Within the past week, I have watched a ton of movies by Mel Brooks, and I would like to say that every last one of them has been enjoyable. Of course, I have seen plenty of them before, but not like recently. My personal favorite is still Blazing Saddles, but Spaceballs takes a close second. Damn, Young Frankenstein is good too... ARGH!! I can't choose I guess.
OK, so this week I've seen:
-History of the World: Part I
-High Anxiety
-To Be or Not To Be
-Silent Movie
-The Twelve Chairs
All of these are fantastic movies, but I think History of the World: Part I was the best, simply because of its sheer insanity. It's absolutely all over the place, making fun of 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as the the Roman Empire, Da Vinci's The Last Supper, and the Spanish Inquisition. Brooks totally turns history itself on its head, making for one of the best films I've seen in a while. Sure it's stupid, but I love it just the same.
High Anxiety was a lot of fun because of all the direct correlations to Hitchcock films, with scenes torn straight from Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. It's all absolutely silly, and it still blows my mind. I've seen this movie before, but it has been a long, long time.
To Be or Not To Be stands out from the other movies because it has much darker theme, involving the Nazi invasion of Poland. It's a solid movie, but it's not as outrageously funny as some of Brooks' other films. The main draw is the impersonations Brooks pulls off throughout the movie, because he is supposed to be a famous Polish actor. Anyone impersonating Hitler is usually a good time, and this movie is no different. If you liked Inglourious Basterds, this is another interesting take on that era for you.
Silent Movie is pretty damn weird, mainly because it's a silent movie about a director trying to make a silent movie! Most of the gags in this are intentionally goofy and antiquated in order to better channel the feeling of old silent movies. It's a fun time to be sure, but the beginning can definitely make you uneasy when there is absolutely NOTHING to hear for over a minute, not even music. This is a great comedy throwback, if you're into that kind of thing.
And then we have The Twelve Chairs. This is an interesting film indeed, set in Russia in 1927 and is about a several men trying to find jewels in a particular set of dining chairs. Of course, the chairs have legs of their own, traveling all over the place by means outside of the characters control. It can be very crazy at times, with chase scenes having the music and picture set up in order to purposefully make things feel more frantic. It's great stuff.
Don't worry, I have already seen The Producers and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I think I just may go watch the latter now.
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