I went to Germany on holiday and caught some of this on the telly and absolutely loved it. I couldn't understand a word as it was in German on a German TV channel, so there were no English subtitles.
Since then, I have watched many German comedy films and loved them all.
So much for the myth of the awful German sense of humour - I love it!
Perhaps if you had seen AND understood the films, then you would say different about the German sense of humour.
Most of the German comedy films were, as far as I consider, not worth the money they cost....
"Der Schuh des Manitu" is an exception, but I also think, that "Bully", the director, is a genius. He will be the man to someday bring the Oscar back to Germany, I´m sure.
I think, he´s one of the finest directors that this country has ever seen, only he should dare to make a serious film, not only comedy movies.
For example: He could have made "Das Parfum" (The Perfume???) as well, he definitely has the skills and the talent!
I agree that he is an excellent director, but in our countries, he's known as a comedy director and people go and watch his films to laugh, and that's what he's a special talent for.
And for the German sense of humour... you said the comedy films weren't worth the money they cost... what have you seen?
Anyway, "Der Schuh des Manitu" is not excactly German... it's Bavarian. And that's a bit different .
I am placing my mind elsewhere while you chatter away. - The Remains of the Day
In my opinion germans can do good dramatic, serious movies. (action ..yes if they have the money)
but the sense of humor... is often on a low level. It's not always that bad , but it can't compete with british or american humor. Or in other words... it doesn't take much to make the most people in germany laugh.
there are only a few really funny actors / comedians e.g. bully/rick , pastewka , cristoph m herbst, oliver kalkofe,...
and so every once a while movies like "Schuh des Manitu" , "der Wixxer" or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" are made.
But these are rather rare moments.
and like Kinomat said... I also think Bully could make even better movies if he would have the necessary ...funds/means
And before someone says I don't know the germans.. I live in Germany ^^
And before someone says I don't know the germans.. I live in Germany ^^
das hättest du gar nich erwähnen müssen, bei deinem englisch...
hey es is ja gar ned so schlecht!! (zumindest für meine verhältnisse)
I am placing my mind elsewhere while you chatter away. - The Remains of the Day
@Darth...
Es tut mir leid. Bitte verachte mich nicht wegen meiner armseligen Englischkenntnisse. Ich hoffe eines Tages, beherrsche ich die Sprache so perfekt wie du es tust.
ach ja..
wenn du schon Andere beleidigen willst, häng wenigstens noch 'n Kommentar zum eigentlichen Thema dran.
You're absolutely right, well I'm german too, maybe as a child I liked this humor. But I started to realize when growing up, when it comes to movies, the humor really sucks. I don't know why it is like that. Also the same in german TV (I don't watch TV anymore for years now), when I watch it at my parents, mostly the jokes are so flat.
Well I have a very black humor, also (how some people said) very sick humor sometimes, so of course I like a lot of the british humor.
Ok Loriot was a fine comedian, but maybe TV is too commercialized today to come up with something like him again.
I think that German movie makers who want to make a living have to make movies that reach a large audience. As German films in general aren't really popular abroad, they try to reach as many Germans as possible, and this can't be done with black humour or rather intellectual jokes and so on. On the other hand, as English is spoken by so many people all over the world, English film makers can make films in all sorts of genres because they will always reach an audience that is big enough to pay their bills in the end.
Sometimes I also think that most Germans, including me, just don't give German films a chance. I love British humour, so instead of checking out some German independent films, I go for those from the UK. Perhaps I should change something about this.
"ut the sense of humor... is often on a low level. It's not always that bad , but it can't compete with british or american humor. "
Although I agree that British humor is excellent I would not say that American humor is really great. Of course there are a lot of very funny American movies and sitcoms, but this can be attributed to the sheer amount of movies that are produced in the States. The more are made, the greater the chance that a good one is produced once in a while. Otherwise many American sitcoms and mainly stand-up comedy shows are quite silly and on a low level.
In Germany, it is just the other way around.
"ut the sense of humor... is often on a low level. It's not always that bad , but it can't compete with british or american humor. "
German humour is great. It just seem to be almost no one around who is able to transfer it into a movie. Problem is that all the good German writers and film makers are sooner or later off to the states because hey, you can't compare the two movie industries. In Germany we have tv movies with bigger budget than cinema and the industries does very much rely on funding and the government so naturally you get more money for serious and educational, artsy projects. They guys who produce Bullys and Tykwer's movies brought some fresh air into the business, though.
Anyway, as for German and British humour. I have lived in both countries and there is not much of a difference. In fact German humour is even more dry and sarcastic than the British. Both have some fantastic and witty comedians (with the English naturally getting much more exposure because surprise, they speak English!) and both also sport some ocassionally incredibly dumb and tastless puns. The problem is that comedians like Dieter Nuhr are unknown outside of Germany because well, people don't understand German and you can't really enjoy his brilliance without understanding the original language. Plus, people think German humour is crap and don't want their outdated stupid biase spoiled.
As for American humour. Well, isn't the film industry the biggest industry in the USA? They are supposed to entertain and produce laughs for the sake of box office success so the best of the best from all over the world work to make it happen. It's more of a specialists melting pot humour and the humour of your average American never struck me as particularly greate.
Actually most Germans hate those typical German comedies. Because they are bad copies of American style comedies. German humor is always at it's best whe it is actually typically German. And that means in no way shallow but more in the style if Dieter Nuhr and Mittermaier. Or like Bully who is a genius when it comes to slapstick, pop culture reference and stuff like that.
share[deleted]
[deleted]