American black comedy films (Film Guide)

Source: Wikipedia. Commentary (films not included). Pages: 212. Chapters: Pulp Fiction, Jennifer's Body, Horrible Bosses, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Sunset Boulevard (film), Fritz the Cat (film), Dr. Strangelove, Lolita (1962 film), Team America: World Police, Little Shop of Horrors (film), Nashville (film), The Frighteners, The Room (film), Mars Attacks!, The Little Shop of Horrors, A Serious Man, The Producers (1968 film), Network (film), Pink Flamingos, The Chumscrubber, MASH (film), So I Married an Axe Murderer, Freaked, Wolf (film), The Toxic Avenger (film), Clue (film), The Kentucky Fried Movie, Harold and Maude, The King of Comedy (1983 film), Election (1999 film), Trick 'r Treat, Heathers, The Ninth Configuration, Super (2010 American film), The Stepford Wives (2004 film), Slither (2006 film), A Bucket of Blood, Serial Mom, Drop Dead Gorgeous (film), Leaves of Grass (film), Archie's Final Project, Shock Treatment, Choke (film), Catch-22 (film), The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, Manhattan Murder Mystery, The American Astronaut, Death Becomes Her, Female Trouble, The Fall (2006 film), Andre the Butcher, The Ladykillers (2004 film), Crank (film), Polyester (film), The Front Page (1974 film), The Signal (film), Wag the Dog, Ruthless People, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Ref, To Die For, Arsenic and Old Lace (film), The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!. Excerpt: Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture; Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. It was also awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. A major critical and commercial success, it revitalized the career of its leading man, John Travolta, who received an Academy Award nomination, as did costars Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. Directed in a highly stylized manner, Pulp Fiction connects the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals, and a mysterious briefcase. Considerable screen time is devoted to conversations and monologues that reveal the characters' senses of humor and perspectives on life. The film's title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue. Pulp Fiction is self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". The plot, as in many of Tarantino's other works, is presented out of chronological sequence. The picture's self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive use of homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a prime example of postmodern film. Considered by some critics a black comedy, the film is also frequently labeled a "neo-noir". Critic Geoffrey O'Brien argues otherwise: "The old-time noir passions, the brooding melancholy and operatic death scenes, would be altogether out of place in the crisp and brightly lit wonderland that Tarantino conjures up. neither neo-noir nor a parody of noir". Similarly, Nicholas Christopher calls it "more gangland camp than neo-noir", and Foster Hirsch