3 more reviews

1. ›Review: Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974)@thunderjack1002d

   This week my Bonnie Bride brought home a copy of Blazing Saddles (1974) to watch as, it surns out, she had never seen it. She new about the film, and that there are frequent references to the film via the very quotable Mongo – “Mongo only pawn in game of life”. This is also a film that frequently comes up in discussion within some of my social circles, and is often noted that this film could not be made today due to “Cancel Culture” and the frequent use of a certain word. The film itself is a commentary on the idiocy of racism, and how idioitic racists are, even, at one point, calling racists “morons”. The screenplay was written by a team led by Mel Brooks, with Richard Pryor, Andrew Bergman (who wrote the original story concept), Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger (I pulled the full list from – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles. Cleavon Little took on the starring role as Sheriff Bart, and, along with Pryor, was instrumental in getting the Black comedy, the parts conveying how stupid racism is, right, as well as making fun of racists.

   *Blazing Saddles* poster - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/mediaviewer/rm4212824320?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_prd_33) There will be a few minor spoilers, so I hope ya’ll don’t mind. Count Basie and Cleavon Little - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/mediaviewer/rm2226392577?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_77) Cleavon Little was an actor who was previously known to me via a TV series, the SitCom *Temperatures Rising*, and had found him to be a good performer then, and he continued to deliver in *Blazing Saddles*. Sadly, the only other film I have seen hi in is *Once Bitten* (1985), where he continued to turn in a memorable performance. Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/mediaviewer/rm131665665?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_59) Rounding out the cast is Gene Wilder as The Waco Kid, the fast fun in the world; Harvey Korman as the lead villain, Hedley Lamarr, Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp, a character modeled after Marlene Dietrich, Slim Pickens as Taggart, Lamarr’s Lieutenant, and Alex Karras as the aforementioned Mongo. There are many other familiar faces in the cast as well.

   What the film does is use Sheriff Bart as a means to disprove all the various negative stereotypes that Black people have to deal with, while making fun of those who hold those negative views of Blacks, and proving that these types of people with bigoted views are pretty darn gullible to believe such bull. There is one funny bit where Bart and Waco lure a couple of white-hooded schmucks away from the crowd of other schmucks, then Bart and Waco reappear in the garb of the schmucks that they lured away. Their plan – infiltration. It, of course, failed when Bart reached out to sign the recruitment forms for Lamarr’s army. Bart quips – “Now for my next impression, Jesse Owens” as he and Waco make like the Olympic Athlete and run for the hill’s. Jesse Owens was a track and field runner in the 1936 Olympics in Munich, beating out his White competitors (especially the German athletes) for four Gold Medals.

   Slim Pickens and the Toll Booth bit - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/mediaviewer/rm3407714049?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_106) The film is littered with anachronisms and culture references long before they would have shown up in the era the film is depicting, but not surprising as the film ends in utter chaos as it not only breaks the fourth wall, but demolishes it completely. In one scene we have Sheriff Bart riding across the range to a lovely piece of music, only to find Count Basie and his orchestra performing the piece, “April in Paris”. Cultural references also include the bandits from “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, Hedy Lamarr, WW2 German soldiers, among others. Anachronisms included a toll booth in the middle of nowhere, candy-grams, and Kahn’s stage performance as Lili singing “I’m Tired” was a tribute to Marlene Dietrich. Oh, and Indians speaking in German.

   Blazing Saddles contains substantial amounts of profanity and some suggestive naughtiness, as well as funny. Best way to describe the film, in addition to shaming bigots, is controlled chaos. It’s been quite a long time since last the last time I had watched this film, and it was a hoot to watch again, especially with Little and Wilder performing together in what is a classic Mel Brooks film. And as long as you keep the context usage of one certain word, you will probably find it a very funny, anti-racist film.

   Thanks for stopping by.

   You can find me on twitter/X at https://twitter.com/thunderjack42

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2. ›Blazing Saddles (1974) : Mel Brooks' frenzy@evaredskin1562d

   Where do I start writing about this movie? The movie is a western. That is, it has western elements, but it mixes thousands of different elements from other species. Well, it's a black comedy western.

   

   source

   And its creator seems to be having a lot of fun. How could he not with all these heroes at his disposal:

   • an african american sheriff (Cleavon Little) named Bart Black, dressed always in the latest cowboy fashion
   • an drunkard gunslinger (Gene Wilder) that shoots so fast, he does not even have to touch his gun.
   • a corrupt attorney general (Harvey Korman) who wants to pocket the land and compensation for himself, ΄
   • a stupid governor, Lepetomane, played by Mel Brooks himself,
   • a naive and slow-thinking henchman, Mongo,
   • a prostitute (Madeline Kahn) coming directly from Germany (a referance to Marlene Dietrich) and many other bigger or smaller roles that each of them with their surreal presentation from the director's point of view makes them even more grotesque.

   The main story of the film is simple: In the era of railway construction, a corrupt prosecutor is trying to evict the inhabitants of a peaceful city. The reason is obvious, as the railway will pass through it and the value of its land will rise. To achieve his goal, he sends an African American, sentenced in the gallows, as the town's new sheriff in order to offend the town residents and they leave the town in hands.

   So far so good? The plan, of course, does not go as the prosecutor wants, as the clever, cunning young sheriff wins the favor of the city and tries to thwart the plans of the evil prosecutor. Mel Brooks with his vitriolic humor sets up a crazy comedy. Our first acquaintance with the protagonist is not accidental ... When the foreman in the railway works, where our hero works, asks him with an obvious racist disposition to sing him a "nigger work" song, our cheeky hero turns the situation around...

   Or with drunkard good hearted pistolero that becomes the new sheriff's deputy:

   Or Lili Von Shtupp (a parody for Marlene Dietrich), the prostitute who even though tries to seduce our hero, she falls for him instead... (Listen to the song's lyrics, they are a masterpiece of Brooks' humor)

   This is typical you may say for a western... The hero that starts a mission to save the town and gets the girl, right?

   Wrong! Nothing is typical with Brooks. Take for example that the corrupted general attorney's name is Hedley Lamarr (a clear reference to Heidi Lamar, a well-known actress),

   Governor Lepetomane: Thank you, Hedy. Thank you. Hedley Lamarr: It's not Hedy, it's Hedley. Hedley Lamarr. Governor Lepetomane: The hell are you worried about? This is 1874. You'll be able to sue her! source

   who enjoys sending people to the gallows for execution. And naturally the executioner is a guy dressed like the medieval years, with no time to spare cause of the load of work (executions) he has to do.

   Or the way that the cunning Bart knocks out Mongo, the henchman sent to kill him, with a Candygram, lololol.

   Let's not forget the anachronisms that he uses inside the film, like the KKK, or the german soldiers of WWI (remember, we are still in 1870s) or even the limousine or taxis.

   But I believe the most surrealistic scene is the one at the end. During a fight between the good guys and the bad they nreak the wall of the studio and they burst into the neighboring studio in which a musical is being filmed. The fight goes on involving the members of the musical, causing a ruckus in WB studios, while the heroes of the movie "Blazing Saddles" leave the set, get in a taxi and enter a cinema to watch their own film. Can something be more comicosurreal than that?

   Buddy Bizarre: What the hell are you doing here? This is a closed set! Taggart: Piss on you! I'm working for Mel Brooks! [draws back to punch him in the face] Buddy Bizarre: Not in the face! [Taggart obliges and punches him in the stomach] Thank you! source

   I believe that even though the actors were all exceptional (Cleavon Little was awesome) the big part of the credit for this film should be given to the creator, "one of the most intelligent people in America", Mel Brooks. A man who, as he -himsef- described his films, "they rise below vulgarity ".

   One of my favorite descriptions of Brooks was that of renowned film critic Roger Ebert:

   There are some people who can literally get away with anything -- say anything, do anything -- and people will let them. Other people attempt a mildly dirty joke and bring total silence down on a party. Mel Brooks is not only a member of the first group, he is its lifetime president. source

   Mel Brooks made this comedy in 1974. Probably he couldn't do it today. There are jokes inside that film that were not political correct and there is a chance that someone might get offended by some script lines.
   But, please, bear in mind that it is a parody of westerns, a satire for cinema and its people and before anything else it was filmed almost fifty years ago, when things were different.

   So, with this warning, I recommend you to make pop corn, buckle up your saddles and enjoy a not so classic comedy, but a hilarious laughter therapy.

   Thank you for reading!

   

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3. ›Insomniac Film Festival #4: Blazing Saddles@rvgenaille3098d

   

   Short review!

   Blazing Saddles, the Mel Brooks classic that parodies and satirizes race relations and westerns, was on tv tonight and there is a lot to like in it.

   And there’s also some real problematic stuff too. I’m not talking about the n-word or how it was used. Richard Prior had a hand in the writing of this film and he knew what he was wanting to address with its use, this isn’t a Quentin Tarantino film after all. I’m talking about tackling race issues but using white men to play Native Americans and some real homophobic jokes, especially towards the end of the film when it breaks the fourth wall inside the world of the film. At any rate, that aside, this is a funny flick. Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart, Gene Wilder as the Waco Kid, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn are all firing on all cylinders and I laughed several times.

   Worth seeing but be aware of the problems.

   -all photos via IMDb.com.

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