Who was it that said, "Comedy is all about Timing?" Well whoever said it must have just watched Noises Off, as it is probably one of the best examples of true comedy timing ever brought to the screen.
It follows a troupe of actors attempting to bring a 'farce' to the stage despite the entire performance falling down around their ankles, as personal disputes, dodgy scenery, missed queues, and backstage accidents take hold.
Michael Caine is delightful throughout as the humourless director, desperately trying to bully a reasonable performance out of his unhappy band of players, who include Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliot and Nicolette Sheriden.
The film is basically split into three parts, the first third of the movie shows us how the play should be performed, introducing us, the flies on the wall so to speak to the important lines, the queues, the nature of the farce etc, which we then relate to later on when it is destined to all go so wrong. Even this segment is not without its problems as we see fluffed lines, confusing prop issues and the basis for future disagreements between the cast and crew become apparent.
Fast forward a few weeks and we see another performance of the play, this time all the action we see takes place back stage, in the wings and behind the scenery as the comical slapstick feuding reaches fever pitch. We can here the dialogue of the play on stage as the cast silently fight behind the scenes, with weapons, bottles and props, being passed from character to character as their off stage antics threatens their entrances and exits, their lines and the overall smooth running of the play.
Another few weeks later we see the play reach Cleveland and it's way to its big Broadway opening and the cast have practically given up, ad libbing and bringing their off stage issues right onto the stage and into the audiences lap.
The action is so fast paced that it is hard to describe just how great and funny this film is, it just has to be seen to be believed. And anyone who has performed on stage and perhaps even acted out a farce, will appreciate just how brilliant the whole cast were and how their individual performances were just spot on.
A nice angle in which to look at this film is that it is a group of actors playing farce on the stage and not quite managing to get it right, yet their offstage antics become the most perfectly performed farce you will ever see.
I defy anyone not to enjoy this film enormously.
It follows a troupe of actors attempting to bring a 'farce' to the stage despite the entire performance falling down around their ankles, as personal disputes, dodgy scenery, missed queues, and backstage accidents take hold.
Michael Caine is delightful throughout as the humourless director, desperately trying to bully a reasonable performance out of his unhappy band of players, who include Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliot and Nicolette Sheriden.
The film is basically split into three parts, the first third of the movie shows us how the play should be performed, introducing us, the flies on the wall so to speak to the important lines, the queues, the nature of the farce etc, which we then relate to later on when it is destined to all go so wrong. Even this segment is not without its problems as we see fluffed lines, confusing prop issues and the basis for future disagreements between the cast and crew become apparent.
Fast forward a few weeks and we see another performance of the play, this time all the action we see takes place back stage, in the wings and behind the scenery as the comical slapstick feuding reaches fever pitch. We can here the dialogue of the play on stage as the cast silently fight behind the scenes, with weapons, bottles and props, being passed from character to character as their off stage antics threatens their entrances and exits, their lines and the overall smooth running of the play.
Another few weeks later we see the play reach Cleveland and it's way to its big Broadway opening and the cast have practically given up, ad libbing and bringing their off stage issues right onto the stage and into the audiences lap.
The action is so fast paced that it is hard to describe just how great and funny this film is, it just has to be seen to be believed. And anyone who has performed on stage and perhaps even acted out a farce, will appreciate just how brilliant the whole cast were and how their individual performances were just spot on.
A nice angle in which to look at this film is that it is a group of actors playing farce on the stage and not quite managing to get it right, yet their offstage antics become the most perfectly performed farce you will ever see.
I defy anyone not to enjoy this film enormously.