Mel Brooks found a way in 1974 to direct two of the greatest comedies of all time. And in that one year, he found a way to cram as many movie parodies, and not have any overlap, as any director can in Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. What Young Frankenstein was to the 1930s horror movies Blazing Saddles was to the Westerns of the 1960s. And add in there the oppression of blacks during the same time, and you have a biting satire on the role of blacks in society, if not in 1974, at least the way it was in 1874. Cleavon Little (by the way, he's black) plays Bart, a slave laborer for Hedley Lamarr's (Harvey Korman in a GREAT performance as a scheming government employee) railroad who needs to cut through the town of Rock Ridge for completion. The townspeople won't sell their land, so Lamarr has the sheriff killed and replaced with Bart. He's not really welcomed into the town, but with help from Jim, the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) he is able to earn's the town's trust. Standard plot, and a plot that does not really matter. The humor is so scatological, from so many periods of time, that we know it's a movie, and the characters in the movie know they are in a movie. Take Slim Pickens when he cries out "What in the wide world of sports is going on here?" And the final 10 minutes of the movie is just odd in any other movie, but somehow works in Blazing Saddles. So much humor is cut out of the TV versions, so don't waste your time with it. It has to be seen with the language and "sexually suggestive" scenes to be fully appreciated.
497 Reviews
sheriff murdered! People stampeded and cattle raped.
cosmorados18 July 2007
Quality. many people who love this film may feel that the negative comments from others are inoffensive as this is such a funny film, I will say this. They are entitled to their opinions ...even if they are wrong. This is one of the best comedies ever made.
Firstly it's not just Mel Brooks as scriptwriter which seems to make a big difference to the quality of the film he produces (Yung Frankestein is co-written by Gene Wilder) but then you have a cast in fine form, especially Harvey Corman as the fantastic Hedley Lamarr (Not Hedy, It's Hedley!) add to that a fantastic series of sight gags and word play, with a good dose of racism ridicule thrown in for good measure (...and they is so DUMB!)and it all makes for a brilliant mix of inspired film-making.
There are numerous scenes of note, but the scene of the townsfolk looking at their work and Bart chasing after the bad guy still makes my skin cold as they are genuinely moving moments.
best visual gag though has got to be the Wako Kid versus the goons at the railroad top drawer Much Love Mike
Firstly it's not just Mel Brooks as scriptwriter which seems to make a big difference to the quality of the film he produces (Yung Frankestein is co-written by Gene Wilder) but then you have a cast in fine form, especially Harvey Corman as the fantastic Hedley Lamarr (Not Hedy, It's Hedley!) add to that a fantastic series of sight gags and word play, with a good dose of racism ridicule thrown in for good measure (...and they is so DUMB!)and it all makes for a brilliant mix of inspired film-making.
There are numerous scenes of note, but the scene of the townsfolk looking at their work and Bart chasing after the bad guy still makes my skin cold as they are genuinely moving moments.
best visual gag though has got to be the Wako Kid versus the goons at the railroad top drawer Much Love Mike
Blazing Saddles
Coxer9912 May 1999
Howling comedy from Mel Brooks about the Old West with a script that keeps you laughing all the way through and a cast of characters right up there with the Marx Brothers. Kahn is especially tempting as a Marlene Dietrich-like performer, while director Brooks has a fine little cameo as a befuddled and distracted governor. The skits and sight gags are constant. One of the funniest films ever made!
A Master Class In Satire
TheAll-SeeingI6 December 2019
In its side-splitting takedown of racism and all-purpose ignorance, 1974's "Blazing Saddles" is one of the boldest and most important satires ever made. As raunchy and as ludicrous as it is whip-smart, it can claim parentage of modern-day parodies from "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)" to "Sausage Party (2016)" to music industry spoof "Stadium Anthems (2018)" in their uses of obscenity, intelligence, and song to expose inane social truths.
It's the Wild West. Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) is a white business opportunist with moronic and hyper-sexed governor William J. LePetomane (Mel Brooks) in his back pocket. Lamarr wants to build a railroad through the outpost town of Rock Ridge. When he can't scare off the town folk, he incites chaos by saddling them with a black sheriff (Bart, played by the now-iconic Cleavon Little), who just days before was a railroad laborer sentenced to hanging. It turns out that the sly Bart is a rare sage in a frontier littered with dumb white people; he pairs with booze-soaked gunslinger Jim (Gene Wilder) to rally the town against Lamarr's thugs.
Wearing no seatbelt, "Blazing Saddles" rebukes the absurdity of racism with its own absurdist countermeasures. While its blueprint would never make it past present-day studio tastemakers, its defrocking of ignorance has never been better primed for mass consumption. This is a watershed comedy that presides atop any short list of film's greatest satires. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)
It's the Wild West. Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) is a white business opportunist with moronic and hyper-sexed governor William J. LePetomane (Mel Brooks) in his back pocket. Lamarr wants to build a railroad through the outpost town of Rock Ridge. When he can't scare off the town folk, he incites chaos by saddling them with a black sheriff (Bart, played by the now-iconic Cleavon Little), who just days before was a railroad laborer sentenced to hanging. It turns out that the sly Bart is a rare sage in a frontier littered with dumb white people; he pairs with booze-soaked gunslinger Jim (Gene Wilder) to rally the town against Lamarr's thugs.
Wearing no seatbelt, "Blazing Saddles" rebukes the absurdity of racism with its own absurdist countermeasures. While its blueprint would never make it past present-day studio tastemakers, its defrocking of ignorance has never been better primed for mass consumption. This is a watershed comedy that presides atop any short list of film's greatest satires. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)
An All-Time Classic
Sargebri29 March 2003
Whenever I look at this film I laugh so hard that somtimes tears come to my eyes. Brooks manages to do with this film what Young Frankenstien did to classic horror films. The thing that really works is all the in jokes laced throughout the film. This shows that the cast and crew were really having fun in writing and producing this film. But the main credit should go to the late Cleavon Little. He was perfect as Bart. He took the role when many thought it should have gone to Richard Pryor (who was a co-writer on the film). However, I think Pryor might have been a little too over the top for the role. Little played it more low key and not as militant as Pryor might have.
Also, this film was rated R when it was first released back in 1974. Today it probably would get either a P.G. or, at most, a P.G.-13 rating.
Also, this film was rated R when it was first released back in 1974. Today it probably would get either a P.G. or, at most, a P.G.-13 rating.
Not for the Easily Offended
Uriah4315 April 2022
This film begins out west with a railroad line being built but because of quicksand directly in its path has to be rerouted through the small town of Rock Ridge. Realizing that he stands to make a fortune if he can acquire the rights to this town the corrupt attorney general by the name of "Headley Lamarr" (Harvey Corman) decides to send in some ruthless cowboys to chase all of the town's residents out. However, much to his chagrin, rather than leaving, the townspeople decide to hire a sheriff to defend their interests instead. That being said, upon learning of the townspeople's plan, he subsequently manipulates "Governor Lepetomane" (Mel Brooks) into hiring a black man named "Bart" (Cleavon Little) to the position figuring that they won't tolerate someone who isn't white. What he doesn't count on, however, is just how clever and resourceful Sheriff Bart becomes once he actually pins on his badge. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a good comedy which benefited from several fine performances with Madeline Kahn (as "Lili Von Shtupp") probably standing out the most. I also liked Robyn Hilton (as the governor's secretary "Miss Stein") for a completely different reason. On the flip side, however, I must admit that a good part of the humor was rather crude and some viewers might take great offense at some of the off-color jokes and stereotypes. Be that as it may, although this film definitely had its faults, I still found it to be quite humorous and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.
Hey! The sheriff is a ni... BONG!!!!
TOMASBBloodhound16 March 2005
Remember the days when humanity could laugh at itself? Blazing Saddles is a film that takes us all back to a more innocent era. An era where PC was just a couple of letters stuck together. I'll get this out of the way first: To all of you pc commies out there... the racism in this film is there to MAKE THE WHITE PEOPLE THE BUTT OF THE JOKES!!!! There is not a single person of color in this film who plays a negative character. The rednecks are what this film is really making fun of. I think most people realize this (hence the 7.7), but there are still a few who don't.
This is such a funny film. From the opening scene along the railroad tracks to the shot of Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little riding off into the sunset in a limo, the film provides an endless stream of laughs. Every time a person views this film, they can notice something truly hilarious that they may have missed the last time. Mel Brooks doesn't always hit the mark with his comedy, but this film was by far his best effort.
Cleavon Little and Harvey Korman give the best performances in my opinion. I think Cleavon Little stole every scene in every film I saw him in. He died way too young, and I wish he could have acted in more films. Korman's Hedley Lamar character is a real hoot. By the end of my most stressful days at work, I often find myself talking to everyone in his voice. So evil, and so calculating! He and Slim Pickens played off each other flawlessly.
Good luck catching an un-edited version of this classic anywhere but on the DVD. Forget about any kind of an effective remake, either. Not in this day and age.
Don't miss this film! 10 of 10 stars.
So sayeth the Hound.
This is such a funny film. From the opening scene along the railroad tracks to the shot of Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little riding off into the sunset in a limo, the film provides an endless stream of laughs. Every time a person views this film, they can notice something truly hilarious that they may have missed the last time. Mel Brooks doesn't always hit the mark with his comedy, but this film was by far his best effort.
Cleavon Little and Harvey Korman give the best performances in my opinion. I think Cleavon Little stole every scene in every film I saw him in. He died way too young, and I wish he could have acted in more films. Korman's Hedley Lamar character is a real hoot. By the end of my most stressful days at work, I often find myself talking to everyone in his voice. So evil, and so calculating! He and Slim Pickens played off each other flawlessly.
Good luck catching an un-edited version of this classic anywhere but on the DVD. Forget about any kind of an effective remake, either. Not in this day and age.
Don't miss this film! 10 of 10 stars.
So sayeth the Hound.
Doesn't work as well nearly 50 years later
justahunch-705494 July 2023
I am going to be greatly in the minority here. I sheepishly admit to having seen this in 1974 and not once since until last night. I had very high expectations and remembered some funny things about it, but the funny things that I remembered are nearly all that still seem humorous to me. This was bold and brave, politically incorrect and outrageous 49 years ago, but many of the jokes Are very dated and almost not a bit of it is particularly outrageous today. It has a well known cast of comedians from that era and they are all doing their familiar shtick that is now more nostalgic than funny, though I did smile a lot for a while. This is a comedy classic, but for me, it no longer works all that well. Mel Brooks is a funny guy and made some very good movies, particularly young Frankenstein, put much of the humor here is from the Catskills days. It certainly had its moment in time, but sad to say, the sun has set on this somewhat.
Trailblazing "Saddles"
slokes14 December 2003
A few years ago, Broadway producers decided to adapt a Mel Brooks comedy and made a bundle. Could it happen again with 'Blazing Saddles?' The movie already has four great songs; a half-dozen more of similar caliber would make for a strong score. 'Blazing Saddles' has a ready-made cast of over-the-top characters, strong audience identification, and some minor problems for a theatrical production (like blowing up the phony Rock Ridge) which are easily overcome.
But 'The Producers' was a cult film that never made it to Main Street and needed the second act of a Broadway musical to give it a place in popular culture. 'Blazing Saddles' could never open again as big as it did in 1974. In the summer of Watergate and Patty Hearst, here was one bit of madness people could enjoy. And it wasn't just random kookiness, but a film that broke barriers and courted controversy like no other major-release film of its time. No other movie had characters that were basically likable if stupid throwing around the 'N' word before. In fact, it hasn't happened since (and I doubt it would on Broadway today.) The whole notion of white people and black people living together was not new, but the approach of 'Blazing Saddles' was certainly new. In order to live together, we have to laugh together first. The only way this film was not a trailblazer was in that it blazed trails untaken by any film that came after.
Was Cleavon Little then a civil rights pioneer for the 1970s, in a way Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were the decade before? He's very good, bringing a lightness to the role that's equal parts Shaft and Bugs Bunny. Richard Pryor was one of the film's writers and Brooks' first choice for Sheriff Bart, but Pryor wouldn't have played the role in the same smooth way. Little is an amiable actor, one step ahead but never cocky about it. He makes for a sympathetic center, and he is flash in those corduroy threads.
Little didn't work much after 'Blazing Saddles,' which makes no sense. It was only the highest-grossing Western of all time, and Little was the lead actor in it. Maybe institutional racism wasn't the sole cause. After all, he had a distractingly rock-solid cast around him, particularly Harvey Korman as Attorney General Hedley Lamarr. Growing up in the '70s, it was a shock the first time I saw the unedited 'Blazing Saddles' with all the casual vulgarity spewing from the mouth of Tim Conway's slapstick buddy on the ultra G-rated 'Carol Burnett Show.' 'You will be only risking your lives, whilst I will be risking an almost-certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor,' he tells his gang before they ride off to pillage Rock Ridge. If only the Academy didn't penalize comedies so, that might have been true.
Madeline Kahn did get nominated for Lili Von Shtupp, and deserved her Laurel and Hardy handshake for sure. Her Baba Wawa meets Marlene Dietrich performance is a comic masterpiece, and it takes guts to wear that dead-weed lingerie in which she performs 'I'm So Tired.' Slim Pickens (Taggart), Burton Gilliam (Lyle), Dom DeLuise (Buddy), and Brooks himself as 'the Gov' all shine, and the level of comic acting remains high all the way to the smallest roles, like the guy playing Hitler ('They lose me right after the bunker scene') and the cowboy who chews gum in line ('I didn't know there was gonna be so many people!')
Gene Wilder is a little young and ironic for the bitter ex-gunslinger known as the Waco Kid, but he grows into the role well enough. Certainly he was in tune with what Brooks was doing more than Gig Young or Dan Dailey would have been (Brooks' earlier choices for the part, with Young making it all the way to the first day's shooting before it was discovered he wasn't just acting the part of a hopeless drunk.)
'Blazing Saddles' doesn't make the IMDb top 250, but it's still one of the most significant video titles because it rewards repeat viewings so well. The wholeness of the film's comic spectacle is too dense to be absorbed in one viewing, especially when you are laughing too hard. It's a cultural landmark, yes, but it's even funnier now than it was 30 years ago, one of the funniest comedies that exist today. Making it into a musical now would almost be demeaning, but I suspect it will happen anyway.
But 'The Producers' was a cult film that never made it to Main Street and needed the second act of a Broadway musical to give it a place in popular culture. 'Blazing Saddles' could never open again as big as it did in 1974. In the summer of Watergate and Patty Hearst, here was one bit of madness people could enjoy. And it wasn't just random kookiness, but a film that broke barriers and courted controversy like no other major-release film of its time. No other movie had characters that were basically likable if stupid throwing around the 'N' word before. In fact, it hasn't happened since (and I doubt it would on Broadway today.) The whole notion of white people and black people living together was not new, but the approach of 'Blazing Saddles' was certainly new. In order to live together, we have to laugh together first. The only way this film was not a trailblazer was in that it blazed trails untaken by any film that came after.
Was Cleavon Little then a civil rights pioneer for the 1970s, in a way Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were the decade before? He's very good, bringing a lightness to the role that's equal parts Shaft and Bugs Bunny. Richard Pryor was one of the film's writers and Brooks' first choice for Sheriff Bart, but Pryor wouldn't have played the role in the same smooth way. Little is an amiable actor, one step ahead but never cocky about it. He makes for a sympathetic center, and he is flash in those corduroy threads.
Little didn't work much after 'Blazing Saddles,' which makes no sense. It was only the highest-grossing Western of all time, and Little was the lead actor in it. Maybe institutional racism wasn't the sole cause. After all, he had a distractingly rock-solid cast around him, particularly Harvey Korman as Attorney General Hedley Lamarr. Growing up in the '70s, it was a shock the first time I saw the unedited 'Blazing Saddles' with all the casual vulgarity spewing from the mouth of Tim Conway's slapstick buddy on the ultra G-rated 'Carol Burnett Show.' 'You will be only risking your lives, whilst I will be risking an almost-certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor,' he tells his gang before they ride off to pillage Rock Ridge. If only the Academy didn't penalize comedies so, that might have been true.
Madeline Kahn did get nominated for Lili Von Shtupp, and deserved her Laurel and Hardy handshake for sure. Her Baba Wawa meets Marlene Dietrich performance is a comic masterpiece, and it takes guts to wear that dead-weed lingerie in which she performs 'I'm So Tired.' Slim Pickens (Taggart), Burton Gilliam (Lyle), Dom DeLuise (Buddy), and Brooks himself as 'the Gov' all shine, and the level of comic acting remains high all the way to the smallest roles, like the guy playing Hitler ('They lose me right after the bunker scene') and the cowboy who chews gum in line ('I didn't know there was gonna be so many people!')
Gene Wilder is a little young and ironic for the bitter ex-gunslinger known as the Waco Kid, but he grows into the role well enough. Certainly he was in tune with what Brooks was doing more than Gig Young or Dan Dailey would have been (Brooks' earlier choices for the part, with Young making it all the way to the first day's shooting before it was discovered he wasn't just acting the part of a hopeless drunk.)
'Blazing Saddles' doesn't make the IMDb top 250, but it's still one of the most significant video titles because it rewards repeat viewings so well. The wholeness of the film's comic spectacle is too dense to be absorbed in one viewing, especially when you are laughing too hard. It's a cultural landmark, yes, but it's even funnier now than it was 30 years ago, one of the funniest comedies that exist today. Making it into a musical now would almost be demeaning, but I suspect it will happen anyway.
It's still funny, but not as funny as I remembered
cricketbat12 June 2023
Blazing Saddles is an iconic comedy. However, I have to admit that I remember it being funnier. Watching it now, I still laughed out loud a few times, and chuckled a few more, but the jokes seemed farther apart, and some of the references were so dated that I had to look them up. I was also surprised that, aside from the constant barrage of racial slurs, it's actually a fairly tame R-rated movie. Cleavon Little & Gene Wilder make a great duo. And while I'm always happy to see Madeline Kahn on the screen, I felt like she was underutilized. Mel Brooks definitely made an impact with this irreverent comedy.
"Excuse me while I whip this out." Dead-pan funny
Quinoa198416 June 2000
Blazing Saddles is one of the funniest movies to not only to come from Mel Brooks, but from cinema itself. Film stars Cleavon Little as a regular black laborer, but then a villain (Heldey Lamarr is perfectly played by Harvey Korman) wants to move a community out of the town Rockridge. So, he brings Cleavon in to make the people leave (the people in town are racist including the line: "The sherrif is a nig! "What'd he say?" "He said the sherrif's a near). Funny story, funny jokes (the farting sequence is ahead of it's time for 1974) and 2 breakthroughs- Madedline Kahn in a Oscar nominated performance as Von Shtupp and shines through. The other is Richard Pryor, who co-writes the script with Brooks and Andrew Bergman. Hilarious, forever. A+
"What's a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?"
classicsoncall11 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
For all of it's great and funny sight and sound gags, I can't help feeling that "Blazing Saddles" was brought down a considerable number of notches with it's deplorably vulgar treatment of serious subjects like rape and murder. I don't get why Mel Brooks would sink so low in an attempt to get a laugh, when subjects like those are hardly a laughing matter. I had a similar reaction to a line in Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 film "Frenzy", when a bar patron suggests rape as a 'silver lining' compared to the murder that follows. Brooks showed that he could direct great comedy without resorting to the 'lowest common denominator' style of making pictures with "Young Frankenstein", which came out the same year. That was funny without being offensive.
With that out of the way, there are some genuinely fine and funny moments in "Blazing Saddles". I particularly get a kick out of those fleeting scenes that suggest a surreal and manic look at the world, like hangman Boris with a noose around a horse's neck, or a business sign heralding Howard Johnson's one flavor of ice cream. Depending on my disposition, the campfire scene even gets an occasional chuckle out of me, juvenile as that might seem.
What probably works best for this picture is it's way of deconstructing the entire issue of political correctness, poking fun at a white red-neck brand of racism and contrasting it with a black pride and sense of dignity for the workers on the railroad. The notion of setting up a black man to fail backfiring was a brilliant concept to explore, so that by the end of the story, the whole 'why can't we all just get along' agenda is put in it's proper perspective.
As Mad Magazine would put it, the usual gang of idiots is here in fine form - Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Dom DeLuise and Madeline Kahn looking better than ever as the Teutonic Titwillow. Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart is at the center of the madness, providing the anchor to keep the story moving to it's inevitable conclusion. The proverbial ride into the sunset is given new meaning here in keeping with the character of the picture and Brooks' own brand of insanity.
With that out of the way, there are some genuinely fine and funny moments in "Blazing Saddles". I particularly get a kick out of those fleeting scenes that suggest a surreal and manic look at the world, like hangman Boris with a noose around a horse's neck, or a business sign heralding Howard Johnson's one flavor of ice cream. Depending on my disposition, the campfire scene even gets an occasional chuckle out of me, juvenile as that might seem.
What probably works best for this picture is it's way of deconstructing the entire issue of political correctness, poking fun at a white red-neck brand of racism and contrasting it with a black pride and sense of dignity for the workers on the railroad. The notion of setting up a black man to fail backfiring was a brilliant concept to explore, so that by the end of the story, the whole 'why can't we all just get along' agenda is put in it's proper perspective.
As Mad Magazine would put it, the usual gang of idiots is here in fine form - Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Dom DeLuise and Madeline Kahn looking better than ever as the Teutonic Titwillow. Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart is at the center of the madness, providing the anchor to keep the story moving to it's inevitable conclusion. The proverbial ride into the sunset is given new meaning here in keeping with the character of the picture and Brooks' own brand of insanity.
Showing its age these days...
Rob_Taylor26 December 2004
I suppose this movie can be considered a classic of comedy, but only if you are prepared to lump into the classic category such movies as Airplane.
It's a matter of what you find amusing. If slapstick and childishly simple puns and one-liners, puerile plays-on-words or bathroom humour are what gets you rolling in the aisles, then BS (an interesting acronym) will not only float your boat, it will wash it away in a veritable flood.
On the other hand, if more subtle and clever comedy are what you prefer, then I'd suggest staying well clear.
It's not that BS isn't a reasonable film. It's just that its comedy hails from an era when nothing like it was ever seen on film or TV. It was a hit because of its difference, much like Airplane would be later. But, like Airplane, BS's humour doesn't stand the test of time very well. Audiences, for the most part, grow up and mature. The simple humour shown here won't make it today.
As a result, the movie is disappointing. Living on its laurels from yesteryear - being hailed as a classic - is a hard crown for any film to wear successfully for more than a few years, let alone thirty. It's remembered fondly by those that saw it way back when, and those that may have seen it later without anything else for reference. But, being subjected to the deluge of "other" comedy in the intervening years since its original release, the movie fades from the bright star that it once was into the somewhat struggling, tarnished movie that it now appears as.
The most redeeming feature of the movie today is its utter and complete lack of anything that remotely resembles political correctness. It's nice to see the N-word uttered by someone other than a black actor. Not just uttered, but uttered without much trace of vitriol or menace.
We should give a nod to these old movies for, despite the clumsy scripts and poor humour, they remind us of a time when things were simpler, easier to understand. When things were (if you'll pardon the pun) black and white. Simpler movies for a simpler time.
Shake your head at the shallowness of it all if you will today, but remember that there was a time when this was entertainment.
It's a matter of what you find amusing. If slapstick and childishly simple puns and one-liners, puerile plays-on-words or bathroom humour are what gets you rolling in the aisles, then BS (an interesting acronym) will not only float your boat, it will wash it away in a veritable flood.
On the other hand, if more subtle and clever comedy are what you prefer, then I'd suggest staying well clear.
It's not that BS isn't a reasonable film. It's just that its comedy hails from an era when nothing like it was ever seen on film or TV. It was a hit because of its difference, much like Airplane would be later. But, like Airplane, BS's humour doesn't stand the test of time very well. Audiences, for the most part, grow up and mature. The simple humour shown here won't make it today.
As a result, the movie is disappointing. Living on its laurels from yesteryear - being hailed as a classic - is a hard crown for any film to wear successfully for more than a few years, let alone thirty. It's remembered fondly by those that saw it way back when, and those that may have seen it later without anything else for reference. But, being subjected to the deluge of "other" comedy in the intervening years since its original release, the movie fades from the bright star that it once was into the somewhat struggling, tarnished movie that it now appears as.
The most redeeming feature of the movie today is its utter and complete lack of anything that remotely resembles political correctness. It's nice to see the N-word uttered by someone other than a black actor. Not just uttered, but uttered without much trace of vitriol or menace.
We should give a nod to these old movies for, despite the clumsy scripts and poor humour, they remind us of a time when things were simpler, easier to understand. When things were (if you'll pardon the pun) black and white. Simpler movies for a simpler time.
Shake your head at the shallowness of it all if you will today, but remember that there was a time when this was entertainment.
"Where the white women at?"
the-jerk6 August 2005
1974 was a very good year for the team of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder; their "Young Frankenstein" (which came out in 1974) is one of the funniest movies ever made, and "Blazing Saddles" (same year) is almost just behind it. It's a bit overrated (but just a bit); I know a lot of people look on this as the funniest movie of all time, but I can't go THAT far. But it is ONE of the funniest movies of all time, and for two such movies by the same director, with the same star, to come out the same year, to be on that list is quite an achievement.
The residents of Rock Ridge (all named Johnson) need a new sheriff. They get one... Bart, played by Cleavon Little, who happens to be black. It's all planned out by Hedley Lamarr (don't call him Heddy!), an employee of the governor (Mel Brooks), in a plot to run the residents out of town so he can have a railroad run through it. At first, the townsfolk aren't happy about this development, but when Bart endeavors to save them from the evil Lamarr, who's played to slimy perfection by Harvey Korman, they warm up to him. Also thrown into the mix is Wilder as "The Waco Kid", a gunslinger who's lost his knack for shooting, Alex Karras as a huge idiot named Mongo , and Madeline Khan as Lily von Schtupp, a parody of Marlene Dietrich, complete with ridiculous German accent. She stands out heads and shoulders above everybody else in this movie, I think, and her song "I'm Tired" ("I'm not a wabbit! I need some west!") is possibly the funniest song ever to appear in a film. This is no doubt the funniest part Madeline Khan has ever had (and she ALSO appeared in "Young Frankenstein"!). It's also a kick to see a pre-"Magnum PI" John Hillerman as Howard Johnson, with an ice cream shop with a sign that screams "1 Flavor"; and Slim Pickens (Taggart, another bad guy) is always a hoot.
The plot is just an excuse to make fun of westerns, racism, and movie-making in general, as demonstrated in the extremely wacky, fourth-wall breaking finale (Watch for Dom DeLuise in these scenes). None of this is really supposed to make sense or be realistic, it's just supposed to be funny, and for the most part it is. It's one of the crassest and crudest mainstream movies in history, and that's it's strength; it often plays just like a Mad movie parody. One example of this that really sticks out is the famous farting scene, which somehow manages to be one of the funniest scenes in the movie, and probably the funniest fart scene ever. But the focus is on the way blacks were treated in the post-Civil War old west, and the movie is merciless in the way it has its ignorant white characters treat the black characters, throwing the n-word around without abandon and giving them the dirty work (at one point, a character says "We can't afford to lose any horses! Send a couple of n****rs!"). The movie finds its heart in the way the initially racist townspeople of Rock Ridge become fond of their black sheriff.
Its spirit, however, is in the hilarious and crude jokes that are thrown all through. This is one funny movie, and with Mel Brooks, that's what's really important.
The residents of Rock Ridge (all named Johnson) need a new sheriff. They get one... Bart, played by Cleavon Little, who happens to be black. It's all planned out by Hedley Lamarr (don't call him Heddy!), an employee of the governor (Mel Brooks), in a plot to run the residents out of town so he can have a railroad run through it. At first, the townsfolk aren't happy about this development, but when Bart endeavors to save them from the evil Lamarr, who's played to slimy perfection by Harvey Korman, they warm up to him. Also thrown into the mix is Wilder as "The Waco Kid", a gunslinger who's lost his knack for shooting, Alex Karras as a huge idiot named Mongo , and Madeline Khan as Lily von Schtupp, a parody of Marlene Dietrich, complete with ridiculous German accent. She stands out heads and shoulders above everybody else in this movie, I think, and her song "I'm Tired" ("I'm not a wabbit! I need some west!") is possibly the funniest song ever to appear in a film. This is no doubt the funniest part Madeline Khan has ever had (and she ALSO appeared in "Young Frankenstein"!). It's also a kick to see a pre-"Magnum PI" John Hillerman as Howard Johnson, with an ice cream shop with a sign that screams "1 Flavor"; and Slim Pickens (Taggart, another bad guy) is always a hoot.
The plot is just an excuse to make fun of westerns, racism, and movie-making in general, as demonstrated in the extremely wacky, fourth-wall breaking finale (Watch for Dom DeLuise in these scenes). None of this is really supposed to make sense or be realistic, it's just supposed to be funny, and for the most part it is. It's one of the crassest and crudest mainstream movies in history, and that's it's strength; it often plays just like a Mad movie parody. One example of this that really sticks out is the famous farting scene, which somehow manages to be one of the funniest scenes in the movie, and probably the funniest fart scene ever. But the focus is on the way blacks were treated in the post-Civil War old west, and the movie is merciless in the way it has its ignorant white characters treat the black characters, throwing the n-word around without abandon and giving them the dirty work (at one point, a character says "We can't afford to lose any horses! Send a couple of n****rs!"). The movie finds its heart in the way the initially racist townspeople of Rock Ridge become fond of their black sheriff.
Its spirit, however, is in the hilarious and crude jokes that are thrown all through. This is one funny movie, and with Mel Brooks, that's what's really important.
Not racist
stevearon28 May 2016
I was mentioning this movie a while back to a co-worker, and she said, "Oh, that movie is terrible, it's so racist..." She didn't get it. There is a lot of politically incorrect language, a lot of use of the "N" word. But you have to pay attention to the context. All the racial slurs are done in such a way that the object of ridicule is the racist whites, not African Americans. In that sense, it's just brilliant. In one scene, when the black sheriff greets an old white woman on the street, she responds with "Outta my way, n****r! Later, after he has proved his worthiness as sheriff, she brings him a pie she baked for him as a token of appreciation "for saving our town from that horrible "Mongo..." Then, before departing, she says, "Oh, and, sorry about the "outta my way n****er..." Some 40+ years later, whenever I hear that line, I find myself rolling on the floor laughing... Pure genius!
Hilarious
Scoopy27 October 1998
The American Film Institute did not choose this as one of the 100 best American Movies of all time. They put Doctor Zhivago near the top of the list.
For these actions, all members of the institute should be stripped of rank, held somewhere with their eyes fixed open ala Clockwork Orange, and forced to watch the abysmal Zhivago until they change their minds.
Film "authorities" have these opinions that 1)great comedies inherently have less merit than serious films 2)great comedies aren't those actual funny ones, but are those stylish character-based films like Tootsie and It Happened One Night.
Blazing Saddles is one of the funniest movies ever made. It is a great parody. It has a gentle, loving spirit. People talk about it years after seeing it.
Sure, it is coarse, lowbrow, sometimes sophomoric, and silly. But it's funny, dammit. Isn't that what makes a great comedy.
I place it up there with Duck Soup - in comedy heaven.
For these actions, all members of the institute should be stripped of rank, held somewhere with their eyes fixed open ala Clockwork Orange, and forced to watch the abysmal Zhivago until they change their minds.
Film "authorities" have these opinions that 1)great comedies inherently have less merit than serious films 2)great comedies aren't those actual funny ones, but are those stylish character-based films like Tootsie and It Happened One Night.
Blazing Saddles is one of the funniest movies ever made. It is a great parody. It has a gentle, loving spirit. People talk about it years after seeing it.
Sure, it is coarse, lowbrow, sometimes sophomoric, and silly. But it's funny, dammit. Isn't that what makes a great comedy.
I place it up there with Duck Soup - in comedy heaven.
They don't make them like this anymore
kellicough0025 January 2006
After trying to sit through some movies with a friend of mine this past weekend, we finally decided to watch "Blazing Saddles" and we're glad we did. Previously I had only seen this movie on network or syndicated television with a lot of edits and missing scenes. I'm glad I finally decided to watch it on DVD.
The story isn't really important (about an old western town that finds itself in the path of a railroad development and in the way of some despicable politicos who try to destroy it) it just gives the brilliant Mel Brooks a long clothesline on which he can hang hundreds of old jokes, then-current jokes and timeless jokes. Mel Brooks is one of the best directors when it comes to tackling racism. He is so even handed that he can deliver a message when you don't even realize you are receiving one. It's the openness of overall acceptance that sits with you afterwards that is the final reward.
When I watched this I wondered what had happened to a lot of the actors and actresses who appeared in it. I think only Gene Wilder is really still very active in making movies these days (or as of 2005). The cast was a tremendous collection of great comic and dramatic actors and actresses who all turned in wonderful performances, combining to turn a complicated storyline into an apparently seamless comic farce. I particularly liked seeing David Huddleston as Olson Johnson. He's a long time favorite supporting actor and, he too, is still playing some small roles (see the new "The Producers").
My only complaints about "Blazing Saddles" are that some of the "current" references don't hold up too well after all this time and the ending gets a little complicated. I wish Mel Brooks could have kept the story in the same time line instead of resorting to "return to reality" ending he used.
And it goes without saying, "Blazing Saddles" has the all time greatest farting scene in movie history.
The story isn't really important (about an old western town that finds itself in the path of a railroad development and in the way of some despicable politicos who try to destroy it) it just gives the brilliant Mel Brooks a long clothesline on which he can hang hundreds of old jokes, then-current jokes and timeless jokes. Mel Brooks is one of the best directors when it comes to tackling racism. He is so even handed that he can deliver a message when you don't even realize you are receiving one. It's the openness of overall acceptance that sits with you afterwards that is the final reward.
When I watched this I wondered what had happened to a lot of the actors and actresses who appeared in it. I think only Gene Wilder is really still very active in making movies these days (or as of 2005). The cast was a tremendous collection of great comic and dramatic actors and actresses who all turned in wonderful performances, combining to turn a complicated storyline into an apparently seamless comic farce. I particularly liked seeing David Huddleston as Olson Johnson. He's a long time favorite supporting actor and, he too, is still playing some small roles (see the new "The Producers").
My only complaints about "Blazing Saddles" are that some of the "current" references don't hold up too well after all this time and the ending gets a little complicated. I wish Mel Brooks could have kept the story in the same time line instead of resorting to "return to reality" ending he used.
And it goes without saying, "Blazing Saddles" has the all time greatest farting scene in movie history.
Withstands the tests of time.
FiendishDramaturgy31 December 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I recently purchased Blazing Saddles on DVD, to replace my well used and abused VHS copy. I was amazed at how funny this movie still IS.
Although I've never found humor in flatulence, that scene is a classic; the bad guys all sitting around the campfire, eating beans and ripping loud ones while Taggart (Slim Pickens) attempts to contrive a new scheme for ridding them of the new Sheriff of Rock Ridge. "Well, what about Mongo?" I always felt uncomfortable with the use of racial slurs, and this movie made me uncomfortable in that way, but it was Mel Brooks's intent to make us uncomfortable with racism. You can't correct a problem until you drag it out and lay it on the table, which is precisely what he did. He left no stone unturned, and even took a few pot shots at himself in the process.
This movie should have won about a hundred awards for its edge, wit, boldness, and the wonderful performances brought to the mix by these veteran actors. While Madeline Kahn did win a nomination for her portrayal as Lily von Shtupp, she should have won..and won..and won.
That is my favorite scene in the entire movie.
Gene Wilder is brilliant as the "Deputy Spade." While he was a bit young to be cast as a washed-up gunslinger, he molds himself into the role very quickly and lends a strong endearing presence to his character. Endearing is a good word. It fits Clevon Little's character, as well. He was honorable, clever, and completely smooth as the Sheriff of Rock Ridge. I highly admired his performance, and still do.
The dark humor in this movie is astounding. Brooks leaves no ethnic group unscathed by his cutting wit. There is no wonder this is the top grossing western attempt to be put on film. In the 1970's, when this was first released, America needed this form of release. There were serious racial tensions throughout the country, Watergate was still ringing in our ears, and the drama that was Patty Hurst's life for a time was still very much front page news. We, as a nation, needed a diversion which was not afraid of controversy and harsh reviews. The box office gross demonstrated just how much we DID need this movie, at the time it came out.
For that; being there for us when we needed it most, many thousands, if not millions, are loyal to Brooks and his productions, regardless of the subject matter. The laughter and lightheartedness he gave to us lives on. I was so pleased to see this movie redistributed on DVD.
Now, another generation can see and enjoy it as much as we did. Though they may not understand how we could laugh at a bunch of idiotic rednecks singing slave songs, using the "N" word every other line, and comparing anyone with any level of culture to "a bunch of Kansas City fagots," hopefully, the humor will not be lost to the misunderstanding that these slurs were meant to be taken seriously. The intent was to LAUGH AT those ignorant rednecks for BEING ignorant rednecks.
Long live Mel Brooks, the Crowned Prince of Parody!!
It rates a 9.5/10 from...
the Fiend :.
Although I've never found humor in flatulence, that scene is a classic; the bad guys all sitting around the campfire, eating beans and ripping loud ones while Taggart (Slim Pickens) attempts to contrive a new scheme for ridding them of the new Sheriff of Rock Ridge. "Well, what about Mongo?" I always felt uncomfortable with the use of racial slurs, and this movie made me uncomfortable in that way, but it was Mel Brooks's intent to make us uncomfortable with racism. You can't correct a problem until you drag it out and lay it on the table, which is precisely what he did. He left no stone unturned, and even took a few pot shots at himself in the process.
This movie should have won about a hundred awards for its edge, wit, boldness, and the wonderful performances brought to the mix by these veteran actors. While Madeline Kahn did win a nomination for her portrayal as Lily von Shtupp, she should have won..and won..and won.
That is my favorite scene in the entire movie.
Gene Wilder is brilliant as the "Deputy Spade." While he was a bit young to be cast as a washed-up gunslinger, he molds himself into the role very quickly and lends a strong endearing presence to his character. Endearing is a good word. It fits Clevon Little's character, as well. He was honorable, clever, and completely smooth as the Sheriff of Rock Ridge. I highly admired his performance, and still do.
The dark humor in this movie is astounding. Brooks leaves no ethnic group unscathed by his cutting wit. There is no wonder this is the top grossing western attempt to be put on film. In the 1970's, when this was first released, America needed this form of release. There were serious racial tensions throughout the country, Watergate was still ringing in our ears, and the drama that was Patty Hurst's life for a time was still very much front page news. We, as a nation, needed a diversion which was not afraid of controversy and harsh reviews. The box office gross demonstrated just how much we DID need this movie, at the time it came out.
For that; being there for us when we needed it most, many thousands, if not millions, are loyal to Brooks and his productions, regardless of the subject matter. The laughter and lightheartedness he gave to us lives on. I was so pleased to see this movie redistributed on DVD.
Now, another generation can see and enjoy it as much as we did. Though they may not understand how we could laugh at a bunch of idiotic rednecks singing slave songs, using the "N" word every other line, and comparing anyone with any level of culture to "a bunch of Kansas City fagots," hopefully, the humor will not be lost to the misunderstanding that these slurs were meant to be taken seriously. The intent was to LAUGH AT those ignorant rednecks for BEING ignorant rednecks.
Long live Mel Brooks, the Crowned Prince of Parody!!
It rates a 9.5/10 from...
the Fiend :.
A funny satire ... punctuated by a few hilarious moments ... too few ...
ElMaruecan8228 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
"Blazing Saddles" reminds me of a French expression that can be translated as "it was dumb, but no one ever thought of it" as if it would take a certain genius to create an impact from very silly things. No one ever thought of making fun of Hitler, yet it inspired "The Producers", one of the funniest comedies ever, "Blazing Saddles" works on the same principle, only in a smaller proportion: no one ever thought of a Black sheriff (Cleavon Little) in a small Western town, Brooks did.
As usual, Mel Brooks embraces political incorrectness with the enthusiasm of a little child, getting away with so many frank lines like "I like rape", "Where's the white women" and I won't do a drinking game with the number of times the N-word is uttered, hell, it's almost like a punctuation mark. Mel gets away with that because it betrays his profound desire to make us laugh, by any means, not wasting any frame, any minute without a gag, visual or verbal, slapstick, absurd and at some points, so blatantly racist I hesitated to qualify him as desperate for a laugh or irreverent genius. Maybe it takes some irreverent genius to be so desperate for a laugh, or maybe Mel Brooks' comical mechanisms work on a Freudian level in the way they invite our most shameful impulses to laugh at the un-laughable.
I more enjoyed "Blazing Saddles" for the gags that satirized the Old West myth than those involving racial stereotypes, simply because they were much funnier and all the racist jokes combined together would never beat the part where Mongo (Alex Karras) punches the horse, probably one of the most defining moments of American Comedy's history. It's so unexpected, so perfect in the timing, that the joke works with the same level of perfectionism than the wall falling on Buster Keaton in "Steamboat Willie Jr." and these are moments that lack in "Blazing Saddles": moments of comical discipline and precision. I don't mind cheap jokes, but sometimes, they tend to make us forget how the set-up is almost as important as the pay-off.
Where would I classify the infamous campfire farting scene? This one reminded me of some of the best Simpsons jokes, when it starts being mildly funny, then it's annoying, but the scenes drag so long that it becomes funny again and almost hilarious. The timing is perfectly handled in the scene but the same can't be said for all the other jokes. I get it that it's funny if a Black man says he's got a Dutch grandma, or if an Indian chief speaks Yiddish, but it's only funny if the film doesn't contain other racial jokes, hell "Blazing Saddles" is loaded with them. I reckon that the story is about a black Sheriff and in a way, "Blazing Saddles" can be considered as a film dealing with racism and a landmark in political correctness, but all the political incorrectness in the world can't beat the hilarious wagon train moment, I laughed us so much I almost choked up.
I appreciate political incorrectness but I hate the way its card is used as an alibi by the hardcore fans to justify why the movie is so great, as if it was impossible to love "The Producers" and consider "Blazing Saddles" inferior. I loved "Blazing Saddles" for its satirical aspect, for the way it extended all the limits of parody. It uses as some point a gag à la 'Looney Tunes' with the same music, while I believe Mel Brooks owes more to Tex Avery. The Yiddish-speaking scene reminded me of the Oxford English speaking Indian in "Big- Wheel Watha" and the Indians attacks of "Homesteader Droopy" or Goofy's unforgettable "Californy'er Bust" These are my references in humor, and I felt that they inspired the best of "Blazing Saddles". Mongo uttering the famous "Mongo, only pawn in the game of life" is pure comical genius, not to mention the song of Lili Von Schtupp (Madeline Kahn perfect as a Marlene Dietrich or the poor) or Gene Wilder proving his shooting skills.
The rest is just a bit overused but never unfunny. If I wasn't laughing, I was at least smiling. Mel Brooks signed a film that was begging for laughs and for not to be taken seriously, and it couldn't have had a better ending to illustrate the fact that it's a big joke. I used to dislike the ending, but now I feel it's one of the most surrealistic extents of the limits of meta-referential satire. But while "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" did it with a certain level of sophistication, Brooks doesn't embarrass himself with that, he's like a craftsman who builds a beautiful oeuvre d'art and then took a hammer and starts destroying it, and it takes some genius to have the guts to ruin the premise of a film, for jokes. And apparently, it worked since the film was the highest grossing of the year. People laughed and that's that.
I like the film but I sometimes dislike the reasons for which it's loved by its fans. "Blazing Saddles" delivers what we expect from a comedy, but at some point, it just forgets to be a film, with a story, something that some of the best parodies did "Naked Gun!", "Top Secret!", "Airplane!" and how about Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" which is, in my opinion, his best film, precisely because he wasn't overdoing it, each joke has its time, each character a moment to shine, and the film had an atmosphere, a little something that elevated it above the comic genre. "Young Frankenstein" is like a delicious pie served in a beautiful plate, while "Blazing Saddles" is no less delicious, but is thrown at our face.
That's all, folks!
As usual, Mel Brooks embraces political incorrectness with the enthusiasm of a little child, getting away with so many frank lines like "I like rape", "Where's the white women" and I won't do a drinking game with the number of times the N-word is uttered, hell, it's almost like a punctuation mark. Mel gets away with that because it betrays his profound desire to make us laugh, by any means, not wasting any frame, any minute without a gag, visual or verbal, slapstick, absurd and at some points, so blatantly racist I hesitated to qualify him as desperate for a laugh or irreverent genius. Maybe it takes some irreverent genius to be so desperate for a laugh, or maybe Mel Brooks' comical mechanisms work on a Freudian level in the way they invite our most shameful impulses to laugh at the un-laughable.
I more enjoyed "Blazing Saddles" for the gags that satirized the Old West myth than those involving racial stereotypes, simply because they were much funnier and all the racist jokes combined together would never beat the part where Mongo (Alex Karras) punches the horse, probably one of the most defining moments of American Comedy's history. It's so unexpected, so perfect in the timing, that the joke works with the same level of perfectionism than the wall falling on Buster Keaton in "Steamboat Willie Jr." and these are moments that lack in "Blazing Saddles": moments of comical discipline and precision. I don't mind cheap jokes, but sometimes, they tend to make us forget how the set-up is almost as important as the pay-off.
Where would I classify the infamous campfire farting scene? This one reminded me of some of the best Simpsons jokes, when it starts being mildly funny, then it's annoying, but the scenes drag so long that it becomes funny again and almost hilarious. The timing is perfectly handled in the scene but the same can't be said for all the other jokes. I get it that it's funny if a Black man says he's got a Dutch grandma, or if an Indian chief speaks Yiddish, but it's only funny if the film doesn't contain other racial jokes, hell "Blazing Saddles" is loaded with them. I reckon that the story is about a black Sheriff and in a way, "Blazing Saddles" can be considered as a film dealing with racism and a landmark in political correctness, but all the political incorrectness in the world can't beat the hilarious wagon train moment, I laughed us so much I almost choked up.
I appreciate political incorrectness but I hate the way its card is used as an alibi by the hardcore fans to justify why the movie is so great, as if it was impossible to love "The Producers" and consider "Blazing Saddles" inferior. I loved "Blazing Saddles" for its satirical aspect, for the way it extended all the limits of parody. It uses as some point a gag à la 'Looney Tunes' with the same music, while I believe Mel Brooks owes more to Tex Avery. The Yiddish-speaking scene reminded me of the Oxford English speaking Indian in "Big- Wheel Watha" and the Indians attacks of "Homesteader Droopy" or Goofy's unforgettable "Californy'er Bust" These are my references in humor, and I felt that they inspired the best of "Blazing Saddles". Mongo uttering the famous "Mongo, only pawn in the game of life" is pure comical genius, not to mention the song of Lili Von Schtupp (Madeline Kahn perfect as a Marlene Dietrich or the poor) or Gene Wilder proving his shooting skills.
The rest is just a bit overused but never unfunny. If I wasn't laughing, I was at least smiling. Mel Brooks signed a film that was begging for laughs and for not to be taken seriously, and it couldn't have had a better ending to illustrate the fact that it's a big joke. I used to dislike the ending, but now I feel it's one of the most surrealistic extents of the limits of meta-referential satire. But while "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" did it with a certain level of sophistication, Brooks doesn't embarrass himself with that, he's like a craftsman who builds a beautiful oeuvre d'art and then took a hammer and starts destroying it, and it takes some genius to have the guts to ruin the premise of a film, for jokes. And apparently, it worked since the film was the highest grossing of the year. People laughed and that's that.
I like the film but I sometimes dislike the reasons for which it's loved by its fans. "Blazing Saddles" delivers what we expect from a comedy, but at some point, it just forgets to be a film, with a story, something that some of the best parodies did "Naked Gun!", "Top Secret!", "Airplane!" and how about Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" which is, in my opinion, his best film, precisely because he wasn't overdoing it, each joke has its time, each character a moment to shine, and the film had an atmosphere, a little something that elevated it above the comic genre. "Young Frankenstein" is like a delicious pie served in a beautiful plate, while "Blazing Saddles" is no less delicious, but is thrown at our face.
That's all, folks!
One of the funniest movies you'll ever watch.
csliger9313 May 2021
You can't make a movie like this today. Not because it doesnt condemn racism (it does), but because it doesn't have that woke, virtue-signaling SJW crap dripping off its jokes like slime. I seriously hurt for society when gems like this movie can't be appreciated as satire. Don't let anyone tell you different...this movie is smart, its hilarious, it has a moral vector, and it is rewatchable. One of the funniest movies you will ever see by one of the best directors to ever grace Hollywood.
50-50
rich_wheresmypants24 January 2006
All in all not a bad film... just not a great one. The first half of the movie is defintly some of the funniest material that I have ever seen in any of the films that i have watched, but sadly the second half is somewhat debatable. Its blaintant disregard for racism is a little 'close to the boarder' in parts but other laughs give it a fairly strong backbone. After watching Blazing Saddles i felt that after the halfway mark that the writers just gave up and concentrated on ending the film as soon as possible, for example the jokes in the first half were well thought out and timed extremely well whereas in the second half jokes were lacking that HaHa factor as you could see them coming a mile off.
Slightly impressed, but wouldn't say that Id be watching it again and again.
Slightly impressed, but wouldn't say that Id be watching it again and again.
one of the best comedies of all time
rdukeesq28 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
So what movie has a black pot smoking sheriff in the old west, klansman with robes that say "have a nice day", bikers on horseback, a guy named mongo, count bassie in the middle of the dessert, uses the "n" word repeatedly without sounding racist, cattle walking through everything including waiting in line to see a movie, and ends somehow at manns Chinese theater after the cast has left the movie and broken loose onto Hollywood, why Blazing saddles of course. This comedy classic was made in 1974 and was directed by the once great Mel Brooks. I say once because he really went into decline after spaceballs (which was just o.k). This movie was written by Andrew Bergman who also wrote one of my other favorite comedies "The Freshman". This is another one of those movies I hope they never remake, it just works so why mess with things that work and yes work so well. Unless you hate comedy I dare you not to love this classic. if you like concise reviews of interesting films please read my other reviews at http://raouldukeatthemovies.blogspot.com/
Hmm
BandSAboutMovies5 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I'm certain as soon as I post this that I'll get comments like "They could never make that movie today," in a very smug way, but the point is, they already made it, you can still find it and no one is trying to take it from you. I kind of love that for all the profanity, flatulence and racist words thrown around in this movie, execs were just as upset that a horse gets punched.
The idea for Blazing Saddles came from Tex-X, a script that Andrew Bergman (Big Trouble, Striptease) planned on writing himself, with Alan Arkin directing and James Earl Jones as the sheriff. Mel Brooks bought it and despire not working with other writers since Your Show of Shows created a writer's room with himself, Bergman, Richard Pryor, Alan Unger and Norman Steinberg. They worked under a sign that said, "Please do not write a polite script."
The plot starts just like any Western you've seen: a new railroad will be redirected through Rock Ridge, making the town finally worth something, so territorial attorney general Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) sends his men, led by Taggart (Slim Pickens) to force the residents out. He starts by shooting the sheriff and Governor William J. Le Petomane (Mel Brooks in one of many roles in this) is coerced by Lamarr to hire a sheriff named Bart (Cleavon Little) in the hopes that the town won't have anything to do with a black man. Yet Bart was about to be killed for beating up Taggart, so maybe Lamarr is hastening his own defeat.
With help from the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), he soon wins over the town - future Higgins John Hillerman is one of them - and defeats the super strong Mongo (Alex Karras) and charms his would-be seducer Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn). Actually, he's such a good person that he lets those two villains join him.
Of course everything works out well, but the idea that somehow the movie is on a lot next to Buddy Bizarre's (Dom DeLuise) musical and the movies turn into a fistfight that ends when Lamarr runs into Mann's Chinese Theater to see the end of his own movie. It's an audacious close to a movie that's equally willing to be incredibly smart and wonderfully stupid.
Casting was a big problem. Pryor was Brooks' original Sheriff Bart, but the studio worried about his drug use and wouldn't approve him as he was uninsurable. Brooks also wanted John Wayne for the Waco Kid, but the Western star turned down the movie for being too blue and his replacement, Gig Young, passed out from alcohol withdrawl.
A television pilot titled Black Bart was produced for CBS based on Bergman's original story with Louis Gossett Jr. As Bart and Steve Landesberg as sidekick Reb Jordan. Bergman was listed as the sole creator and the show was made just to ensure that Warner Bros. Had the movie rights to make sequels. It only aired one contractually obligated time on April 4, 1975.
As for the troublesome moments, Burton Gilliam. Who played a henchman named Lyle, couldn't say the word to Little, who pulled him aside and said, "If I thought you would say those words to me in any other situation we'd go to fist city, but this is all fun. Don't worry about it." And Brooks has said that he wrote the movie to fight back at "white corruption, racism and Bible-thumping bigotry." The same people who argue that you couldn't make this today are the same ones that saw Joe as the hero of that movie and were cheering on Archie Bunker.
The idea for Blazing Saddles came from Tex-X, a script that Andrew Bergman (Big Trouble, Striptease) planned on writing himself, with Alan Arkin directing and James Earl Jones as the sheriff. Mel Brooks bought it and despire not working with other writers since Your Show of Shows created a writer's room with himself, Bergman, Richard Pryor, Alan Unger and Norman Steinberg. They worked under a sign that said, "Please do not write a polite script."
The plot starts just like any Western you've seen: a new railroad will be redirected through Rock Ridge, making the town finally worth something, so territorial attorney general Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) sends his men, led by Taggart (Slim Pickens) to force the residents out. He starts by shooting the sheriff and Governor William J. Le Petomane (Mel Brooks in one of many roles in this) is coerced by Lamarr to hire a sheriff named Bart (Cleavon Little) in the hopes that the town won't have anything to do with a black man. Yet Bart was about to be killed for beating up Taggart, so maybe Lamarr is hastening his own defeat.
With help from the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), he soon wins over the town - future Higgins John Hillerman is one of them - and defeats the super strong Mongo (Alex Karras) and charms his would-be seducer Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn). Actually, he's such a good person that he lets those two villains join him.
Of course everything works out well, but the idea that somehow the movie is on a lot next to Buddy Bizarre's (Dom DeLuise) musical and the movies turn into a fistfight that ends when Lamarr runs into Mann's Chinese Theater to see the end of his own movie. It's an audacious close to a movie that's equally willing to be incredibly smart and wonderfully stupid.
Casting was a big problem. Pryor was Brooks' original Sheriff Bart, but the studio worried about his drug use and wouldn't approve him as he was uninsurable. Brooks also wanted John Wayne for the Waco Kid, but the Western star turned down the movie for being too blue and his replacement, Gig Young, passed out from alcohol withdrawl.
A television pilot titled Black Bart was produced for CBS based on Bergman's original story with Louis Gossett Jr. As Bart and Steve Landesberg as sidekick Reb Jordan. Bergman was listed as the sole creator and the show was made just to ensure that Warner Bros. Had the movie rights to make sequels. It only aired one contractually obligated time on April 4, 1975.
As for the troublesome moments, Burton Gilliam. Who played a henchman named Lyle, couldn't say the word to Little, who pulled him aside and said, "If I thought you would say those words to me in any other situation we'd go to fist city, but this is all fun. Don't worry about it." And Brooks has said that he wrote the movie to fight back at "white corruption, racism and Bible-thumping bigotry." The same people who argue that you couldn't make this today are the same ones that saw Joe as the hero of that movie and were cheering on Archie Bunker.
Does Brooks thing ANYTHING he does isn't funny?
tim816021 May 2001
This guy is in love with everything he does. He can't image writing something he doesn't think is hysterical. Or seeing his face repeatedly in nearly every movie he makes. For the 3 or 4 good laughs in this movie are 15 painful moments when you sit and stare at the screen and wish to God he was as funny as he thinks he is.
I took a look at this for the first time in about 5 years and I guess I grew up or this guy was NEVER THAT FUNNY TO START WITH.
Geesh, the farting scene? Funny in 7th grade. When Brooks is the Gov or the Indian chief? You wonder why he didn't just (over)act every part and save everyone a lot of time.
The only thing saving this from the bottom of the barrel is an excellent cast (Little, Kahn, Korman, Wilder) that tries SO hard to make something out of a junior high school script by a man that is seriously not all that funny.
Okay, this movie is still about 100 times better than Spaceballs...
I took a look at this for the first time in about 5 years and I guess I grew up or this guy was NEVER THAT FUNNY TO START WITH.
Geesh, the farting scene? Funny in 7th grade. When Brooks is the Gov or the Indian chief? You wonder why he didn't just (over)act every part and save everyone a lot of time.
The only thing saving this from the bottom of the barrel is an excellent cast (Little, Kahn, Korman, Wilder) that tries SO hard to make something out of a junior high school script by a man that is seriously not all that funny.
Okay, this movie is still about 100 times better than Spaceballs...
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
