BLAZING SADDLES (1974) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION 

Mel Brooks' intention was to show us just how stupid racism really is. I think he succeeded. What a fun movie to watch.

My Jamaican uncle introduced me to this movie. Still one of my favourites. The line always cracks me up “To tell a family secret, my grandmother was Dutch.” 😂

"You're not a pawn, Mongo" - honestly I think that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard (in a Blazing Saddles reaction).

I'm not even that old but feel ancient when NOBODY gets the "laurel and hardy handshake" line anymore.

Mel Brooks said that the film was supposed to insult everyone. One of his crew said, "Well, I'm Irish and I'm not insulted." So Brooks added the bit about the town not wanting the Irish just to make him happy. Also, one of the contributors to the screenplay was Richard Prior.

Mel Brooks said he gets a lot of sh*t about the horse than anything else that happens in the movie. The horse was a trained stunt horse that could fall on command. If you look closely you don't actually see Alex Karras's fist connect with the horse from the camera angle. That horse deserves an Oscar.

When they sing "I Get A Kick Out of You", it's a joke, because that song hadn't been written until 1936, and the movie is set in the late 1800's. On top of that, they sang in a style that didn't exist in that time, either. It's a joke that never lands with anyone born after 1990.

This movie is a satire of old westerns, and uses comedy to show the ridiculousness of racism, and of course the that racist people are stupid. One of the best comedies ever.

Mel Brooks' movies are always insanely silly. He was not only the governor, but he also played the Indian Chief. Gene Wilder and Madelyn Kahn were also iconic during the 70s/80s comedy films. Always loved this movie. I saw it back in the 70s in the theatre. It was a huge box office hit. I enjoy your channel. Thanks for the great reaction! ✌💙✌

There are a lot of cultural references from the 70's in here. The bull having yes and no on it's rear was making fun of a safety initiative where school buses had stickers on each side of its rear end to remind people which side to pass on so you wouldn't pass on the right or "door side" of the bus where kids are getting on. Now you cant pass a bus on either side when loading and unloading. That's just one example of cultural reference from the time.

So well edited. So often when I watch reactions to this movie I think "How could you not include that line?” But you two nailed it.

The Legend of the Lone Ranger is based on Bass Reeves, an African American who was a US Deputy Marshall and served for over 30 years. I just find that interesting.

When the film was originally released back in the 70s, the Indian chief -- played by director Mel Brooks -- was pictured prominently in print ads. If you looked closely enough, you could see thar the beadwork on his headdress read "KOSHER FOR PASSOVER" in Hebrew.

I wondered how much you'd like this satire. But, it was fun that you got such a kick out of it. I particularly liked when you asked, "Why don't they just go around?" Response... "because they're dumb!" Also, "Why does he call them boys?" You two are so much fun to watch movies with! Thank you for reacting to this one. 🎞😆💜🖤

Great reaction, so glad you laughed understanding it’s satire. It was one of the most effective tools in exposing the idiocy of racism. As for the comment on the Irish, they was a lot of hate for the Irish in the early days. There were actually signs in shop windows saying Irish need not apply.

Mel Brooks was also the Indian Chief.😁

I lost it when he took himself hostage!!!! Still funny after all these years....lol

25:31 Jessy Owens embarrassed hilter at the Olympics in 1930 something

"The Sheriff is near."

There are so many old nuanced references to American cinema and culture here, that for the two of you to still find the movie funny shows how good the movie is. Timeless.

Fun fact: comedian/actor Richard Pryor co-wrote this movie along with Mel Brooks. Mel wanted him to olay Sheriff Bart but for whatever reason that didn’t happen. I’m okay with that because Cleavon Little did such a great job in the role. He and Gene Wilder, in this film, are one of my all time favorite “buddy movie” pairings. A great duo. And Gene Wilder went on to do several movies where he was paired with Richard Pryor whenever we want to see them together.

Mr. Brooks is a comedy genius. He poked at everyone equally. His portrayal of the idiocy of racism by using comedy is something that will survive the ages. Little known facts about Mr. Brooks are his Alma Mater is the Virginia Military Institute and he served in the US Army Air Corp (the predecessor to the US Air Force) during WWII from 1944 to 1946. Also, I really like how many times the 4th wall is shattered in this movie. Especially towards the end. This movie also made cinematic history. Never before had farting been shown on the big screen. It was considered very rude and uncouth. When Mr. Brooks informed the actor who was to fart first what the scene was about the actor almost walked off the set because he was afraid he would be blackballed in Hollywood for doing the scene. It took some serious negotiating by Mr. Brooks to get the actor to stay and do the scene.

One of my all time faves!!! The toll booth gets me every time... Great reaction! Keep it up!

Richard was a co-writer. He was supposed to play Bart but the studio thought he'd be too controversial, so Cleavon Little was cast in the part.

He rode a blazing saddle. The sheriff is a n🔔! As steady as a rock. Yeah, but I shot with this hand. 😅 I love this movie.😂

This movie, along with Space Balls is my top favorite movies.

"We don't want the Irish" line us based in fact. There was a lot of prejudice against them in the old days. Now, here's the twist. I'm of French Canadian descent, and my ancestors emigrated to Rhode Island to work in the mills, which WERE owned by Irish American families, and THOSE families/owners discriminated against the French Canadians, and tried to impose all kinds of restrictions. In any case, Mel did a great job of shining a light on how any kind of prejudice is ridiculous.

"Lets play chess" Sheriff Bart "Morons" Jim Best lines

Wonderful reaction. This satire was very controversial at the time, but its message is timeless. A truly brilliant way to tackle bigotry, and yet another reminder why free speech is so important.

It’s a shame Cleavon Little, the actor that played Bart, isn’t more of a household name. Cause he is a terrific actor.

My favorite part about people watching this film is that, almost universally, we can all agree that Cleavon Little looks *sharp* in that sheriff outfit.

those who have watched the Carol Burnette show in the past, Harvy Korman was a regular on the show, and could not always keep a straight face when the funniest jokes came up, which makes him a great comedian

fun fact: WB asked the fart scene not be in. Mel said "Okay" then ran it anyway lol it was the first time a fart joke was used in a movie.

For some reason the line that cracks me up the most is when he comes in shouting "What in the wide, wide world of sports...!!"

The character of Mongo was played by former NFL player Alex Karris. He later went on to play the Dad in the TV show "Webster". My favorite lines are: " Well, can't you see that's the last act of a desperate man?" "We don't care if it's the first act of Henry V...." 🤣🤣🤣

In the scene where Sheriff Bart is telling his story, the Indians who confronted the family were led by Chief Mel Brooks, and the Chief spoke Yiddish, which is a European language spoken by Jews. When the warrior wanted to attack, the Chief said, "No, no, not now, it's crazy!" Then, in English with a heavy accent, "Cop a walk." "Have you ever seen in your life? They're Darker than us!"

A true classic.

Cleavon Little had such a beautiful smile.

Mel Brooks is one of my favorite directors! Maybe you could watch "Young Frankenstein", a comedy directed by him and starring Gene Wilder.

9:00 Yes, the one and only Count Basie and his band.

It was written by Mel Brooks and RIchard Pryor. Mel Brooks spoof of Star Wars is brilliant, it is called Spaceballs and is very very funny!!!

Unfortunately one of the punchlines that was written by Richard Pryor was successfully censored by Warner Bros. When Lili Von Shtupp says "Is it twue the way you people are....gifted? Oh... its twue, its twue!" Bart was supposed to reply with "Uh, ma'am? Youre sucking on my arm" EDIT: also, for reference, white folks of non-Irish descent (particularly of English descent) used to discriminate againt people of Irish descent pretty heavily in the US. (The English in Britain do still discriminate against the Irish, but thats another matter entirely)

Might be Mel Brooks's best movie, though I'm partial to Spaceballs, for childhood reasons. Richard Pryor was co-writer, and he was supposed to play the sheriff. In case you don't know about Pryor (because you're young), he was a very famous stand-up and an actor in the 70's and 80's. Pryor and Wilder (Waco Kid) did a bunch of movies together and I'd recommend Silver Streak (1976) especially.

There was many script writers involved in making this movie, including Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor. Enjoyed your reaction.

Your reactions are PRICELESS! 🤠

"...but we don't want the Irish!" This is from a behind-the-scenes conversation about how they had managed to offend every minority (blacks, Asians, homosexuals, Jews, etc.), but someone noted that no one had insulted the Irish, so the line went into the movie.

You ladies are as funny as the movie😅

The sheriff is near!

Hedy Lamarr was a famous actress years ago. So Hedley is a play on her name.

The chemistry between Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder in this movie is top notch

"What is this?" This is the greatest comedy of all time. No reason to be shocked or offended about anything in it. It is funny how you take some scenes so literal and serious and don't necessarily understand the joke.

Hard to believe that of all the main characters, the only one living is Mel Brooks. The Mayor/ Indian Chief, and the Director of the film.

There was a popular actress in the 40's named Heddy Lamar which is the basis for the recurring gag with Hedley Lamar's name.

Mel Brooks played both the governor and the Indian chief. The chief is speaking in Yiddish. _Blazing Saddles_ is a movie about racism. The entire point of the movie is that racism is stupid. More specifically, _Blazing Saddles_ is about the racism that was evident in Western movies and television at the time. One of the forms that racism took was in the hiring of Jews to play Indians, based on the stereotype that Jews have swarthy skin. Since Mel Brooks is Jewish, and lost most of his family in the Holocaust, there was no way that he was going to leave Jews out of this movie, hence the Indian chief, who was, indeed, played by a Jew.

Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote Blazing Saddles with Richard Pryor. Awesome movie.

Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor wrote this film in the early 1970’s. They didn’t hold back on the corny, slapstick comedy or anything else for that matter. Degrading everyone from whites, blacks, native Americans basically everyone that walks on two legs😂😂😂. Thanks for sharing the video post ladies. God bless ❤

This is going to be fire!

Mel Brooks co-wrote with Richard Pryor who was going to play Bart until he had legal troubles and had to step back.

Glad y'all enjoyed this film. Many people back then didn't even know Mel Brooks is Jewish. The film's premise is to make fun of racism and racists especially. It had a Star studded cast with most being well established comedians. The guy who played Mongo was a NFL Pro hall of famer. The cowboy at the beginning, "can't be more 'den ahunderd fourteen!", he was already a famous western actor. In the scene where Gene Wilder is comforting Cleavon Little after his debacle with the elderly lady, when Gene said, "You know. Morons." Cleavon actually broke character. That was Cleavon laughing at the joke, not the sheriff. It fit so well in the moment, Mel kept it in the final cut. The gentleman who was to give "a laurel and hearty handshake" as the sheriff arrived, the actor was the boss of Tom Selleck's 'Magnum P.I.'.

As you noticed, a running gag in the movie is ... the more racist a person is, the dumber they are. Not sure if that is a gag, it is more a point that the movie is trying to make, but in a funny way.

"That's the end of this suit."

Another gag that no one ever picks up on, when the schoolmarm reads her letter to the governor in front of the congregation, she says that she's not used to public speaking. 🤔 She's a school teacher! 😆

Such a great channel, LOVE watching y'all's reactions. Thanks for the laughs ✌️

0:43 "They sound _good."_ Yes, but they're sounding good performing a song that was first composed and performed by Frank Sinatra in the 1934 Broadway musical _Anything Goes._ This movie is set in 1874, about 60 years _ahead_ of it.

Just before 1:15 he rides in and says what in the wide wide world of sports is going on here. "The Wide Wide World of Sports" was before ESPN.

It's weird watching young people struggling to comprehend absurdism.

the man on the horse is a reference to Hung like a horse

The famous "you know...morons!" line was improvised by Gene Wilder. :)

Richard Pryor was one of the writers, Mel Brooks was concerned about the racist language but Pryor and others convinced him to keep it in.

The reason why there's that one line "But we don't want the Irish" is because it was Mel Brooks's intent that every racial group he could think of would find something to get insulted about in his movie. During production one of the crew members -- who was Irish -- joking said there wasn't anything about him. So, Brooks added that line.

0:30 It was 117 the other day here in Phoenix...

"Meeting is adjourned" "It is??" "No, you SAY that!" "What??" "Meeting is adjourned" "It is??" "No, you SAY that!" "What??" "Meeting is adjourned!!" "It is??!?"...............

You two are so cute together!!

"Shes old and already dying" ... lmfao

The movie is satire and parody. I see that you ladies were confused at the humor quite a bit during this reaction. You were taking some of the zany scenes a lil' too seriously by trying to apply logic...LMAO. The style of comedy is not just 'parody'...it's like a live-action cartoon (such as Bugs Bunny etc). Anyway, many commenters already explained what the movie is about, so I won't go into extra detail. But although this movie was long before my time, and as a black man, I still consider 'Blazing Saddles' to be one of the top 5 greatest comedies ever in cinematic history. This is a classic!!!

I love these old comedies. They're extremely unafraid XD.

In the late 1800's and the turn of the century, the Irish and Italians were considered just as low as Blacks. That is what he was referring to when he said we don't want the Irish.

Jim's voice becomes high pitched every time he takes a puff on his cigarette to imply that the cigarette contains marijuana, not tobacco. It's making him high.

A lot of this humor is also from old school cartoons!

Young Frankenstein is the only Mel Brooks film he doesn't act in Gene Wilder (the Waco Kid) is brilliant.

Young people need to know it is ok to laugh😂

The part of the movie with the biggest push back and issues was the farting scene ... it was the first time in a movie

A lot of reactions to this film leave out the circling of the wagon and Mel Brooks' Yiddish Indian chief scene. So glad you kept it in. One of the funniest parts of the movie!

Richard Pryor co-wrote the script

Just fun: Mongo was played by George Karras, former NFL pro.

The shovel to the head was Slim Pickens's idea. He said he wouldn't play such a racist character unless the character recieved some kind of payback.

Idk if any modern brain today will understand this movie almost at all lol

Madelene Kahn's Marlene Dietrich steals the whole movie. The girls should watch "Destry" to see who Marlene Dietrich was.

look at the photo on the wall

You’re analyzing a comedy That in itself is hilarious.

In regard to the 'but we don't want the irish' line: that was true post civil war in the 1800s. The Irish were more despised than anyone due to the fact they were mostly uneducated, poor, unskilled, and in the case of new york, started the first organized crime syndicates in the US.

1. Mel Brooks played the Governor, the Indian Chief and one of the thug roundup. 2. Mel Brooks doesn't just break the 4th wall he shatters, steps on and grinds it into the ground. 3. The preacher/Liam Dunn also plays in Young "Frankenstein" as Mr. Hilltop. Madeline Kahn also had a smallish role in it. 4. Imagine how much fun this was to make.🤣🤣🤣🤣 5. The line, "You know morons" was ad lib by Wilder. Little's reaction was real. 6. The guy that was supposed to play Jim showed up the first day drunk so he was let go. Wilder agreed to do this movie for Mel Brooks only if Mel would direct Young Frankenstein for him. 7. Richard Pryor was supposed to play Bart but he was going through his addictions at the time and they thought it wouldn't be a good idea. However, he did some of the writing. 8. Jim still has his popcorn from the theater. Movie suggestion "Young Frankenstein" with Gene Wilder

Burton Gilliam, who played Lyle, was nervous about saying the "n-word" around Cleavon Little, who played Bart, because they were really close friends. But Little told Gilliam not to worry about it, since they were just pretending. Also, Sheriff Bart breaking down laughing after Jim said "You know, morons" was not acting. Gene Wilder, who played Jim ad-libbed the line and it caught Little off guard.

There are still alternate explanations for various things IMO: Such as: Holding himself up doesn't have to be because they are dumb, they can also be confused because Bart is acting like a crazy man. The tollbooth them not going around, because Hedley and the Gov is their employer so they have to obey something they think he did if they expect to be paid.

Thank you for reaction. I'm enjoying it. If you want to see another satirical comedy, try Dr. Strangelove. It's about a potential nuclear war btw USA and USSR. The movie's focus is about two men in a bunker with nuclear missiles and a plane sent to drop nuclear bombs on USSR. There also other smaller stories.

It's a comedy written by Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor. Richard Pryor who was actually supposed to play the black sheriff role but his drug use in real life was getting out of control and they replaced him with clevon little.

gen z takes every thing so serious that they miss the humor

8:16 "can't you see that that man is a ni..." and then he repeats the exact same phrase - he was actually calling Bart a Ni. Nothing else, just a ni. Which is very funny to me.

it was nothing like i expected but ive always loved it

3:28--They're hanging the horse for helping that there bandit get away from his crimes..makes him an accomplice! 10:32..It's working because THEY wanna be the ones to shoot Bart..It ain't no fun if he does it to himself! 31:36 Brooks was also the Indian chief, and Co-worte the script with black comedian Richard Pryor