The Mel Brooks Thread

I haven't seen this posted here, so I'll (hopefully) be the first. This thread is dedicated to celebrating the comic genius that is Mel Brooks and the 40+ year legacy that he has left on the silver screen, films like The Producers, Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, History Of The World Part One, and Young Frankenstein. We have bared witness to his extraordinary talent both on and off the screen at some point in our lives, whether it was with our parents when we were too young to technically see them, or as adults with our friends. We can recite the scripts practically verbatim and flawlessly hum his catchy, upbeat showtunes at the drop of a hat, we can even forgive him for creating some of the most logically absurd Big-Lipped Alligator Moment s ever created for a theatrical presentation, and take in stride some of the more cringeworthy slapstick, Toilet Humor, and racially/religiously insensitive jokes, since this is the only man with the frijoles big enough to tackle such subjects with stride. This is the thread where we discuss what movie introduced us to Brooks, what our favorite (or least favorite) Brooks films are and the reasonings behind liking or disliking (remember, keep the gush and hate to a civilized tone!), and any and all memories associated with his movies or factoids (that aren't common knowledge) that you can dig up about his films).

I'll start off:

• Film that introduced me to Mel Brooks: History Of The World Part One
• Favorite Brooks Film: High Anxiety, The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and History Of The World Part One.
• Reasons for liking/Memories associated with the film: One day, when I was 10, I was really sick with the flu, and my mother and now-deceased father, who were Brooks fans, decided to cheer me up by renting a movie from the library. This was a few years before DVD's were invented, so they picked up a videocassette of History Of The World Part One, and we all saw it as a family, laughing all the way, enjoying ourselves. Plus, I like how the timing of the slapstick, coupled with the hamminess of the actors, and Mel's balance of and willingness to go all-out with raunchy jokes, historical in-jokes (that can sometimes border on the clever and the insensitive), and the puns, are in top shape for this movie.
• Little Factoids about a Mel Brooks Movie: I think I found an early cameo from Mel Brooks in The Producers. During the beginning of the Springtime for Hitler sequence, listen for one of the actors playing a Nazi stormtrooper saying gleefully-"Don't be tardy, come up and join the Nazi party!"- you'll be able to detect Mel's distinct gravely voice. It's brief, but hard to miss.

Virtually all of Brook's films are classics, but Spaceballs will always be my favorite; being the one I saw first and the one I most appreciate given the genre its spoofing.

Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein are probably my favorites. Original, I know.

Though I do have a soft spot for To Be or Not to Be, having seen the original Jack Benny version as well.

So far, I've seen Young Frankenstein and about half of Blazing Saddles. Both are awesome.

I have seen pretty much all of his movies, but Spaceballs takes the cake. It is just so good.

It's "don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party" and that joke is carried over to the musical.

edited 16th Mar '13 3:59:20 PM by Stratofarius

I've seen Men In Tights and Blazing Saddles. Both brilliant.

I've seen Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, both versions of the Producers, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

All great comedies.

It rather odd that he also produced The Fly and The Elephant Man.

edited 16th Mar '13 8:06:53 PM by BigMadDraco

Seen

• the best version of the Producers. Sorry Nathan who and Matthew what, but Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel boot your arses out of the park.

• Also Blazing Saddles, most of which best lines came from none other than Richard Pryor, if you believe the persistent urban legends.

• Men in Tights too. Though not Spaceballs, or at least not all of it.

• and finally his version of To Be Or Not To Be, which I preferred to the original.

Silent Movie is my favorite. EKG Pong, wheelchair racing, Coca-Cola grenades, and the best use of a mime in any film ever.

I've always been more of a Young Frankenstein kind of guy than a Blazing Saddles guy. It's a very close call, though.

Spaceballs is perhaps the most dated of his films, I believe. I loved the movie as a kid watching it on VHS but it just seems rather corny to me now. That very meta scene where Darth Helmet and Colonel Sanders are trying to find out where the protagonists could be by watching a Spaceballs tape is still hilarious, though.

I liked all of Brooks' films before Space Balls, and haven't much cared for any since. I don't think they're bad, per se, it just that that seem to have lost some of their magic. Maybe it's the performers?

Mel Brooks is a lot like Kevin Smith in that his movies generally thrive off Refuge in Audacity, his two most famous films are probably The Producers and Blazing Saddles and both ride off the outrageous and provocative premise. Starting with Spaceballs his films became a lot more tame even though they were still plenty funny at times.

And now I can add the rest of Blazing Saddles to my list.

I kind of wish Hedley hadn't died at the end. He was my favorite character.

Heh, yeah, he was really good. But I preferred the Sheriff. He was the first positively portrayed black man that I saw as a kid - and this was quite near when the film was released in the cinema when I saw it on video.