Best of the Year: 1933 - Duck Soup

You won't see too many modern straight up comedies on my list because I honestly believe that the 1930s Marx Brothers movies represent the peak of the genre. These movies birthed everything from Looney Tunes to Woody Allen. 

Duck Soup represents everything that made them great. Outside of the four brothers, this is a conventional and almost serious movie about a neighboring country trying to take advantage and annex the financially troubled nation of Freedonia. Dropping the brothers in though turns the movie on its head. Just to give you a taste, the image above kicks off the final act as the brothers (led by Groucho as Rufus T. Firefly) defend Freedonia from invasion. As you can see they are dressed in Revolutionary War garb. With every cut in the battle Groucho's outfit changes up through the history of wars of the United States to that point. I see something new like this or catch another super-fast joke every time I rewatch a Marx Brothers movie.