Mel Brooks was good at challenging his studio. Young Frankenstein insisted on black-and-white, which already cost him one potential host for it. But Brooks, with that being a success, in 1976, wanted to make an honest-to-goodness silent movie? How do you sell that? You've gotta get a lot of stars!
Mel Funn was once a studio great. A director who made hits, but alcohol ruined his career. But he's come back with a script, one that could save Big Picture Studios from the Engulf and Devour conglomerate, who only care about money. There's just one problem. Funn, in 1976, wants to make an honest-to-goodness silent movie? How do you sell that? You've gotta get a lot of stars!
So the meta premise is very clever and fun, but the true magic is the medium. True to its title, the 1976 production Silent Movie is silent. A musical score and foley audio punctuate the action, but the film plays like a classic silent film, title cards and all. No voices to be heard here, folks...maybe. The audible dialogue they use is done judiciously and in the perfect way. The rest is authentic, and that goes for the comedy too. Nothing is too cornball or slapstick for this, and we get physical and sight gags on par with Chaplin and Looney Tunes, with a few gags aided by newer tech and cruder tastes. Marty Feldman's character is particularly striking, with his costume, face, and physicality feeling truer to silent comedy than some real silent comics.
I know Brooks would have been slaughtered for suggesting it, but I also think black-and-white would have done the film a great service as I think it's otherwise one of Brooks' stronger works of homage/parody and could have been elevated by a lack of color.
The cast is nice. Mel Brooks as Mel Funn is enjoyable, and Feldman is someone I wish had more narrative focus due to his perfect, compelling casting. Of the guest stars, Anne Bancroft is great as herself, but generally, the cast felt less standout for characters or performance than as vehicles for great jokes.
The jokes don't all age well. Some revolve around womanizing or outdated perceptions of gay people, Dom DeLuise is used for a lot of fat jokes, and while the jokes don't seem to be harmful, they still feel worn-out and not as fun today. All the same, it's authentic to the old comedy they're replicating, so...?
This is a fun, bold film idea that goes there with a fun meta plot and lots of fun gags. In one word?
A committed re-creation with some great gags.
Mel Brooks was good at challenging his studio. Young Frankenstein insisted on black-and-white, which already cost him one potential host for it. But Brooks, with that being a success, in 1976, wanted to make an honest-to-goodness silent movie? How do you sell that? You've gotta get a lot of stars!
Mel Funn was once a studio great. A director who made hits, but alcohol ruined his career. But he's come back with a script, one that could save Big Picture Studios from the Engulf and Devour conglomerate, who only care about money. There's just one problem. Funn, in 1976, wants to make an honest-to-goodness silent movie? How do you sell that? You've gotta get a lot of stars!
So the meta premise is very clever and fun, but the true magic is the medium. True to its title, the 1976 production Silent Movie is silent. A musical score and foley audio punctuate the action, but the film plays like a classic silent film, title cards and all. No voices to be heard here, folks...maybe. The audible dialogue they use is done judiciously and in the perfect way. The rest is authentic, and that goes for the comedy too. Nothing is too cornball or slapstick for this, and we get physical and sight gags on par with Chaplin and Looney Tunes, with a few gags aided by newer tech and cruder tastes. Marty Feldman's character is particularly striking, with his costume, face, and physicality feeling truer to silent comedy than some real silent comics.
I know Brooks would have been slaughtered for suggesting it, but I also think black-and-white would have done the film a great service as I think it's otherwise one of Brooks' stronger works of homage/parody and could have been elevated by a lack of color.
The cast is nice. Mel Brooks as Mel Funn is enjoyable, and Feldman is someone I wish had more narrative focus due to his perfect, compelling casting. Of the guest stars, Anne Bancroft is great as herself, but generally, the cast felt less standout for characters or performance than as vehicles for great jokes.
The jokes don't all age well. Some revolve around womanizing or outdated perceptions of gay people, Dom DeLuise is used for a lot of fat jokes, and while the jokes don't seem to be harmful, they still feel worn-out and not as fun today. All the same, it's authentic to the old comedy they're replicating, so...?
This is a fun, bold film idea that goes there with a fun meta plot and lots of fun gags. In one word?
OUI!