route through visual comedy, screwball romance, farce, mockumentary and black satire. I favour distinctive comic personalities and filmmaking that makes the jokes work, rather than a tally of quotable lines. Start with Groundhog Day for an accessible idea, Bringing Up Baby for escalating farce, or What We Do in the Shadows for deadpan ensemble humour. This adult selection also includes tragicomedy and abrasive satire: the darker entries explain their violence, distress or sexual material rather than promising the same easy laugh throughout. Silent films and subtitled choices broaden the range of comic invention.