Groundhog Day & more top BBC’s list of 100 greatest comedies of all time

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Whenever lists of the Best Movies of All Time are compiled, and there are certainly a lot of them, they typically don't contain a lot of comedies, which is what the BBC found when they polled close to 200 critics to determine the 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century just last year. In order to give the great genre of comedy its due, BBC Culture has polled 253 film critics from 52 countries and asked one simple question: "What do you think are the 10 best comedies of all time?" Perhaps not so simple, but with films from any country made since cinema was invented being eligible, plus BBC doing nothing to define exactly what constitutes a comedy, the door was left wide open for critics to pick whatever they wanted.

You can check out the full list at BBC, which includes such comedies as HOT FUZZ, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, GHOSTBUSTERS, and more, but here's the top 50 to get you started.

50. WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988)
49. THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
48. TROUBLE IN PARADISE (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932)
47. ANIMAL HOUSE (John Landis, 1978)
46. PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
45. BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET (Mario Monicelli, 1958)
44. BRIDESMAIDS (Paul Feig, 2011)
43. M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970)
42. THE AWFUL TRUTH (Leo McCarey, 1937)
41. BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN (Larry Charles, 2006)
40. THE PRODUCERS (Mel Brooks, 1967)
39. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (Sam Wood and Edmund Goulding, 1935)
38. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (George Cukor, 1940)
37. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (Preston Sturges, 1941)
36. A FISH CALLED WANDA (Charles Crichton and John Cleese, 1988)
35. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
34. CLUELESS (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
33. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (Adam McKay, 2004)
32. RAISING ARIZONA (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1987)
31. TOOTSIE (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
30. MONSIEUR HULOT'S HOLIDAY (Jacques Tati, 1953)
29. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… (Rob Reiner, 1989)
28. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (Frank Capra, 1934)
27. THE APARTMENT (Billy Wilder, 1960)
26. MON ONCLE (Jacques Tati, 1958)
25. THE GOLD RUSH (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
24. WITHNAIL AND I (Bruce Robinson, 1987)
23. THE PARTY (Blake Edwards, 1968)
22. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Mel Brooks, 1974)
21. CITY LIGHTS (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
20. BLAZING SADDLES (Mel Brooks, 1974)
19. THE LADY EVE (Preston Sturges, 1941)
18. SHERLOCK JR (Buster Keaton, 1924)
17. BRINGING UP BABY (Howard Hawks, 1938)
16. THE GREAT DICTATOR (Charlie Chaplin, 1940)
15. MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, 1975)
14. HIS GIRL FRIDAY (Howard Hawks, 1940)
13. TO BE OR NOT TO BE (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
12. MODERN TIMES (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
11. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
10. THE GENERAL (Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton, 1926)
9. THIS IS SPINAL TAP (Rob Reiner, 1984)
8. PLAYTIME (Jacques Tati, 1967)
7. AIRPLANE! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980)
6. LIFE OF BRIAN (Terry Jones, 1979)
5. DUCK SOUP (Leo McCarey, 1933)
4. GROUNDHOG DAY (Harold Ramis, 1993)
3. ANNIE HALL (Woody Allen, 1977)
2. DR STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
1. SOME LIKE IT HOT (Billy Wilder, 1959)

As with any list, chances are that each person will find notable omissions and questionable inclusions. So, let us know in the comments which passed over comedies you feel deserve a place on the list, and which should be removed altogether. And, if you're feeling adventurous, let us know your Top 10 Comedies of All Time as well!