Why Is Charlie Chaplin Funny?

Or Buster Keaton. Or Fatty Arbuckle. Or W.C. Fields. Or Laurel & Hardy. Or the Marx Brothers.

Why do we still watch those films? How has humor evolved over the years?

For me, I watch them from a perspective of history and time. I like watching the settings, architecture, clothes, mannerisms etc. to give me a sense of the period. I'm not necessarily drawn into the humor per se. Nor am I a film expert able to dissect the film genius behind the aforementioned Hollywood figures.

I look at them very much like I read any piece of historical literature. To get a sense of history. Where we've been and maybe where we're headed.

And so it is with comedy. From Chaplin to Billy Wilder to Woody Allen to Christopher Guest and so on.

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Here's a list of comedic directors. In them you see how wide the 'definition' of comedy can be. Many of the films are safe, average, light and romantic in orientation.