| | | No Nudity. No Violence. Unspeakable Onscenity.
Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Aspect Ratio 1.33:1, Featurettes, Filmmaker Commentary, Additional Footage
Comedy veterans and co-creators Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza capitalize on their insider status and invite over 100 of their closest friends--who happen to be some of the biggest names in entertainment, from George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Carey to Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Saget, Paul Reiser and Sarah Silverman--to reminisce, analyze, deconstruct and deliver their own versions of world's dirtiest joke, an old burlesque, too extreme to be performed in public, called The Aristocrats.One of the smash hits of the 2005 Sundance film festival, this critically acclaimed, star-studded comedy extravaganza, which celebrates the art of improvisation and the finest (and most foul mouthed) traditions of stand up, is sure to stretch the limits of its audience, particularly for how loud and how long they can laugh.
"You'll laugh till it hurts." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"obscene, disgusting, vulgar and vile...might be the funniest movie you'll ever see!" Hollywood Reporter
"Will have you doubling over in laughter." Entertainment Weekly
"Uproarious!" New York Times
"Filthy, furiously funny!" Premiere
Editor's Note
"A man walks into a talent agent's office with his family and says, Have I got an act for you! The talent agent replies, So what do you do?" So begins "The Aristocrats," a joke that has been handed down from comedian to comedian for decades but is rarely told on stage. The next part of the joke varies, allowing for improvisation, and the only requirement in telling the joke is that it be as offensive as possible. Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette spent two years documenting as many versions of this infamous joke as possible, cornering comedians like Drew Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Susie Essman, and Paul Reiser whenever and wherever possible. The results are surprising, and often take their humor to places that may make sensitive viewers uncomfortable. While comic legends such as Don Rickles, The Smothers Brothers, and Phyllis Diller admit their familiarity with the joke, they shy away from telling their own versions. Some may be surprised, however, to see performers who are normally associated with family-friendly material, including Bob Saget and Jason Alexander, describing scatological and incestuous acts with deadpan glee. Ultimately, though, THE ARISTOCRATS is more than just many versions of the same dirty joke--it is an exploration of the workings of the unrestricted comic mind.
| Features | Filmmaker Commentary – Featuring Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette | | Aristocrats do The Aristocrats – Montage Telling of the Joke | | Hanging Out – Comics Tell Their Favorite Jokes - ½ Hour Featurette | | Be An Aristocrat Contest Winners – 2 Amateur Aristocrat Jokes – One Live Action, One Animated | | Additional Footage Featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, Bob Saget, Sarah Silverman, Gilbert Gottfried, Lewis Black, Hank Azaria, Billy the Mime and more | | Behind The Green Room Door -- Comics Tell Us Some of Their Other Favorite Jokes |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Velocity Home Entertainment |
| Release Date: 9/4/2007 |
| Running Time: 86 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 54075 | | UPC: 00821575540759 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew | Emery Emery - Editor | | Gary Stockdale - Musical Score | | George Carlin - Featuring | | Jason Alexander - Featuring | | Paul Provenza - Director | | Penn & Teller - Featuring | | Penn Jillette - Executive Producer | | Peter Adam Golden - Producer | | Sara Silverman - Featuring | | Drew Carey - Featuring | | Whoopi Goldberg - Featuring | | Bob Saget - Featuring | | Mario Cantone - Featuring | | Paul Reiser - Featuring | | Gilbert Gottfried - Featuring | | Martin Mull - Featuring |
| Awards |
Sundance Film Festival (2005) | | | Paul Provenza, Nominee, Grand Jury Prize |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"[A] fascinating sick-joke documentary....THE ARISTOCRATS has a lot of laughs..." 08/05/2005 p.45-46New York Times
"[A]n essay film, a work of painstaking and penetrating scholarship....Original and rigorous..." 07/29/2005 p.E1-E24 Rolling Stone
"[K]iller-funny....These stand-ups on the spot tell the joke, take it apart, and reveal why they use it as the gold standard to test what a comic is made of." 08/11/2005 p.82 Movieline's Hollywood Life
"[T]he film actually provides fascinating insights into the psyche of comedians and their gleeful, childlike delight in flouting taboos." 07/01/2005 p.100 USA Today
"[A] documentary that dissects the essence of comedy as well as showcases outrageous improvisational humor....[F]or those with a keen interest in freedom of speech and indulging in plenty of belly laughs, THE ARISTOCRATS is worth seeing." 07/29/2005 p.6E Sight and Sound
"For all the gag's Tourette's-syndrome rush of expletives and uninhibited combinations of body functions, there remains a guileless innocence here." 11/01/2005 p.48 Uncut
"A fabulous documentary, this works both for belly laughs and as a meditation on comedy's function." 02/01/2006 p.105 Premiere
"[T]he result is gloriously, painfully hilarious....[T]his 86-minute documentary never drags..." 03/01/2006 p.112 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 7 of 10
Some of the interpretations (usually the most literal ones) are dull and unfunny. But others are inspired. There's Kevin Pollak telling the joke while doing his best Christopher Walken impersonation. A mime acts it out to hilarious effect (watch the passers-by). Bob Saget gets down and dirty (and closes by asking that a tape of his version be sent to his former "Full House" co-stars). George Carlin spews the "seven words you can't say on TV" in a matter-of-fact voice. The South Park kids try to figure out what it means. And Gilbert Gottfried brings down the house in October 2001 at a Hugh Hefner roast. (Some claim this was the ultimate telling of The Joke. Just ask Rob Schneider, who is convulsed with laughter on the floor.) - James Berardinelli
Rolling Stone 7 of 10
This killer-funny documentary from Paul Provenza produces more laughs than any hundred jokes you ever heard. Actually, it's all one joke -- a massively dirty one -- told by a hundred comics to Provenza and fellow funnyman Penn Jillette, who record their efforts on a cheap-ass camcorder. The participants run the gamut from the great Gilbert Gottfried at his most scary and outrageous to Bob Saget blowing his TV image as a dork, not to mention Billy the Mime (you heard me). These stand-ups on the spot tell the joke, take it apart and reveal why they use it as the gold standard to test what a comic is made of. Judge for yourself. - Peter Travers
Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
In "The Aristocrats," which was directed by Paul Provenza and co-produced by Penn Jillette, we hear the joke in many versions and styles. Sometimes we cut between takes of the same guy telling it two or three times. It is theorized about. It is marveled at. What's remarkable is that no one, except Dick Smothers and Phyllis Diller, thinks that it isn't funny. Everything depends on the risk involved in telling it; without risk, no joke..."The Aristocrats" might have made a nice short subject. At 87 minutes, it's like the boozy salesman who corners you with the Pinocchio torture. - Roger Ebert
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