Rating 12
Length 1h33
Release 23.06.1974
Director Mel Brooks
About Hedley Lamarr, a corrupt politician, hires an African-American man as the sheriff of a small town to drive its residents away, but his plan backfires when the townspeople take a liking to the sheriff.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: BBC Iplayer
Trailer:
The Good
Gene Wilder was an excellent choice and last-minute replacement for Jim. His relationship with Bart is what the film needs and they truly work together. As always, Wilder is on form with his comic timing.
I saw that Richard Pryor was briefly considered for the role by Brooks, however Pryor’s substance abuse was rather public at the time and so the studio vetoed the choice.
For me, I’m rather glad of studio meddling for once. It meant that we got an incredible and much more understated performance from Cleavon Little. There’s no question, Little carries this film effortlessly.
On the whole, the film is funny while actually broaching some serious social issues. Those without an understanding of satire may incorrectly see the film as ‘racist’, however the film is asking you to laugh at the ridiculousness of hate.
With it being one of Brooks’ early films, there’s not so many references that rely on a person having knowledge of the time in which it was made. As much as it pains me to say this, Blazing Saddles is a much better movie than the Cary Elwes led, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).
The Bad
Yeah… you all bigged up that farting scene way too much. It cannot live up to the way people talk about it. In a world in which we have a film that has two women playing “battle shits” in the college dorm bathroom, the impact of this monumental cutaway scene has greatly reduced.
Not helped by the fact that I’m sure I’ve scene the whole scene play out on no less than 3 ‘best of’ countdowns. It just felt a little ‘that it?’
The dude named Mongo. It’s a personal thing, but to name a character coded as slow and stupid Mongo feels so painfully ‘nudge-nudge, wink-wink’ on the nose.
It’s alway good to see Santa in something, anything, other than Santa Clause: The movie (1985).
The Ugly
The film goes a little too meta at the end for me with the escaping the world of the film, to the behind the scenes. Then it goes and doubles down by going to watch the ending of the film in a cinema on the studio lot.
I’m sure Mel Brooks had that planned from the outset, but it comes across to me as if the story ran out of steam and this gave the film an ending.
Final Thoughts
It’s a film I’m going to wait a while to revisit, but I am glad I finally understand what all the fuss is about.
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