Best Satire Movies or Favorite Satitic Movies Review

Satire can be subtle,gentle or broad and obvious. It can be serious or funny, political or literal, whimsical or cruel. It comes in many sizes and shapes. It even goes by other names; spoofs, put-ons, parodies. All are satires. I've kept most of the direct spoofs like Kung Pow, or Young Frankenstein or Albert Brooks' Real Life off this list. Blazing Saddles could be on this list particularly since there's a message about racism within the utter silliness of the film, but I've left it off as well.

This is a quickly compiled list.  I kicked off movies before 1960 and when I though of more obscure titles I threw them out. Most foreign films I flicked off the list for now.  I may do a second or third list in the future. Finally if a film seemed more a cult film (like say Blue Velvet) or a black comedy (like Harold and Maude or Where's Poppa) I stopped considering how it might also be a satire.

So here's a list that includes films from every decade 1960 to the present.


1. F for FAKE (1974 - Director Orson Welles)

Orson Welles absolutely brilliant ‘fake' documentary about fakes and forgers requires you to watch the film on a couple levels at the same time to fully appreciate. It's not going to appeal to a lot of people the first time they watch it, but it is the type of movie that weeks later will sneak back into your thoughts and cause you to laugh, shake your head and have minor revelations.

2. Dr. Strangelove (1964 - Director: Stanley Kubrick)

If I have to explain anything about this Kubrick Masterpiece, then you have a huge gap in your movie watching experience that you need to fix immediately. This was much sillier and funnier back in 1964 when it played like a complete over the top farce. Unfortunately truth is stranger than fiction and it now seems like something that did or could happen which makes it more a docu-drama with comic highlights. Peter Sellers masterfully plays several roles and George C. Scott nearly steals the movie. Look for a young James Earl Jones and you'll never forget Slim Pickens ride to glory.

3. Sanjuro (1962 -- Director: Akiro Kurosawa)

Kurosawa's sequel to Yojimbo has comedic and satirical elements. It tells the story of a lonely masterless samuai (ronin) Sanjuro Tsubaki who comes upon a village in the middle of a political battle. Nine young samurai hopefuls wind up kidnapping the good politician and turn to Sanjuro to help them get out of the mess that has been created. Toshiro Mifune's performance and Kurosawa's direction are perhaps slightly better here than in Yojimbo.

4. The Long Goodbye (1973 Director: Robert Altman )

Altman's subtle satiric twist and update on the detective genre and Raymond Chandler starring Elliot Gould is a masterpiece.

5. King of Comedy (1983 Director Martin Scorsese)

Scorsese created this brilliant satire on the cult of celebrity that also twists his own Taxi-Driver with DeNiro doing a 360 version of Travis as a no-talent wanna-be stand-up comedian who teams up with a stalker Sandra Bernhardt to get onto a popular Johnny Carson type late night talk show. When it can't be done legit they resort to kidnapping the famous host played by a never better Jerry Lewis in mostly dramatic performance mode. A masterpiece you watch several times to appreciate in different ways.

6. Lost in America (1985 Director: Albert Brooks)

Corporate ambition, mid-life crisis, the road movie, Easy Rider, Las Vegas, marriage and unrealistic optimism are all savagely and hilariously satirized in Albert Brooks comic masterpiece.

7 . King of Hearts (1967 Director: Phillippe De Broca)

It's an anti-war satire set during World War 1 and told in a charming whimsical fashion. Alan Bates and a very young Genevive Bujold are the recognizable names in the cast of the English, French, German language production. A cult classic. A film I truly love. If you can trust the movie and go with it-I guarantee you'll be enchanted.

8. This is Spinal Tap (1984 -Directed by Rob Reiner)

Heavy Metal and the Music business are ripped a new one in this often ad-libbed comedy satire gem that started as a cult sensation and grew much much larger making stars of everyone in the movie and even selling lots of cds for the phony made into real band featured in the movie. 


9. Network (1976 Director Sidney Lumet)

Writer Paddy Chayefsky and Director Sidney Lumet's satire on television was once a somewhat far-fetched attack on the television news programs. 30 years later the film often seems very tame and not over-the-top or exaggerated at all. That's a scary thing. William Holden, Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway deliver superb performances. Who knew it would be so prophetic so quickly? 


10. The Producers (1968- Director: Mel Brooks)

The original Mel Brooks film poking fun at Broadway convention featuring Brooks' once controversial (now tame) ‘is nothing sacred' brand of rude humor with once in a lifetime comic performances by Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder and Dick Shawn.

11. Take the Money and Run (1969 Director Woody Allen

Woody Allen's 2nd theatrical film (after What's Up Tiger Lilly) plays like a spoof of a documentary and twists and makes fun of crime stories with a side trip to make fun of romantic movies too. There's a lot of just plain fun silliness in the movie and I decided to include this one, but could have just easily included Woody's : Bananas (though it's more dated with its Howard Cosell and Wide World of Sports bits), Sleeper: Love and Death; Annie Hall; Manhattan; Zelig . . . well you get the idea.

12. Clueless (1995 - Director Amy Heckerling)

A near-classic satire based on Jane Austen's early 19th century novel, 'Emma'. Beverly Hills' Youth Speak and Southern California culture is slyly skewered by the writer and director with a fine performance by Alicia Silverstone and the late great Dan Hedaya. Great music choices too.

13. The Candidate (1972 - Director: Michael Ritchie )

Sharp semi-documentary styled political satire focusing on a Kennedy-esque political candidate, how he must change and compromise during his grueling campaign in his attempt to get elected. It's one of the best roles Robert Redford ever had. Very well done. 



14. Tristram Shandy- A Cock and Bull Story (2005/06 Directed by Michael Winterbottom)

Brand new cult classic we have in this outrageous satiric comedy about making a movie of an unfilmable 18th century book. It's a stylized quirky rule breaking romp.

I could list 50 honorable mentions that popped into my head and you might wish are on this list. Rocky Horror Picture Show is perhaps one and a smaller gem like The Skin Game that turned the selling of slaves into a con-game and pointed satire in a deceptively safe way (1971 with James Garner and Louis Gossett Jr.). Best of Show, Lord of War, South Park - the Movie, Office Space are popular, easy to watch fairly recent choices. Blake Edwards S.O.B. is another one that I think is over-rated. Man Bites Dog, Visitor Q and Series 7 go much farther than Network in satirizing television and reality shows, but they are sicker, darker and have repellent elements that would be offensive to a great deal of you reading this review. Good movies, yes, but with far less appeal than the ones I've listed here. (Edit) Others to consider should include Princess Bride, Waiting for Guffman, The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) (Richard Lester). Not to mention The Knack and how to Get It, Bed Sitting Room, maybe even Hard Days Night. Eeek stop me now.

That's a wrap, then with plenty of room for you to do your own list or leave a comment of a few gems you'd have on your list.