Single Greatest Movie of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (11 March 2000)

You read that right. I am right now saying that Duck Soup is the best movie of all time. You may not agree, but that is what I am saying, and here is why:
The Marx Brothers, first off, are the funniest comedy team ever to grace the silver screen. Groucho's quips, Chico's Puns, and Harpo's silent comedy are all very different, but they work together beautifully to great comic effect. And this is their finest effort. Plain and simple.
The movie is a classic simply because of it's amazing anti-war message. There is not one single scene in this entire movie that says "War has it's upside." The whole movie is just scene after scene of anti-war political stance.
Now this is where it gets really good. Mixed in with the politics is also scene after scene of complete and utter rediculousness. The Marx Brothers are, after all, the Marx Brothers. So the whole movie is a message/stupidness blended so perfectly you don't even notice that the anti-war is there. It just kind of hits you after the movie is done.
That said, from here on out I'll be focusing mainly on the comedy aspects of this movie, because, as a 15 year old, I'm really not that big on politics. This is the last Marx Brothers movie in which the car has four wheels. Zeppo left after this picture, and it was just never quite the same without him.
The movie has three great songs, and unlike songs from many other movies by the brothers, they are all comedic songs, with the possible exception of "When the clock on the Wall Strikes Ten," but that is not a so-sappy-it's-laughable love song either, and it's just snappy enough to work.
This movie contains five of the Brothers ten best bits. Those five are, in no particular order, the mirror scene, Chicolini's trial, the scene with Harpo and Chico in Trentino's office, the insults at Mrs. Teasdale's party, and the final battle scene. The other five can be found in my reviews of the Brothers' other movies.
This movie has a total of zero dull spots, and I think it's length (68 minutes) has something to do with that. But what ever the reason, it is and will always be The Greatest Movie of All Time.
10/10