The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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A Night at the Opera
Comedy · Music · 1935
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
Movie details
A Night at the Opera
“Don't miss it! The funniest picture ever made!”
1935 Comedy · Music 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.4 / 10
Community rating
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over A Night at the Opera?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
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Soul Men
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Sam Wood
Written by
Morrie Ryskind · George S. Kaufman · James Kevin McGuinness
Groucho Marx
Otis B. Driftwood
Chico Marx
Fiorello
Harpo Marx
Tomasso
Kitty Carlisle
Rosa
Allan Jones
Ricardo Barroni
Sig Ruman
Gottlieb
Walter Woolf King
Lassparri
Court is in session
Put A Night at the Opera on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.