Mel Brooks wanted to set the film in present day time (1974) but the studio told him he couldn't do a satire on racism set in 1974. So instead he set it in 1874 and used the crane pull back shot of the studio lots to move the movie into 1974 where he originally wanted it to be in the first place.
Hi there, Love the comedy reactions. I see that you've done three Mel Brooks movies. I hope you check out Spaceballs. Sad to say but I was around when these movies first came out in theaters. I'm enjoying your first time reactions to movies that l know inside and out.
Jesse Owens was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, while Mr Master Race himself, Adolf Hitler, was in the stadium watching.
See even Hitler's not all bad, he inaugurated what is now a famed ritual of a lone runner bearing a torch carried from the site of the ancient games in Olympia, Greece into the stadium. which we continue today...lol *#SARCASM*
I'm probably alone here, but didn't care for 'Young Frankenstein'. It had a few chuckles out of me, but I guess I went in for another "over-the-top", satrical, comedy, which it definitely wasn't. I really didn't see the hype of it. It was shot well, I guess 🤷🏼♂️
@@Jason_Van_Stone Gene Wilder co-wrote it and didn't want Mel to have an on-screen role. Also, Mel wanted to depict the style of the original 1931 movie.
@@Jsspres "depict the style of the original 1931 movie". Yeah... to the point that he used the original film's laboratory props. The propmaster for that movie had kept them in his garage, and when Mel found out, he asked to use them.
@@Jason_Van_Stone Definitely quieter humor, but the two movies are parodying two completely different genres: the over the top Western, and the Universal monster movie.
You might like Clue. It's a little different but it's got two things you seem to like: fast-paced humor AND running/recurring jokes. It stands on its own very well, but it's way better if you've played the board game Clue. Fantastic cast, including Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd and Madeline Kahn (from Blazing Saddles). Try it; you'll love it.
yes, CLUE. however, it is very similar to an earlier movie called "murder by death" with Alec guiness and Peter Sellers and others. (LOve clue I love it plenty more than the earlier film, both are in the Agatha Christie style.)
I love the younger Generations reacting and enjoying this movie. You understood this was meant as a satire and was not meant to be serious.Mel Brooks is a comedic genius. History of the world is hysterical and is worth a reaction. Keep it up guys I enjoy your Channel.
Well, to understand all the jokes in this movie you need to know a bit about the cliches of older studio westerns, the characters who appeared in them, and how they were made. _Airplane_ also has a lot of things that fly over the heads of people younger than 50; another part of that jive joke was that the older White woman who spoke jive was played by Barbara Billingsley, who was then familiar as America's favorite '50s mom, June Cleaver from TV's _Leave It to Beaver_ . The two Black actors voice coached her on how to deliver her dialogue. Madeline Kahn's character was a supposed to be like the women played by Marlene Dietrich, a German-born movie chanteuse whose popular song _The Laziest Girl in Town_ is parodied by _I'm Tired_ . But the greeting Willkomen, Bienvenue, Welcome was taken from a Joel Grey song in _Cabaret_ , a musical set in 1930s Germany that came out a few years before _Blazing Saddles_ . Like Abrahams and the Zuckers, Brooks stole bits from just about everybody.
You know, I've seen this film a million times but I didn't realise Lily's 'Willkomen' was from Cabaret until I saw Cabaret on stage in January, then another piece of Mel's genius clicked into place!
Yes, there are jokes on jokes on jokes in this movie. They happen really fast. When I was in High School in the late 70's this movie would play again every couple of months at the Friday, midnight dollar movie. We would go back and see it each time just to find new jokes. We must have seen it a dozen times and were still finding new jokes or strange things in the corners of scenes. It was iconic and groundbreaking (first on screen fart) then. And still is today. Other great comedies from the 70's would be Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein" and Monty Python's "Holy Grail". Please react to those as well. If you want something even older, try the Marx Brothers "Night at the Opera" or "Day at the Races" in black and white from the 1930's.
You're almost as old as me! (Class of '77) These guys are adorable. You almost need an annotated edition to even start getting all of the jokes. I also love reading people's comments to various reactions to it for that very reason.
Having the cows in the lobby of Grauman's Chinese Theatre is correct. The theater had a very long history of doing clever movie premier tie-ins in the lobby. For instance, if a Dorothy Lamour picture was playing with her in one of her signature South Pacific beauty roles, one of her sarongs would be hung in the passage to the seats so male patrons could fondle it. Sadly, Blazing Saddles actually premiered in a Burbank drive-in. Had it premiered in Garuman's, it would have gone truly inter-dimensional, with the audience watching the actors making the film of themselves watching the film in the same theatre.
Mel Brooks is an absolute comedy genius. All of his films are classics, although I think the ending of this one is his craziest. My favorite is his spoof of Star Wars, "Space Balls," but anything he did is hilarious. Young Frankenstein (a Frankenstein movie spoof, obviously) is a big fan favorite. BTW, back in the '70s/'80s, movies/TV made jokes about racists/racism because being racist is just so f-ing stupid that the only appropriate response is laughing at people who are.
It's no surprise Cam or Zay can guess the jokes in 'Blazing Saddles.' Many comedic tropes we see today were pioneered by this movie. It’s like watching the blueprint of modern comedy in action. So, they've unknowingly picked up the cues of what the joke will be.
A little known fact about Mel Brooks is that he was a combat engineer in WWII. He used to defuse land mines and check houses for booby traps. There is no way this movie could be made today. Too many people would get seriously butt hurt. Your reaction to the end of this movie is almost as funny as the movie itself.
Anyone who thinks we're too thin skinned in a time when Family Guy, Tarantino and Grand Theft Auto are mainstream has trouble with basic pattern recognition.
There was an actor named gabby hayes who was a crusty old cowboy who played along with john wayne in johns early westerns. . This movie poked fun at everything.
This was so awesome to see your reaction. We all reacted the same way when we saw it back in the 70s. Every possible type of people were equally offended: blacks, Jews, rednecks, gays, ex-cons, KKK, dumb jocks, blondes, crossed eyed. It’s edgy. “Where the white women at?”
There were several things that you missed. Laurel & Hardy Handshake. Laurel & Hardy were a comedy team. Mongo is Alex Karis, he played defense for the Detroit Lions. At the end, they got in the car and "rode off into the sunset"
Guys, This is one of the funnest, most entertaining reactions I’ve ever seen - and I’ve seen a ton! Great work, keep it up! If you want a few great film idea (that no one else has reacted to yet), let me know some types and genres and I’ll give you a few suggestions. Subscribed!
Not a monkey, a chimp. Specifically it was Cheetah from a _Tarzan_ film they were shooting. Just like "Hitler" wasn't Hitler, it was an actor who was having lunch in the commissary.
So since you're reacting to Band of Brothers, here's a Mel Brooks tie in. You can Google the full story but basically he heard some German singing while serving in WW2 and then started singing Al Jolson music into a bullhorn at them. ( Jolson I believe was Jewish) He just missed the Battle of Bastogne. As to his movies, "History of the World", "Spaceballs" & "Robinhood: Men in Tights" are awesome!
Jesse Owens was an athlete in the 1930’s Olympics in Nazi Germany…he was black…he won a gold medal running…and Randolph Scott was an actor in old westerns in the late 1920’s thu 60’s
Also Hedy Lamarr is an american actress which was popular in 30-40 years of twenties century. That is why main villain constantly called “Hedy” instead of “Headly” and that is why his name appeared on the side walk when he dies(because of cause Hedy Lamar has a star in the Hollywood walk of fame).
You can't go wrong with the Mel Brooks catalog. He has several spoofs I think you would enjoy. Spaceballs is a spoof of sci-fi films, specifically Star Wars. Young Frankenstein is a spoof of well, you know and High Anxiety is a spoof of some Alfred Hitchcock films, specifically Vertigo and Psycho.
Kudos to you both for understanding the message that Mel Brooks wanted to convey. Burton Gilliam, who played Lyle, almost walked off the set because he couldn't use the racial slurs in the script. Cleavon Little had to pull him to the side and tell him that it's just acting. My mother saw this with my 10 year old self and laughed harder than anyone in the theater.
One thing I forgot to mention. This movie was co-written by Richard Pryor. And the primary star was a black man. If they were OK with it, why shouldn’t we all be? Like I said earlier, I’m gay, I thought this shit was funny as hell. Keep up the great work, gents!
The majority of the people who don't like this movie. We're the ones being made fun. Such as the hooded guys. Fun fact. In the scene where all the actors and extras flood out the studio lot on to the street. You see one man on the corner looking very confused. Because the one man was not part of the cast. He was simply walking along and saw this happen. Mel Brooks asked the iconic cowboy actor John Wayne to play the Waco kid role. Wayne said "I can't your films are to dirty..but I'll be the first in line to see it" Until you see Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein. (Filmed in Black and White and Cardboard) You haven't see comedy.
BTW you should check out this clip of Mel Brooks talking with Conan about his WW2 story ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GnLSkIOlrAQ.html
Now that you’ve seen “Blazing Saddles” you can see “Robin Hood Men in Tights” as it references “Blazing Saddles”. In an interview Mel Brooks was asked if he could make this movie today. His response was “I couldn’t make it back then”. The scene where Gene Wilders character tells Clevon Little “you know morons” was ad libbed by Gene Wilder and Clevon’s reaction was real. The song Lily Von Shtupp sings in the movie was the dirtiest song Mel Brooks ever wrote according to him. The campfire fart scene was the first time it was used in movies. Mel Brooks sat in the editing room with the editor recording the sounds and grabbing anyone who walked by the room to come in and add to the sounds. Mel has three roles in this movie. He’s the governor, the Indian chief and an aviator standing in line to join Hedley Lamars gang. At the end of the movie Mel Brooks doesn’t just break the 4th wall he demolished it. Mel Brooks has a new animated movie coming out called “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” and it’s supposed to be a remake of this movie.
Fist time checking you out , great choice. I saw this movie in the theater when it came out now the crowd was both black ,white etc and the entire theater laughed together this is a complete satire of racism and Hollywood
"Blazing Saddles": Mel Brooks does it to the Hollywood Western like he did it to Adolf Hitler with "The Producers" (1967) Never heard of it? A Franz Liebkind masterpiece: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HPXHRX8Q2hs.html
Mel Brooks wrote this and planned on Richard Pryor in the starring role. The studio said no to Pryor because he was heavily into drugs, and his standup was very raunchy. So Brooks had Pryor write the scenes with Mongo (there is much more of Bart subduing Mongo in the Edited for TV release). Cleavon Little was brought in to star instead. The actor playing Jim/Waco Kid took his role as an alcoholic gunfighter too serioysly and showed up too drunk to stand. So Brooks called on Gene Wilder, who agreed, but part of Wilder's price was Brooks would help him finish a script he was working on, and direct the end product. So, we got Young Frankenstein. I was one who had concerns about you guys seeing this one. You made it through mostly intact. Gene Wilder paired up with Pryor in later comedies, Stir Crazy being the best of them in my opinion.
21:27 there was a deleted line here. After she said “it’s twue,” Bart originally replied “I hate to disillusion you ma’am, but you’re sucking on my arm.”
Hedy Lamarr was a famous movie star from the 1930's and 40's. She was also regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world. A mere photograph of her does not do her justice - you must watch Hedy's movie performances. Hedy was also a brilliant woman. She helped develop frequency hopping technology during WWII - technology that is incorporated in today's Bluetooth and GPS technology.
i was hoping someone had mentioned Ms Lamarr's scientific accomplishments. however, she wasn't happy *_AT ALL_* about Harvey Korman's character's name.
the in-joke w/ the songs at the beginning is... Blazing Saddles is set in 1874... I Get a Kick Out of You was by Cole Porter in 1934... Camptown Races was a minstrel song in 1850 and Swing Low Sweet Chariot is a Negro Spiritual... so the Black workers were singing a "white" song from the future; the cowboys were singing a "black" song from the "good old days" of slavery... 🙃
As weird as it sounds, this movie made history with that farting scene. Before this time period the movie industry was HEAVILY regulated with what you could and could not show. There were rules about things like never having two people of the opposite sex being on the same bed. Never show a King size bed or insinuate that even a married couple would sleep together. You can see that in I Love Lucy episodes where their bedroom had two twin beds. Anyway shortly before this movie was made some of those restrictions were removed. One of them was not allowing ANY sort of biological functions like that, or even hinting at it. Try thinking about a time in the past where an old movie or TV series showed a bathroom or a toilet. They never did, because it wasn't allowed. They weren't even allowed to TALK about it. So this movie made history by being the first movie to ever include any kind of fart. Not only were they the first, they did it in style with over doing it lol. There's also some people who have said that it wasn't even allowed by the people who rate movies, and that if it was included it would have been labelled as NC or something else. So Mel Brooks just straight up lied, said he took a lot of the stuff in this movie out, and then just didn't change anything and released it anyway lol Mel Brooks is a fucking legend for a lot of reasons.
Sometime around 2000 Mel Brooks was asked by an interviewer if he thought he would be allowed to make this movie at that time. His response was 'Hell no, we weren't allowed to do it back then, but we did it anyway.'
Absolutely love Mel Brooks movies. Also a huge shout out to Richard Pryor for his contribution to the writing of this. Personally my favorites are Spaceballs and Robin Hood ..men in tights.
One of the best jokes got taken out for being too racy. 21:18 "Is it true what they say about how you people are gifted? Oh it's twue it's twue!" He originally replied, "I hate to disappoint you ma'am, but you're sucking on my arm."
This was great guys! Now you're watching one of the heavy hitters. Mel Brooks is the master of 4th wall breaking. A couple of points of interest (possibly). Mel Brooks played the governor. The governor's name is "LePetomane". "Le pet" is French for "the fart". There was a real LePetomane in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century. He used his farts to sing, imitate animals or imitate people speaking and was at one point wildly popular. The bean/fart scene seems distasteful now, but at the time it was one of the first times (possibly the very first time) it had ever been acknowledged in an American film that farts even existed. Really great reaction guys. I think Mel Brooks would be delighted with it and that his film made you cross-eyed like the governor.
And to expand on what this person said about Mel Brooks... he played the Indian in the flashback scene and I did not even realize this until recently, he is one of the applicants standing on line waiting to join Hedy Lemar's gang.....
Hedy Lamarr (born Hedwig Kiesler) was one of the most luminously beautiful leading ladies in Hollywood's first Golden Age - look for her in such classics as *Algiers* (1938), *Comrade X* (1940), *Ziegfeld Girl* (1941), *Tortilla Flat* (1942), *The Heavenly Body* (1943), and *Samson and Delilah* (1949). The woman famously also had brains to match her beauty. 🤩
she actually sued the film makers 10 million dollars for the play on her name, which is kinda funny because the scene when Mel Brooks says he could sue her. she settled out of court and received an apology for using something close to her name.
There are so many levels to the comedy in this movie that are lost if people do not understand the cultural references. I think people should sometimes stop a film like this and google references so that they can understand the depth of the writing.
@@bensweiss I should think they could afford to. They often refer to the editing they do once the movie is finished, so they could easily cut out sections where they had to pause the action to look up references. (Of course, there is the matter of the Patreon versions they refer to also. It would be awkward indeed to present a full-length review that was being continually interrupted for fact-checking.) 🤨 😕
He was impersonating Jesse Owens, a black runner/ sprinter who won several gold medals at the Olympics in Nazi Germany in 1936. Still considered one of the greatest athletes.
Lily, who is German, and is apparently a worldly lady, is saying "welcome" in several languages: Wilkommen (sp) German Bien Venue (French) Welcome (the King's English) Come on in (un King's English) Madeline Kahn is paying tribute and parody to a great old-Hollywood era German actress, Marlene Dietrich, which explains the accent and the Prussian (probably) soldiers. Here is the song she is parodying: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Sr0xRNo6Xaw.html. Later on, you see Kahn in a man's suit, and this is further tribute to Dietrich, who appeared in a tuxedo in a scene during one of her movies: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cBa-jw8NH5I.html
Lot of folks on the internet like to make a big hub-bub 'Blazing Saddles couldn't be made today' but this film very much is of its time. Brooks specifically created this film to take a sledgehammer at wholesome TV westerns which dominated television in the era, thanks to strict guidelines that sucked out any and all avenues for these sort of shows to tackle many of the pressing issues that were occurring at the time these shows took place in. The main purpose of the raunchiness and risque humor was to very much go scorched earth upon all the tropes, contrivances and staples of the genre and it did ended up killing the wholesome western with extreme prejudice.
Thing is, Mel Brooks has pointed out that Blazing Saddles nearly couldn't be made _back then_ - the studio wanted huge changes to be made, and he ignored them and just made the movie anyway.
This movie could be totally made today and, in fact, Mel Brooks and Samuel Jackson have a new cartoon coming out called "Blazing Samurais". The Dave Chappelle Show is a perfect example of something that comes directly out of "Blazing Saddles".
They didn’t just reference Mel Brooks name, but Mel played both the Governor and the Indian Chief. Mel makes at least a cameo appearance in many of his films. As far as the racial slurs go, you are correct in that they were used to elicit a prescribed response in order to point out the ridiculousness of racism. By watching it nearly half a century later, I seems to me that it shows how thin skinned the American public has become which changed the reaction to some of the comedy from laughter to more of a jaw dropping moment. ✌🏼😎
In the 1970s the cast of characters that were in this film were in multiple films together either as major characters or minor characters walk on Parts just in and out they were great Richard Pryor helped write for this movie and of course Mel Brooks who is the governor in the movie he wanted Richard Pryor to play the part of the sheriff Bart but Richard Pryor won at Cleveland little to do it and that was an excellent choice. You should definitely check out "Young Frankenstein", and Cannonball Run. Oh you should definitely see "The Mechanic, it's a 1970 film. They made a remake of the film a few years ago but it was nowhere near as good as the original. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and if you've never seen Billy Jack the movie. You absolutely should and let your followers know what your favorite line is. Now if you've never seen the television show kung fu what season 1 episode 1 the pilot you'll be hooked
Here's a list of more Mel Brooks movies: Young Frankenstein Robin Hood Men in Tights History of the World Part One Spaceballs Other comedies you should react to: Naked Gun trilogy Top Secret
If you get offended or think this movie is racist YOU MISSED THE POINT OF THE MOVIE. There is a reason this movie is considered the father of modern comedy movies. It set the bar so high because it dared to be what it is. btw the Gov is played by Mel brooks, the writer and director of the movie. He stars in all his own movies.
@Doug Spooner It was because Gene Wilder asked him not to have a cameo because it would blow the "suspension of disbelief"of the movie. Mel _wanted_ to play the blind hermit.
You might have been laughing to hard to hear Hitler's line in the cafeteria scene: "They lose me after the Bunker Scene". Mel Brooks is Jewish so has a lot of Jewish jokes and anti-Nazi jokes. Brooks plays the Gov and the Indian chief too. And Lily Von Stupp's act and song are a parody/homage to Marlene Deitrich.
The late Madeline Kahn was a trained opera singer. There is nothing more difficult for a trained singer than to sing off-key. Sometimes, don't worry about where you're going...and just enjoy the trip.
Her performance is in part a spoof of Marlene Dietrich, a movie star of the 1930s-50s. She always retained her German accent (saying W in place of R) and though she often sang on film (and later did stage concerts), it wasn't exactly her musicality or her vocal quality that made her a sex symbol. Madeline Kahn was singing badly on purpose, as @Leo Sarmiento said.
Getting away from race for a moment, BS is also a very clever parody of Westerns with anachronisms galore. Take for example all the Johnsons. You have Howard Johnson (spoofs the ice cream entrepreneur), Olsen Johnson (Olsen and Johnson were a real-life vaudeville comic team), Van Johnson (a nod to real-life movie star Van Johnson), Dr. Samuel Johnson (a Dr. Samuel Johnson was a real-life poet and playwright), Harriet Johnson (Harriet C. Johnson was an African-American suffragist), Anal Johnson the bartender (I won't touch that name except to say that "johnson" can be slang for you-know-what body part) and last, but not least, Gabby Johnson (a parody of character actor Gabby Hayes).
I love that Mel always puts himself in his films - He was the 'Gov' and the Indian Chief - I believe that Richard Pryor was one of the writers too. I think also you guys because you are so young there would be many references that probably went under the radar for you - one for example the 'Heddy Larmar' references - Heddy was a famous hollywood actress - there were quite a lot of others.
There is a recent Mel Brooks video where he describes how he pitched a parody of a Western and how the money people were aghast. Then, he describes the next movie pitch which was Young Frankenstein - a horror comedy in black and white? They were going crazy. Comedy should stretch boundaries...... BTW, the co writer was Richard Pryor - a black comedian.
You definitely need more Mel Brooks on this channel! In order of recommendation: Young Frankenstein, History of the World Part I, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (with a Blazing Saddles reference in the movie!).
@@N0-1_H3r3 I think new viewers of Mel Brooks should maybe ease into his humor and style before they get into the Producers. It's great, but it can be a little jarring if you're not ready for it.
Got any sources? Mel is credited as Governor Lepetomane and "The Chief". A certain German leader in the commissary was played by actor Ralph Manza, who by appearace alone is definitely not Mel Brooks. Where is he shown as a miner as you commeneted?
@@InjuredRobot. There's one more cameo by Mel in the movie; he's in the line of desperadoes, wearing a leather jacket, white silk scarf and aviator goggles.
Great reaction! Always interesting to see how a younger generation reacts to this movie. I am glad that the movie was enjoyable! Should you happen to be looking for an even older classic film, I would suggest "Twelve Angry Men", the 1957 version in black and white. Not a comedy, but absolutely a classic courtroom drama all performed by twelve men in the jury room. Not too many react to the movie and perhaps it will not get many votes over the admittedly wonderful comedies you have on the list, but it is unquestionably a fantastic movie.
26:45 Yes that's exactly what you saw from the outside. The fake Rock Ridge is actually the backdrop set they used for the exterior scenes in the "real" Rock Ridge.
In case you didn't recognize him, Mel Brooks was the governor and also the Indian Chief. There are MANY references to older stars that young people will not recognize ("a laurel and hearty handshake = Laurel and Hardy comedy team, and Hedley Lamarr is a reference to actress Hedy LaMarr.) The orchestra in the desert was the Count Basie orchestra - excellent and famous in the time of this film and before.
the quicksand was a movie trope back in the day... that and giant spiderwebs... I was low-key terrified of both throughout my childhood... like I would ever encounter quicksand or giant spiderwebs... 😐
Quicksand is real stuff though. Where I grew up there was a place with really sticky mud a couple of feet deep, then you hit solid ground. We would walk through parts of it where you'd sink to about your knees. One idiot went out too far and got to his his and was still going down and we had a heck of time getting him out. That was the end of that. In another place along a creek, there was a bend that looked solid, then a guy jumped on it and ended up mid chest deep in an instant. Just loose, waterlogged sand. Another fellow almost died. We were at a Civil War fort that had a ditch as part of its defense. It was supposed to have been up to 25 feet deep. It had standing water in part of it. The sides were vertical where we were and maybe 12 feet high at least. The fellow I was with wanted to jump in. We knew the water was likely deep. I looked around and found a stick about as long as he was tall and threw it like a spear into the water. It didn't come back up nor could we even see it. So, there was a chance he might have gotten stuck in the bottom and that would have been that.
