Title g National and foreign comedies The most successful films around the world are comedies. Comedies are able to bring together many cultures and make them agree on one thing: having fun. In the United States, comedy developed from early slapstick, to screwball comedies, to dark comedies, and finally to social satire. Foreign films take everyday social problems or oddities and turn them into brilliant comedic performances. The more bizarre the characters, the more favorable the audience's response will be. Characters very similar to Sprezzatura are appreciated by audiences of any culture. However, sometimes these foreign comedies don't fit the typical Hollywood audience. Many times, the United States tries to create the same success that films have abroad, domestically. By recreating famous foreign films for U.S. audiences, the success lands above the art and fails to connect with audiences. Comedy comes in many types and forms, but there is one thing that they all have in common that makes audiences laugh, regardless of the language in which it is expressed. The birth of comedy in film stems from various elements present in silent films, where the acting was anything but subtle. Since these films had no dialogue to recite, the actors relied on overacting, or their physical abilities, to portray the hilarity of the script. Anything from slapstick to visual or physical comedy was perfected by some famous figures of the time. The General was an original film that portrayed the Civil War in a different, comedic light. Considered one of the late Orson Welles' greatest actors, Buster Keaton brought a different kind of acting style to the silent film genre. A veteran... middle-of-the-road... highly successful in America. Films can help different cultures learn about each other, and comedy can bring these cultures together. Work cited Austerlitz, Saul. Another Beautiful Mess: A History of American Film Comedy. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2010. Print.Farrell, Alan. High cheekbones, pouty lips, tight jeans: Purple Prose from a Black Room: Movie Reviews from the Lawyer's Pages. United States: Sn, 2007. Print.King, Geoff. Cinematic comedy. London: Wallflower, 2006. Print.McLaren, Carrie and Jason Torchinsky. Ad Nauseam: A Survivors' Guide to American Consumer Culture. New York: Faber and Faber, 2009. Print.Milton, Joyce. Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Print. Rogers, Pauline B. Contemporary Filmmakers on Their Art. Boston: Focal, 1998. Print. Wood, Mary Patricia. Italian cinema. Oxford: Berg, 2005. Print.