THE DVDS:
Disc 1 “Blazing Saddles”
A madcap spoof of the classic Hollywood Western, BLAZING SADDLES is also one of the most gleefully anti-P.C. films ever produced by a major studio. When the sheriff of a small frontier town is killed, convict Bart (Cleavon Little) is appointed the first black sheriff of all-white Rock Ridge by the evil Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), who hopes this will chase the townspeople from their homes. The naive Sheriff Bart soon catches on, realizing from the less than cheery welcome that the townspeople (who all seem to be named Johnson) aren’t prepared for a black sheriff and that he was never meant to succeed at all. Enlisting the help of the sensitive town drunk (Gene Wilder), formerly the Waco Kid, Bart embarks on a plan to save Rock Ridge. A scathing spoof that deals with racism, sexism, and bodily functions, BLAZING SADDLES offers a contrast between picture and words that is shocking, subversive, and hilarious. Director Mel Brooks makes two memorable appearances–as both the sleazy governor and a Yiddish-speaking Sioux Indian chief–while Madeline Kahn does a sidesplitting Marlene Dietrich imitation as the town floozy. Featuring fabulous comic turns by Alex Karras and Slim Pickens, BLAZING SADDLES is raunchy, lovable, and uproarious.
Special Features: The commentary by Mel Brooks is highly entertaining. The other extras inclued Back in the Saddle, Segments from Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn, & TV Pilot: Black Bart.
Disc 2 “High Anxiety”
In this perceptive, sidesplitting homage to Hichcock films, director, star, and writer Mel Brooks plays the average American guy, psychiatrist Richard Thorndyke (as in Roger Thorndike, Cary Grant’s character in NORTH BY NORTHWEST), who’s terrified of heights (think VERTIGO). He becomes the new chief of the Institute for the Very Very Nervous, where things are not what they seem, and it’s not long before Richard finds himself embroiled in murder, deception, and other hilarious situations. While Brooks plays the quintessential innocent man accused, Madeline Kahn is perfect as his Hichcockian icy blonde love interest, Victoria Brisbane. It is perhaps Cloris Leachman, though, who is at her most deviantly funny as Nurse Diesel–a kind of cross between her Frau Blucher character from YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and Nurse Rached from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. HIGH ANXIETY is a treat to watch just to spot the Hitchcock parodies/homages, as Brooks amiably spoofs some of the suspense master’s most famous scenes, including hysterical takeoffs of THE BIRDS and PSYCHO. HIGH ANXIETY is one of Mel Brooks’s most consistently entertaining films.
Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Fox Flix: Robinhood Men in Tights, Silent Movie, To Be or Not To Be, & Young Frankenstein. The extras are peculiar considering the movies are included within this collection.
Disc 3 “History of the World Part I”
In this spoof of great moments in history from the dawn of humanity through the French Revolution, director Mel Brooks delivers a twisted history lesson through his signature satirical, madcap humor. Funny, vulgar, and narrated by the great Orson Welles, HISTORY OF THE WORLD – PART I tells the progress of humankind as cave dweller, tap-dancing slave, and biblical hero. The most famous bit in the film features Moses coming down from Mount Sinai. Other highlights include a hilarious “Hitler on Ice” sequence and other outrageous comic situations, unbelievably silly jokes, and inspired casting (Sid Caesar, Gregory Hines, and Madeline Kahn included), with the film itself mimicking several historical Hollywood epics, most notably THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, as well as a brilliant parody of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
Special Features: Menus: Brain Soup & Original Theatrical Trailer.
Disc 4 “Robinhood Men in Tights”
A parody of the much-done medieval English tale of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS also directly lampoons the politically correct ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, which starred the hearthrob of the time, the very un-British Kevin Costner. English hearthrob Cary Elwes gets a turn in the role of the hero of Sherwood Forest who robs from the rich to give to the poor when he returns from the Crusades to find his beloved King Richard (Patrick Stewart in an amazing Sean Connery imitation) usurped by the evil Prince John (Richard Lewis) and his henchman, the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). In typical Brooks fashion there is much satire, some gross jokes, a dash of screwball farce, and a Jewish spin put on gentile characters: Hence, Friar Tuck is transformed into Rabbi Tuckman (Mel Brooks), who is eager to perform circumcisions on the dim-witted Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Tracey Ullmann further livens up the ensemble as the witchlike cook Latrine. Those familiar with other Brooks films will also note moments parodying some of the director’s own past spoofs, including HIGH ANXIETY and BLAZING SADDLES.
Special Features: There is a 26 minute HBO Special that is hosted by Cary Elwes. Finally there is a theatrical trailers for High Anxiety, Silent Movie, To Be or Not To Be, & Young Frankenstein.
Disc 5 “Silent Movie”
A parody of the much-done medieval English tale of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS also directly lampoons the politically correct ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, which starred the hearthrob of the time, the very un-British Kevin Costner. English hearthrob Cary Elwes gets a turn in the role of the hero of Sherwood Forest who robs from the rich to give to the poor when he returns from the Crusades to find his beloved King Richard (Patrick Stewart in an amazing Sean Connery imitation) usurped by the evil Prince John (Richard Lewis) and his henchman, the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). In typical Brooks fashion there is much satire, some gross jokes, a dash of screwball farce, and a Jewish spin put on gentile characters: Hence, Friar Tuck is transformed into Rabbi Tuckman (Mel Brooks), who is eager to perform circumcisions on the dim-witted Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Tracey Ullmann further livens up the ensemble as the witchlike cook Latrine. Those familiar with other Brooks films will also note moments parodying some of the director’s own past spoofs, including HIGH ANXIETY and BLAZING SADDLES.
Special Features: Another waste of extras considering there is only theatrical trailers for High Anxiety, Robinhood Men in Tights, & To Be or Not To Be.
Disc 6 “To Be or Not to Be”
An elegant comedic story of a Polish acting troupe, who help, in their small way, to resist the Nazi occupation. When it is discovered that a Polish hero, residing in Britain, is actually a German agent, a Polish RAF officer is deployed to stop him. Upon arriving in Poland, the RAF officer, together with the already forewarned actors, concoct a convoluted charade designed to collect the information from the spy, kill him, and pass on the false information to the Gestapo.
Special Features: There are some very poorly produced featurette profiles on Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning. And of course there are some theatrical trailers.
Disc 7 “Twelve Chairs”
A stylish, frantic fable and one of director Mel Brooks’s earliest films, THE TWELVE CHAIRS is a madcap mystery set in revolutionary Russia. An aging ex-nobleman of the czarist regime, Count I.M. Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody), has finally adjusted to life under the commissars in Russia. But when both he and the local priest, Father Fyodor (Dom DeLuise), find out that a fortune in the count’s family jewels is hidden in a chair’s upholstery–the chair being one of a set of 12–they each separately return to Moscow to find the hidden fortune. Along the way, the count enlists the aid of a thief (Frank Langella) in the hilarious treasure hunt. Closer in style to THE PRODUCERS than many of Brooks’ other spoofs, THE TWELVE CHAIRS is an overlooked comedy gem. DeLuise gives an uproarious performance in which he employs slapstick and physical humor liberally. There is a human side to this film, too, just as there was with Zero Mostel’s character, Max Bialystock, in THE PRODUCERS, in the form of Moody’s Vorobyaninov. Based on a Russian novel, THE TWELVE CHAIRS marries neurotic humor and cultural dilemmas in the same vein as
classic Woody Allen films in later years.
# Special Features: Mel Brooks Theatre: High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, Robinhood Men in Tights, Silent Movie, & To Be or Not To Be
Disc 8 “Young Frankenstein”
An affectionate parody that pays homage to the FRANKENSTEIN films (from the
novel FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley) directed by James Whale in the 1930s, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is both a zany comedy and a cinematic tour de force. Written by director Mel Brooks and the film’s star, Gene Wilder, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN has all the usual–and in this case slightly unusual–suspects: the reluctant scientist Frederick Frankenstein, who is actually the grandson of the infamous creature-creator (pronounced “Fronken-steen” and played by Wilder), his spoiled fiancée (Madeline Kahn), Igor the pop-eyed hunchback (Marty Feldman), his dizzy assistant (Teri Garr), the castle’s hideous head housekeeper (Cloris Leachman), and, of course, the Monster (Peter Boyle). Highlights include the sets, which are the original ones used in the Whale films; the beautiful black-and-white cinematography; and the fine screenplay. Combining noirish elegance with uproarious sight gags and double entendres is a feat Brooks pulls off fabulously, directing the wonderful ensemble to act with sensitivity and humanistic feelings as well as with lunatic abandon. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a treat from beginning to end.
Special Features: Included is a nice Mel Brooks commentary. There is also a 36 minute documentary: “Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein” that is very bland. Also included are outtakes/bloopers & deleted scenes. And as you guessed there are also trailers. Finally there are Mexican Interviews with Leachman, Feldman and Wilder, Production Stills, and Theatrical Trailer.
FRANKLY: Mel Brooks fans will be less than enthusiastic. Fans of High Anxiety and Robinhood Men in Tights will be glad to be able to watch it on DVD but you’re better off buying those separately if none of the other movies are of interest.
+ Charlie Craine
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